Community Foundation, United Way, partner with Volusia County Women Who Care

Ormond Beach Observer
Your Town

The Community Foundation and United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties are excited to announce a partnership with the Volusia County Women Who Care to establish a donor-advised fund.

Teresa Smith founded Volusia County Women Who Care in 2017 to create a community where women come together to impact the lives of those in need by streamlining fundraising for local charities. Each quarter VCWWC invites three nonprofits to present their organization’s mission and the membership selects one recipient of the evening’s donations.

“The VCWWC Community Partner Impact Grants aim to further our mission of positively impacting Volusia County by supporting the nonprofit community. This fund will help amplify the collective impact of our membership — and provide more support in our community," Smith said.

Thanks to the establishment of the new fund, all organizations that present at the quarterly meetings will now receive a grant. The Volusia County Women Who Care Community Impact Fund will provide mini-grants to both organizations not selected for the major award.

“We are thrilled to be working with Volusia County Women Who Care because this partnership exemplifies the power of women in philanthropy and the opportunity to leverage multiple partners for more impactful grant-making,” said Courtney Edgcomb, president and CEO of the Community Foundation and United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties.

Another Community Foundation advisor, Cydney Reagan, decided to partake in the impact by matching the $1,000 donation from her donor advised fund. Reagan, a local real estate broker and philanthropist, uses her Donor Advised Fund to support Volusia County and the surrounding areas and currently has her own nonprofit called Community For A Cause, specializing in helping locals in emergency situations.

“When I realized that the mini-grants were coming directly from the new fund, I immediately looked at my philanthropic advisor, Tiffany Joubert, for confirmation that I could match the mini-grant from my own DAF — the Reagan Family Fund," Reagan said. "This is the whole purpose of the community coming together, right? So, we can support one another and make a difference.”