The people of Brown County are known for their generosity and the county has a large number of nonprofits that offer important services to our community.

In September, the Brown County Community Foundation performed a survey of the potential training needs of our county’s nonprofits. Findings clearly indicated that leaders, managers and staff have a real interest in building their capacity.

Representatives from nonprofits around the county expressed a desire for board and volunteer development, fundraising and communications support. With this feedback in mind, BCCF began to build plans for a nonprofit resource center (NRC) program to be launched in 2022, designed to enrich the skills of local nonprofits.

The first of these offerings will be a reception on Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Seasons Lodge Conference Center to thank all our local nonprofits who serve the community and those volunteers who participated in our survey. We will be sharing a summary of the survey results and a tentative calendar for training and professional development opportunities in 2022.

Participants will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on future events. All our community nonprofit volunteers, directors and board members are encouraged to attend. There will be heavy appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks, graciously donated by Rafters at the Seasons Lodge

BCCF CEO Maddison Miller says she does not know the exact number of nonprofits who might be interested in the NRC.

“I can tell you that Brown County has many exceptional nonprofits that will receive important support from this initiative. The staff and volunteers of BCCF will benefit as well. Our county has a very active philanthropic population and BCCF believes this program will only increase that engagement,” she said.

BCCF believes in and advocates for a strong nonprofit sector.

“Nonprofits are essential to the vitality of Brown County,” Miller said. “We want this program to nurture the sector so it can do the important and challenging work of creating a social safety net, promoting civic engagement, protecting the environment and enriching us through arts, education and culture.”

The Brown County Community Foundation has the best interests of the community at heart, distributing over $1 million per year in grants and scholarships to the Brown County community.

By supporting charitable organizations in broad areas of community need – education, social services, housing, health care, arts and humanities, and the environment – we help build a stronger, healthier Brown County. Learn more by visiting browncountygives.org.

Sean Hildreth is the marketing, communications and outreach officer for the Brown County Community Foundation Inc. He can be reached at 812-988-4882 or [email protected].