When the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley held a ribbon-cutting Thursday afternoon, the event in Aurora was more than a celebration of the 77-year-old nonprofit’s first stand-alone office.

Yes, the 4,000-square-foot space at 1971 W. Downer Place gives this community foundation far more room than the approximately 1,200-square-foot spot the group occupied for nearly four decades on the third floor of Old Second Bank.

The board can now hold its meetings on site in a large open room, as can the scholarship committee and the high school students who are part of its Youth Engagement Philanthropy program that had previously gathered at Prisco Community Center to learn all about fundraising, grant-making and how to make a difference in their communities.

More space also means this can be a collaboration hub for donors, partners and stakeholders. It can provide more opportunities for training seminars, for internships and temporary staff and allows for the option of opening this expanded area up to the community for small events, said Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley President and CEO Julie Christman.

It’s also a more visitor-friendly environment in terms of parking and accessibility than the third-floor space they had outgrown, she pointed out. Which all make for great reasons to celebrate. But what the new address for the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley also represents is a significantly larger footprint the foundation is making in our communities.

Just as need has grown, there are more generous people throughout the Fox Valley coming to this nonprofit with one main purpose in mind: Help others have a better life.

Like Hans and Ruthie Lehmann, who lost their 15-year-old daughter Kayla in 2018, and have since raised over $300,000 for suicide prevention and awareness programs, all administered through the foundation.

Or the family of Jean and Richard Cibulskis, who have a scholarship endowment fund because their parents valued love and education so highly.

Every donor seems to have a remarkable story, which Christman and her staff are honored to hear and to share.

“We see so much good in the community,” she told me before the Thursday event. “There will be people who come in here who received a scholarship 20 years ago and now want to give back. People care so much about others.”

The foundation also works with other nonprofits making huge impacts in the lives of others. For example, CASA Kane County has partnered with the community foundation for nearly 30 years, but in 2012 that relationship hit another milestone when the group began managing CASA’s endowment fund.

Currently, there are over 700 funds – big and not as big – distributed through the foundation, which is up significantly from the 660 reported a couple years ago at its 75th anniversary. That’s a far cry from the handful of $150 scholarships handed out after 1948, when Beacon-News Publisher Charles Hoefer gathered a group of local leaders together to start the organization.

Since then, the foundation has awarded more than $100 million in grants and scholarships, Christman said, noting this past year alone more than $2.1 million in new grant programs were launched through the efforts of state Reps. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, and Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, with the state of Illinois, as well as a partnership with Microsoft; and over $3 million was awarded through the scholarship program, which “has been at the heart of our mission from the beginning.”

But those dollars “represent more than just financial support,” Christman told the 70-some guests, which included Aurora Mayor John Laesch and several aldermen, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser, state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and Hernandez.

“They stand for opportunity, impact and a deep lasting commitment to improving lives across our region,” Christman said.

What is so special about this local foundation is that it allows those who are not Bill Gates or Warren Buffett to be philanthropists by combining their own efforts with other groups that can make a bigger impact. So it’s no surprise Christman and her staff were more than ready to show off their new digs and this new chapter in their compelling history.

“We do want to continue to grow,” the CEO insisted. “More donors mean more funds, more relationships and more opportunities to engage with the community.

“We are always stronger together.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com