Officials from Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) and the Los Alamos Community Foundation (LACF) met recently at Family Strengths Network (FSN) to celebrate a successful matching grant collaboration in creating a new endowment fund to provide permanent support for the local nonprofit.
This is the second year such a celebration took place. Last year, the Los Alamos Family Council was the recipient of a N3B matching grant that helped grow its endowment at LACF. “To encourage nonprofits to focus on long-term sustainability through endowment funding, we approached N3B last year with a proposal to match funds raised by local organizations,” said Steve Laurent, LACF Executive Director. “N3B stepped up with a $10,000 grant that is being passed through as matching funds to organizations establishing or growing an endowment fund at LACF.”
FSN saw the N3B grant as a great opportunity to establish an endowment fund. Carie Fanning, FSN Executive Director, started working with LACF when an investment plan was adopted by the organization’s board of directors. “We know we’re an important community resource, and we want to be here for the long term,” said Fanning. “So, when LACF approached us with the N3B grant opportunity we thought, let’s give this a try, it’s perfect timing with our long-term sustainability planning.”
Fanning and her team put out a call to raise $1,500 from supporters to match up to $1,500 available in N3B grant funds. In a few short weeks, more than $5,000 has been raised for the FSN endowment. “I am floored,” Fanning said. “The support has been amazing.”
“Community commitment has always been foundational to N3B and our parent companies Huntington Ingalls Industries and BWX Technologies,” said Juan Griego, Acting Chief Financial Officer for N3B. “We’re honored to be a part of supporting the regional nonprofit community. Family Strengths Network does an excellent job supporting families in Los Alamos. We are happy to partner with LACF to help nonprofits achieve long-term sustainability.” Laurent added that LACF is working with other nonprofit organizations in Los Alamos to take advantage of the generosity of N3B’s matching grant.
“This is a wonderful investment by N3B in the long-term success of organizations at the heart of our community, he said. “We don’t expect our nonprofits and their volunteer boards to have the expertise needed to manage the investment of long-term endowment funds. The Community Foundation is here to take on that role so our nonprofits can focus on the important work of serving the community. We’re so grateful to have N3B as a partner in our efforts,” he added.
About the Los Alamos Community Foundation: Established in 2015, the mission of the Los Alamos Community Foundation is to build enduring philanthropy to empower our community’s nonprofit organizations. LACF stewards fifteen permanent endowment funds and supports local nonprofits through training, initiatives and grantmaking. For more information about the Los Alamos Community Foundation, visit www.losalamoscf.org.