POINT PLEASANT — The Mason County Community Foundation recently received a national award.

“We would like to extend our appreciation to the citizens of Mason County who support Our Community’s Foundation. This national award is a tribute to them. Everything that the Mason County Community Foundation (JCCF) does is a direct result from the people who support our efforts with community donations and volunteer services. Receiving a national award is a great way to recognize the community’s wonderful generosity,” MCCF Board Chairperson Suzanne Dickens said.

Through its association as an affiliate of Our Community’s Foundation, the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, and regional affiliates of Doddridge, Jackson, Mason and Ritchie Counties and the Little Kanawha Area, the Mason County Community Foundation recently received a 2009 “Effies Award” for Community Leadership. PACF and the Regional Affiliates represent six distinct organizations through which “local people help local people.” The Foundation’s full service region covers ten West Virginia counties and one in Ohio in which it works with local citizens to build community capacity to meet essential needs and develop permanent community grant making funds.

Effies™ are national awards for effective philanthropic practice and are a project of the Effective Communities LLC featured on its www.justphilanthropy.org Web site funded by the Ford Foundation. “Until philanthropic organizations address the structural inequities that contribute significantly to human suffering, their own effectiveness will be limited,” said Steven E. Mayer, Effective Communities Director. “This year’s Effies competition showcases excellent uses of philanthropy to create progress in reducing social, economic, or racial disparities.” Winners earned points for well their work showcased six different “pathways to progress.” Reviewers sought evidence of philanthropy that: strengthens a philanthropic organization’s ability to address issues of equity and justice; creates constructive conversations to develop momentum; advances promising gap-closing ideas and solutions; strengthens relationships, networks, and leadership necessary to move promising solutions along; actually increases resources — financial, human, technical, and then allocates them to reduce disparities; and decreases gaps or disparities by artfully combining several pathways — preparation, discussion, solutions, leadership, and resources.

Eight national Effies™ Awards were presented. There are three for Social Justice Philanthropy (Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Humboldt Area Foundation); two for Community Advocacy (Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, Brett Family Foundation); and three for Community Leadership that “effectively leads communities in implementing initiatives which address a pressing community opportunity or problem.”

In addition to PACF and the Regional Affiliates, Norfolk Foundation and Headwaters Fund (a collaboration of MN foundations) were recognized for Community Leadership. According to Effective Communities’ press release, PACF and the Regional Affiliates were commended for “building civic capacity and philanthropy in a smaller, rural, dispersed, economically distressed, and too often forgotten part of the country; working to transform its organizational character into one that more fully embraces the broad spectrum of those it serves; substantially increasing the Foundation’s grant funds that can be used to combat persistent poverty; fostering stronger access to education and employment opportunities; and for creating rural networks that stimulate voluntarism, engagement, and resource development.”

“Our Board is thrilled to receive this national recognition — we want to say ‘well done’ to our whole region and great job, Mason County! During 2009, MCCF worked with area nonprofits, businesses and individuals to create a new Mason County Fund for Youth to address the growing needs of our youth population with annual grant support and provided $12,000 in community grants and multiple scholarships,” Foundation Regional Affiliates Manager Jane Winters said.

Foundation Executive Director, Judy Sjostedt agreed with Winters.

“Building endowed community philanthropy is critical to creating opportunities at the local level. West Virginia is one of the most philanthropically undercapitalized states in the nation, making it difficult for our communities to obtain the local matching funds needed to leverage resources from government or other funders,” Sjostedt said.

“Growing philanthropy is essential to improving our self-sufficiency. Supporting Our Community’s Foundation builds resources needed for our communities to become more socially, culturally and economically vibrant and self-reliant places. PACF’s affiliate structure maintains the integrity of county identity and the “Our Community’s Foundation” tag line respects the value for “place” at the heart of our hometowns. At the same time, our regional structure acknowledges the practical reality of crafting enough scale to properly run a permanent charitable institution effectively and economically and to attract national partners. Through our combined enterprise, we serve as the Mid-Ohio Valley’s center for philanthropy and develop a much more powerful, sustainable engine for the region’s benefit.”

Sjostedt added, “The Foundation links generations of caring citizens in Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Roane, Ritchie, Pleasants, Wirt and Wood Counties in West Virginia and Washington County, Ohio. About 1,900 persons supported us last year. Our progress is a direct credit to those generous individuals, families and businesses. Their help allows us to deliver more than four times in grants than we did ten years ago. This Effie Award belongs to the supporters of Our Community’s Foundation – they’re the ones building the region’s civic and financial resources. We applaud their generosity and urge others to consider giving ‘for good, for ever.’”

The Mason County Community Foundation encourages inquiries. To learn more about MCCF, visit our Web site at www.pacfwv.com, contact Foundation staff at 304.372.8588 or write to MCCF at P.O. Box 66, Point Pleasant, WV 25550.