Coastal Community Foundation Stands Out

January 22nd: Dr. George Stevens, CEO/President of the Coastal Community Foundation and member of our club gave a dazzling report to we, the original stockholders of this outstanding foundation.

George, who has a Ph. D. in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania is a prominent research science who has conducted research all over the world. He reminded us that 33 years ago the Charleston Rotary started the foundation with a grant of $9,000. Over the next 20 years the foundation gave the community over $10,000,000. Last year they gave 4.8 million to the local community and are now on a target to give over 10 million dollars annually to this community. How do they do this?

ONE: They offer a personalized service by meeting potential donors and determining what they would really like to do for the community.

TWO: They provide local expertise as to what non-profit organizations are active in our area so as to match the donor with a source of proven service.

THREE: They stress Community Stewardship so that the donor understands just how his/her financial assistance will affect change in the community.

George told us that CCF’s annual income from donors is increasing at a rate of over 25% per year. He asked the club [the original stockholders] to help him understand how this can be, for CCF is one of the top 100 non-profit fund raisers out of over 8000 in the nation. Many fine suggestions were presented, perhaps the most likely being that the donors themselves are successful in their own fields.

In conclusion, George thank the Rotary Stockholders for helping the foundation grow such that it now as 150 million dollars in assets.

Reported by Fred Sales, Keyway Committee