Huron County Community Foundation 2022 Annual Report

History of Huron County Community Foundation Huron County Community Foundation (HCCF) was founded in 1997 when local Judge Tom Heydinger and attorneys Fred Waugh and Robert Wiedemann sought the expertise of Dr. Malcolm Peel to help Huron County start a community foundation of its own. Initially operating as an affiliate fund of Community Foundation of Lorain County (CFLC) for 25 years, HCCF helped mobilize individuals to become active partners in building a better community through more than $1.7 million in grants and scholarships. From the beginning, the intent was to eventually establish HCCF as its own nonprofit entity—a goal achieved in 2021 after growing to $7 million in assets and receiving its 501(c)(3) status. In light of its separation from CFLC, HCCF entered into an administrative support consulting agreement with Erie County Community Foundation to help strengthen its new entity even further. Beth Maiden, Erie County Community Foundation’s executive director, expressed her enthusiasm over being able to help HCCF continue to grow, emphasizing the critical role foundations serve. “COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS CAN ACT AS CATALYSTS FOR POS ITIVE CHANGE AND SERVE AS THE AREA’ S PERMANENT RESOURCE FOR PHI LANTHROPY, BENEF ITING NOT ONLY NONPROF ITS WHO SEEK OUT GRANTS BUT ALSO DONORS WHO WI SH TO LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY OF GIVING.” This past year has shown that the newly independent HCCF is off to a great start. In 2022, the Foundation awarded $75,631 during its first grants cycle to address the community’s greatest needs and fund projects that will help Huron County thrive.