Affiliate celebrates 20 years

CONWAY — The Faulkner County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation, has announced that 2021 marks its 20th anniversary of service and philanthropy in Faulkner County. Formed in 2001, longtime Conway resident Jerry Adams led the effort in response to the Partners Program funding by the Walton Family Foundation.

In its first year of operation, the affiliate had $70,000 in assets and three charitable funds and awarded $10,000 in grants to Faulkner County nonprofits. Today, the foundation has more than $10 million in assets and 74 charitable funds and has awarded over $5.25 million in grants. The first grants made by the affiliate were awarded to Conway Cradle Care, Excel Upward, the Faulkner County Library and Making Kids Count.

Faulkner County was one of eight affiliate offices established that same year by the Arkansas Community Foundation and a member of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s PARTNERS program (Providing Assistance and Resources to Newly Emerging Regional Sectors). This new program provided matching funds for operations, grantmaking and capacity building for the foundation’s affiliate network over five years.

The founding board members of the affiliate were Jerry Adams, Johnny Adams, Jim Beal, Gena Ester, Sharon Freyaldenhoven, Joe Hatcher, John Hawks, William Hegeman, Mike Hengel, Adair Howell, Linda Linn, Billy Mitchell, Bob Nabholz, Stanley Russ, Katherine Satterfield, Peggy Schneider and Jerry Whitmore. Shelley Mehl was the first executive director and returned as executive director in 2018.