Endeavor Foundation awarded $170,000 Convergence grant

Endeavor Foundation has announced it was awarded a $170,000 grant from the Convergence Partnership to support EnergizeNWA – a new initiative focused on increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity for Northwest Arkansans.

Endeavor Foundation is one of only 13 community foundations in the United States to receive a 2012 Innovation Fund grant, which recognizes innovative and leading philanthropic institutions poised to catalyze community-wide improvement in health and equity.

“As a community foundation dedicated to ensuring a vibrant future for Northwest Arkansas and our residents, we’re excited to apply this grant toward the creation of programs and infrastructure that support a healthy, more active lifestyle,” said Anita Scism, President and CEO of Endeavor Foundation.

The Convergence Partnership is a collaboration of eight of the nation’s leading funders and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Convergence Innovation Fund, which is the partnership initiative that awarded the grant, honors new or expanding local and regional innovative initiatives that help ensure all people can live, work, and play in healthy communities. Grants totaled $1.85 million, with a required foundation match of $2 for every $1 awarded.

At a public EnergizeNWA kick-off event on Thursday, more than 160 community leaders will provide input and guidance to shape how the community-led initiative will pursue regional improvements that promote healthy eating and active living. The day’s speakers will include: Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Joe Thompson, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation advisor Tracy Fox; and Dr. John Agwunobi, Senior Vice President and President of Health and Wellness with Walmart.

Endeavor is a community foundation that seeks to improve quality of life in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties in Arkansas. As a public charity with more than 80 separate funds totaling more than $160 million in assets, the foundation provides flexible, tax-efficient ways for donors to invest in meaningful philanthropy throughout Northwest Arkansas. Since 1999, Endeavor Foundation and its donors have made more than 3,000 grants totaling $63 million.