Worn-out, deteriorating floors once threatened the punch and pace of Rock City Boxing, a class at the Frank Phillips Memorial YMCA for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Now, thanks to a $3,825 grant from the Lowndes Community Foundation, participants are back on solid ground.
“The Lowndes Community Foundation makes a big difference in a small town,” said Jimmy Woodruff, YMCA executive director. “We depend on grant funding, and that’s where the Community Foundation really steps up and helps us continue to impact people in a very positive way.”
Lowndes Community Foundation, an affiliate of CREATE Foundation in Tupelo, is a charitable foundation that uses endowment funds to provide grant funding for nonprofits and community organizations aiming to benefit Lowndes County.
Since its establishment in 2003, LCF has awarded more than $246,000 to 38 organizations in Lowndes County, including the YMCA, Golden Triangle Theatre, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System and the Poverty, Homelessness & Food Insecurity Task Force.
Last year, the foundation received 12 grant applications and awarded $24,825. So far this grant cycle, the foundation has received only one grant application, though LCF co-president Tyler Covington said he hopes to see more in the coming months.
“We’ve got this money we want to give away, and last year we got the most grant applications that I’ve ever seen us have coming in,” Covington said. “More people need to know about us. There are organizations that could definitely use some funding to do the good work they do.”
LCF co-president Chanley Rainey said the foundation hopes to expand its reach by hosting its first community fundraising event in July in the form of a Casino Night.
“The point of having the fundraiser is really twofold,” Rainey said. “One is, we need to be trying to grow the endowment in all ways. But the other, maybe even larger, part of it is that having an annual event forces our board to go out and tell people about the organization and have people come to the event and learn about what we do.”
The event will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 11 at the Trotter Convention Center.
Tickets are $100 and include two drink tickets, one raffle entry and $500 in casino chips to cash in for games such as poker, craps, roulette and blackjack. The event will also feature a DJ, a cash bar provided by Zachary’s and donated raffle prizes, including a six-night stay in a beachside condo on Highway 30A in northwest Florida and a dove hunt.
Of each ticket sold, $40 will go toward the foundation’s endowment and is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. The remaining $60 covers event expenses. Sponsorships ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 are also available for businesses, with all proceeds benefiting the foundation’s endowment fund.
Rainey said she hopes to raise at least $10,000 for the endowment but is shooting for $20,000.
Tickets can be purchased by making a $100 gift to the LCF Annual Fundraiser Special Project Fund via the CREATE Foundation website.
Rainey said she hopes through the event, people will recognize the importance of donating to long-term charitable foundations like LCF.
“There are all kinds of wonderful causes, and we all have something near and dear to our heart, but the Community Foundation is your investment in the community,” Rainey said.
Golden Triangle Theatre has received about $21,000 in grant funding from LCF over the last three years. These funds have been put to use to jumpstart their children’s after school program, fund productions and update outdated technical equipment like microphones and cameras.
Director Garrett Torbert said without LCF, the Golden Triangle Theatre may not be standing.
“We honestly probably wouldn’t be here without them,” Torbert said. “Especially in this time that we are living in, a lot of a lot of funding is getting cut when it comes to grants, and so we are even more so now relying on these local foundations, such as Lowndes County, to help support us.”
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