Join Us For ECCF's 25th Anniversary Celebration!

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Eau Claire Community Foundation

ECCF grants have supported Eau Claire’s nonprofits for almost 25 years. As ECCF enters its next quarter century, it will involve the community in philanthropy by launching a new crowdfunding platform called the Grant Catalog. Not only will local nonprofits be able to raise funds through direct public donations, but their participation in the Grant Catalog will make them eligible for bonus grants that, by the end of the year, will add up to $100,000!
 
The Grant Catalog will go live four times over the next year, once for each of our four giving categories (Create Culture, Form Futures, Give Green, and Offer Opportunities.) See the Grant Catalog Timeline at the bottom of the page for more information.

The second round of grant requests will support the Form Futures giving category. We hope you'll join us to support local education and training opportunities!

Browse the Grant Catalog


Create Culture was the first Grant Catalog; seventeen nonprofit applicants together raised almost $60,000!!! The top fundraisers were:

Eau Claire Children's Theatre: $10,000 bonus grant

L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library: $7000 bonus grant

Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra: $5000 bonus grant

The following organizations received $1000 bonus grants:

Chippewa Valley Railroad Foundation

Eau Claire Municipal Band

Stand in the Light Memory Choir

Are you a staff member, volunteer, or supporter of a nonprofit? Read our nonprofit toolkit for valuable fundraising information.

Nonprofit Toolkit

 

Click here for a free downloadable version of the Nonprofit Toolkit.

Legacy Packet


Read our Legacy Packet to learn how to support the nonprofits you love by joining the Legacy Society. 

Click here for a free downloadable PDF of the Legacy Packet.

Watch ECCF's Annual Meeting

If you couldn't make it to the Annual Meeting, which featured a press conference about the launch of our 25th Anniversary celebration, you can still be part of the magic! Click the link above to view the recording. (Note: The link will ask you to enter your name before you view the video. This is just to help us track the number of viewers and doesn't confer any obligations on you.)

  • Grant Catalog Timeline

    Grant Catalog timeline:

    2021

    Create Culture

    June 4                  Grant Applications open
    June 28                Grant Applications close
    July 6                    Grant Catalog opens
    July 28                  Grant Catalog closes
    Aug 10                  Press Conference and awarding of bonus grants

    Form Futures

    Sept 3                  Grant Applications open
    Sep 27                  Grant Applications close
    Oct 4                    Grant Catalog opens
    Oct 27                  Grant Catalog closes
    Nov 16                 Press Conference and awarding of bonus grants
     2022

    Give Green

    Jan 10                  Grant Applications open
    Jan 31                   Grant Applications close
    Feb 7                    Grant Catalog opens
    March 2               Grant Catalog closes
    March 17             Press Conference and awarding of bonus grants

     Offer Opportunities

    March 14            Grant Applications open
    April 4                   Grant Applications close
    April 11                 Grant Catalog opens
    May 4                   Grant Catalog closes
    May 18                 Press conference and awarding of bonus grants

    All Categories

    June 20                ECCF’s 25th anniversary celebration

  • ECCF History

    Eau Claire is a wonderful community—due in large part to the hard work of many diverse nonprofits.

    For years, the Hobbs Foundation provided a reliable source of financial support for these organizations. Then, in 1995, it distributed its final grant, leaving the nonprofits scrambling to fill the funding void. Leaders in the Eau Claire community saw the need for an organization that would work through other nonprofits without competing with them for funding. Catalyzed by an offer from a local couple—who offered a generous gift if a community foundation were created to serve the Eau Claire area—they formed a Board of Trustees.

    The Board met in January 1997 and established the ambitious goal of recruiting 25 donors to join the foundation’s Society of Founders. They were encouraged to make unrestricted commitments of $10,000 or more without decreasing their previous philanthropic commitments.

    It seemed like a lot to ask, but the people of Eau Claire didn’t just meet the goal—they exceeded it.

    Over $1 million was contributed by 64 generous donors to make the Eau Claire Community Foundation a reality.

    Thanks to the vision and generosity of the Society of Founders, local nonprofits can get the financial support they need to keep our community strong.

  • ECCF Board of Trustees and Legacy Society Members

    ECCF Board of Trustees:

    Legacy Society Members: