CommunityCare Gives Next Round

The first round of CommunityCare Foundation Inc. grants for 2001 was issued May 22. They totaled $1.86 million and were distributed to 21 agencies in Benton and Washington counties.

It was the first of two rounds of funding expected to total $5 million this year.

The largest grant was a $700,000 award to the Jones Center for Families in Springdale, which will be used for general operating support to educational and recreational services. That beat the foundation’s largest gift from 2000, which also went to the Jones Center, by $200,000.

Last year, the nonprofit foundation gave 101 grants totaling $4.6 million in its first year of awarding grants.

CommunityCare is a product of the November 1998 sale of Northwest Health Systems Inc. of Springdale to Quorum Health Group Inc. of Nashville, Tenn. Northwest Health changed owners again Oct. 19, when Quorum was bought by publicly traded Triad Health Partners Inc. of Dallas for $2.4 billion. But the resale had no effect on the independent local foundation.

Established to benefit northwest Arkansas, CommunityCare entered its first year with a war chest of $140 million from the 1998 sale. That money was invested with the Northwest Bank of Minneapolis and has since grown to more than $150 million.

Walter Turnbow, the foundation’s chairman, said CommunityCare follows up with all of the recipients to make sure grant money is used appropriately. The next deadline for grant applications is Aug. 31; guidelines may be viewed at www.ccfound.org.

Round One Recipients

Here’s a breakdown of the top five awards from CommunityCare Foundation Inc.’s first round of 2001 funding. The foundation awards gifts to local agencies based on a variety of criteria in an effort to “enrich the quality of life” in northwest Arkansas:

CommunityCare Foundation Inc.’s First Round of 2001 Funding Awards

Amountt— Recipient and purpose

t$700,000 —?Jones Center for FamiliestEducation and recreational services

t150,000 —tCommunity Clinic, St. Francis HousetGeneral operating, health care services

t105,000 —tArts Center of the OzarkstProgram expansion, three new staffers

t100,000 —tBenton County Health UnittComplete expansion and renovation

t100,000t—?Circle of Life Hospice, Comfort CtrtPurchase a home for palliative care clinic.