Community Foundation Grants to Carson Valley Add Up

Reno Nev - From the first grant to the area in 2004 the Community Foundation of Western Nevada has made 104 grants totaling more than $2.6 million dollars to improve the quality of life in the Valley. Click link for details about  Carson Valley Grants. Based in Reno, the Community Foundation of Western Nevada includes fundholders and donors from across the state.  An important aspect of the Community Foundation’s work is administering Legacy funds given as estate gifts from donors who want to give back to their hometown they loved. One such Legacy fundholder was Geneva Springmeyer of Carson City. She was introduced to the Community Foundation in 2010 through her hospice counselor. An entrepreneur and former owner of a secretarial service, Springmeyer was a fiercely independent person. She lived the life she wanted to live under her own terms, until her death in April 2012. Springmeyer’s independent attitude has become her charitable legacy. Geneva Springmeyer used her home and rental property, through a bequest to the Community Foundation of Western Nevada, to create a charitable foundation. Under her specific direction, the primary grantees of this foundation will be organizations in the Carson City area that help elderly women remain their own homes as long as possible. The first grant from the Springmeyer fund was sent this year to the Alzheimer’s Association to fund a Caregiver Support group in Carson City. More than $1,000,000 in grants have improved the technology of Douglas County elementary schools and a $472,000 grant was given to the Carson City School District to improve the school technology.  In total $1,854,000 has been distributed to public and parochial schools during the last ten years. Scholarship funds support male and female athletes from Douglas High School and help children attend parochial school in Carson City. Foundation fundholders direct grants from donor advised funds to local organizations they are passionate about. The Young at Heart Senior Center benefits from such regular gifts. The Nature Conservancy and the Community Foundation have worked together with local families to help preserve Jobs Peak, Sheep Flat and the Muller Ranch area as well as build the Whit Hall Interpretive Center at River Fork Ranch. Chris Askin, President and CEO said, “As the Community Foundation grows in number of funds and influence, we expect to add Board members from Carson Valley in the near future and to increase the amount of support for the communities and people in the area.”   ### Connecting people who care with causes that matter. The Community Foundation of Western Nevada is a public charitable 501(c)3 corporation established in 1998 to strengthen the communities of our region by encouraging philanthropy. The Community Foundation has distributed over $65 million in grants and scholarships from over 200 charitable funds in and beyond Nevada. Learn more at www.nevadafund.org