United Way staff members accepted the grant checks en masse. From left are Josh Kilgas, Peter Feldkamp, the Foundation’s Shelly Leadley, Sarah Wright, Tony Gonzalez, Andrew Konkel, Mary Wisnet, the Foundation’s Kathy Rechner, Lisa Smith and Rhonda Hannemann.

Usually it’s the mail carrier that brings Community Foundation grant checks to nonprofit organizations, but this Friday we decided to celebrate a great year of giving by sending out our elves to deliver grant checks in person.

The Tri-County Dental Clinic, Salvation Army of the Fox Valley, United Way Fox Cities and LEAVEN all were visited by the Community Foundation’s elfen helpers.

After a record year of grantmaking in our fiscal year that ended June 30, the 2017 calendar year ended with a bang. In the past four weeks, 799 grants were awarded from donors’ charitable funds totaling $4.6 million.

Here are some of the happy recipients.

Julie Larsen, Director of Children’s Programming at the Salvation Army, accepts $10,000 in grants.

Robb Waugus of the Salvation Army with our elves, Carolyn Desrosiers and Betty Van Den Broek.

Executive Director Jeff Buchta at the Tri-County Dental Clinic with staff members Rachel Kuehn (left) and Erin Choudoir.

LEAVEN’s Liz Schneider and the Foundation’s Shelly Leadley.

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