When the government shut-down hit close to home, The Cape Cod Foundation stepped up, awarding a total of $35,000 in grants to nonprofits serving local families in need.
While the TGC Fund awarded $15,000 to the Cape Cod Military Support Foundation, The Falmouth Fund gave an unprecedented, one-time grant for $10,000 to the Falmouth Service Center to counter the new demand in its community. The Foundation also awarded a $10,000 Community Impact Grant to the Family Pantry of Harwich to increase resources to households across the Cape.
The Golf Club (TGC) at Sacconnesset established its donor-advised fund with the Foundation in 2010 to provide critical assistance to Cape-area veterans and active military families on an annual basis.
Its grant recipient, The Cape Cod Military Support Foundation Inc., provides food, services and emergency support to the 3,000 military service members of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army and U.S. Army National Guard and their families who are assigned to the Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) and U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England in Woods Hole. It also provides support to local veterans in conjunction with other services.
“When we heard food distribution at the Falmouth Service Center’s pantry and mobile markets had accelerated immediately after the shut-down, we had to respond,” said Sharon Nunes, Advisory Committee Chair of The Falmouth Fund. “We learned that from January 1 to February 5, 2019, the Center provided more than $50,000 in financial assistance to households in need. Last year at this time, aid was around $13,900.”
The Family Pantry of Cape Cod in Harwich is the largest pantry on Cape Cod and is available to anyone in need from any Cape town. It also supports a satellite pantry on the Cape Cod Community College campus.
“The Family Pantry is a strong organization with a wide reach,” said Kristin O’Malley, President and CEO of The Cape Cod Foundation. “Every year, they serve over 9,000 clients and distribute over 72,000 bags of groceries, so we knew, with added resources, they could meet an increased demand quickly and efficiently.”
“While all these grants were in response to the Government Shutdown, we see this generosity and support at the Foundation on a daily basis,” O’Malley added. “This is exactly what a community foundation is supposed to do: provide for the current needs of the community-- including the unexpected--and ensure there are resources for the future.