The Center on Community Philanthropy at the Clinton School of Public Service received a grant to study and promote giving in the Mississippi River Delta region.
The $750,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will help the center by promoting strategies that build new models, innovations and collaborations to improve the conditions of vulnerable children and families.
“The work of our center aligns perfectly with the mission of the Kellogg Foundation to support vulnerable children, families and communities in the Delta region,” said Charlotte L. Williams, director of the Center on Community Philanthropy. “We are grateful to the foundation for its continued support and we look forward to putting these funds to work for communities in need.”
The grant will provide primary funding for the center’s operations over the next five years. Efforts planned by the center include hosting national and regional meetings of scholars and leaders in community philanthropy; expanding community assessment services for targeted populations; researching and promoting public policy solutions for vulnerable communities; and working with community foundations to recruit leaders and donors to support philanthropic initiatives.
Launched in 2007, the center was created to focus its teaching, research and policy-making exclusively on the emerging field of giving and sharing in a community context.
The center has undertaken projects such as an assessment of community services in Pine Bluff, establishing partnerships to train leaders in rural Arkansas communities and hosting a series of “visiting scholars” who research and discuss issues related to community philanthropy.
“In these challenging economic times, the work of the Center on Community Philanthropy is only growing in importance,” said Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford. “As public and private funding for development declines, communities must continue to generate philanthropy from within. This grant will help the center continue to promote such efforts across our region.”