by SOPHIE BIRD
Philanthropy is for everyone, and there’s no wrong way to donate to the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, says President and CEO Tina Peterson.
The Community Foundation was created nearly 30 years ago with the goal of making philanthropy achievable in Monroe County, and it continues to do that by challenging the notion that philanthropy is exclusively for the wealthy.
“No gift is too small or too big,” Peterson says. “Nonprofits have needs of all sizes.”
There are many ways to donate, including choosing one of the 215 existing funds—from 50+ Men Who Care to the Youth Services Bureau Fund. “That’s the beauty of having so many different funds at the Community Foundation, because your $100 could be pooled with someone else’s $100,” Peterson says. “Most certainly someone could go to our website and make a gift, and we are grateful anytime anybody does that. Our favorite way, though, is to sit down and talk with people.”
Meeting with the Community Foundation team allows donors to ensure their gift is being used to support something they care about. For those without a specific organization in mind, field-of-interest funds are one way to give.
“If you really are passionate about an area—say you don’t want to support a particular organization but you want to support an area of the arts—you could create a field-of-interest fund or give to a field-of-interest fund that supports, in any given year, maybe multiple organizations in the arts,” Peterson explains.
This way, smaller donations can be pooled with other gifts to create larger impact.
Other ways to donate include establishing a new fund or giving through an estate. Donors can give to a specific organization, an area of passion, or to the Community Foundation in general.
Anyone interested in donating can make an appointment to chat about what activities, organizations, people, places, or sectors they would like to support.
For more information, visit cfbmc.org.
