The Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation awarded a rapid response grant of $10,000 to Salem WEST Friday after an arson fire destroyed the organization's building and donations.
The grant is intended to help with restoration and recovery of services that the organization provided to area residents before the fire. Salem WEST was started by the Salem Lutheran Church in Deerwood and provided household goods and clothing to area families in need.
"The services that this nonprofit provided to our communities and its citizens are vital," stated Karl Samp, executive director of the community foundation, in a news release. "This was a crisis for our community and our board knew we needed to step in and help."
The Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, in affiliation with CommunityGiving, is a public charity that attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1998, the community foundation has grown to more than $8.7 million in assets and awarded more than $4.1 million in grants to local nonprofits.
CommunityGiving is a collaboration of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of donors. The core foundations working with CommunityGiving include the Alexandria Area Community Foundation, the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Willmar Area Community Foundation. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers more than 650 funds totaling more than $123 million. Visit www.communitygiving.org/brainerd to learn more.
