central minnesota community foundation

Eight area arts programs will benefit from $30,000 in funding from the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.

The Central Minnesota Community Foundation has received it's largest donation in it's history. Alice Cox, who died in December, has given the Community Foundation's affiliate -- the Willmar Area Community Foundation -- her entire estate of over $6 million.

Charitable donations to The Central Minnesota Community Foundation jumped 76% last year. In a report released today (Monday), they say they received $8.8 million in donations in the fiscal year that ended on June 30th.

Need continues to grow, and the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Norman C. Skalicky Foundation have joined forces to raise funds for area food shelves.

Minnesota is natioanlly known for being a charitable state, but tough economic times have limited how much people can give to non profits. A new report released last week by the Minnesota Council on Foundations says individual, foundation and corporate donations to non profits dropped by nearly ten percent in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

The Central Minnesota Community Foundation of St. Cloud reports that donation totals are beginning to approach pre-recession levels. The foundation received $6.7 million in gifts from July 1st through December 31, 2010. That's more than double the total during that same period in 2009.