MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission will donate $300,000 towards the Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia’s $1 Million Match Campaign.
The donation, will establish the Monongalia County IMPACT Fund, which will be used to help fund various scholarships and programs that would directly benefit county residents. With the donation, Mon County Commission becomes the first county commission to directly donate towards the campaign.
YCF President Patty Showers-Ryan said the commission is first to step up.
“Not only that, but at $300,000,” she said.
The Monongalia County IMPACT Fund, will operate much like other IMPACT Funds operated by YCF. The unrestricted endowment fund, will use funds donated by a particular group to invest with the help of a full-time staff of investors which would then use the funds for needs directed as part of the donation.
“It will be unrestricted, so it will allow them to fund opportunities that don’t come up through their normal funding process,” Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora said. ” So, it allows then to be more nimble and address real-time issues.”
The donation will allow for a separate $300,000 match to be directed towards the YCF IMPACT Fund, which directly benefits five North Central West Virginia counties. Much like the Monongalia County IMPACT Fund, YCF’s separate IMPACT Fund will invest donated funds that can then be used for residents in Preston, Marion and other counties neighboring or are nearby Monongalia County.
“This is a great benefit to our citizens,” Sikora said. “We can take dollars and double those dollars and have those dollars help our citizens and our regional citizens.”
The total amount donated is now $640,000. The $1 Million Match Campaign, started by an anonymous donor, will continue until Dec. 31, 2022, or until the $1 million goal is met. With the commission’s donation, the hope is that their decision will encouraged other donars and fellow county commissions to follow suit.
“We wanted to step up and challenge the other county commissions and municipalities to also step up and take advantage of this great opportunity,” Sikora said.
Your Community Foundation serves Monongalia, Harrison, Marion, Preston, and Taylor counties.