In the fifteen years since our founding, the Sandusky/Erie County Community Foundation has grown from endowment assets of $1.8 million in 1995 to current assets of more than $13 million. This tremendous growth is the result of the support and encouragement of many donors, including private foundations, individuals, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Since 1995, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $3 million in grants and scholarships for the benefit of Erie County residents. Each and every dollar expresses someone's dream of touching lives.

It is impossible to measure how many lives have been positively impacted by the projects made possible by the dreamers in our community. The need to hold fast to those dreams and to serve the community through the collaborative efforts of our donors, volunteers, board and staff has never been greater. Looking ahead, we ask how many more lives and in what ways can we touch the future? Such is the stuff of which great dreams are made.

The Community Foundation welcomes gifts of any size and accepts a broad range of assets, including cash, securities, real estate, life insurance, bequests, gift annuities, charitable trusts, and private foundation assets.

There are many ways to give back to the community, through a gift to the Community Foundation.

Unrestricted Gifts are annual gifts such as memorials or tributes that are used to support the Community Grants and Youth Council Grants programs.

Endowed Funds may be established for various purposes, and named in recognition of the donor or the donor's designee. Each fund is defined in consultation with the Foundation at the time the fund is created.

Unrestricted Named Funds support Community Grants and Youth Council Grants, which are awarded for the arts, community development, education, the environment, social services and youth services.

Field of Interest Funds support a general interest such as children's health or the arts, or a specific geographic area in Erie County.

You can contribute now or make a planned gift that benefits the community after your lifetime.

Options for giving today include:

• Make an unrestricted contribution or a gift in memory or in honor of someone special or to commemorate a special occasion.
• Make a contribution to an existing fund for the benefit of a specific organization, scholarship fund, or general field of interest
• Establish an endowed fund, such as a Field of Interest or Donor Advised Fund that suits your charitable interests, with a minimum $10,000 contribution.

Options for planned giving include:

• Bequest and gifts by will
• Naming the Foundation as beneficiary of Individual Retirement Account assets
• Transfer of life insurance policies to the foundation
• Charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts, vehicles that pay you income and, after your lifetime, support your charitable goals after your lifetime.

The Community Foundation supports the work of Erie County non-profit organizations that provide much needed and valued services for the benefit of area residents. The endowment funds of these organizations are managed and invested by the Community Foundation on their behalf. Endowment income offers a permanent source of stable funding for the organization, and may be used for any charitable purpose of the organization, which may include operational support, staffing, programs and services, or facility maintenance and improvement.

To make a donation to the endowment funds of these organizations, click here for a donation form or phone the Foundation office at 419-621-9690 for more information.

American Red Cross, Firelands Chapter
Back to the Wild - Mona Rutger
    Wildlife Fund
Berlin-Milan Schools Education Fund
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Erie County
Boys and Girls Club of Sandusky
Boy Scouts
BGSU Firelands McBride Arboretum Fund
Cancer Services Fund
Care and Share of Erie County
Carl Evans Music Fund of the Huron
   Presbyterian Church
College Women's Club
Compassion Fund for Firelands Regional
   Medical Center
Edison Birthplace Museum
Thomas Edison Memorial United
   Methodist Church
Erie Metro Parks
Erie County Education Endowment
Feick Family Fund for First Presbyterian Church

For Donors » Giving » Unrestricted Endowed Funds

Asher Family Fund
Phyllis M. Asher Fund
Barnes Family Fund
Bettcher Industries Fund
Cedar Point Fund
Citizens Banking Company Fund
Joan R. Coulter Fund
Randolph J. and Estelle M. Dorn Foundation
FirstEnergy Fund
Albert and Marylin Fresch Fund
Fresch Electric Company Fund
Sidney Frohman Foundation Fund
Frost-Parker Foundation Fund
Goff Family Fund
Charles W. Gundlach Family Fund
William N. and Helen M. Hansen Memorial Fund
Elizabeth J. Helm Memorial Fund
J. Robert Hoffman Fund
Anne and Robert Johnstone Family Fund
Kasper Family Fund
KeyBank Fund
Arthur E. and Corrine N. Lange Fund
Jan and Frank Leake Fund
Lear Charitable Giving Fund
Betty Miller Fund
George Jr. and Kathryn Muehlhauser Fund
Marilyn Muth Fund
The Mylander Fund
National City Bank Fund
Charles and Marge Pickett Fund
John and Miriam Py Fund
Rainger Family Fund
John and Hyacinth B. Rheinegger Memorial Fund
Ritter-Meckstroth Fund
Helen F. Roberts Fund
Sandusky International Fund
William and Dorothy Marye Seiler Fund
Jack and Lelia Springer Fund
Sam and Rose Stein Fund
Virginia Fuller Steinemann Memorial Fund
Janet and Sam Stipp Fund
Eleanor L. Till Fund
Don and Maurine Warner Fund
Raymond and Mary Watts Fund
Dorothy H. Weis Fund
Leland J. and Geraldine M. Welty Fund
Wightman/Wieber Charitable Foundation Fund
Louis F. and Jane A. Zigmond Fund