From the front lines at the community foundation
By
March 9, 2017
When I say I work at the Richland County Foundation, most of my friends and family don’t understand what I do. The most common response I get is, “Oh you write a lot of grants.” Well, not really. I wasn’t even quite sure what I was getting myself into when I accepted the job as Administrative Assistant last summer.
In order to understand what it is like to work for a community foundation you first have to think about why someone would be motivated to start a foundation in the first place. The predominant reason is a desire to give back to a community that you care about. A person might want to support issues that they feel passionate about or pass on their tradition of giving to future generations, and they also probably have a general desire to unite their community with a shared sense of purpose.
So what is it like to work at a community foundation? On a daily basis, the tasks I undertake vary tremendously. Whether it’s drafting minutes from a board meeting, responding to an inquiry, creating grant files, setting up for an event, entering data into accounts payable and receivable...or take a photograph for our newsletter... I am very busy.
In the end, I think what makes my experience at the foundation truly special is the passion, interests, and personalities of our donors, board members, and staff. Sometimes our donor interests center on a set of family values that has been passed down from generation to generation, values that may have also evolved over time or sensing a need in our community. What they all have in common is a heart for all those in this community.
