Community Foundation of Grundy County

Community Foundation of Grundy County

The Community Foundation of Grundy County launched in 1999 as the Morris Community Foundation with a grant from the estate of George H. Baum. Original Board President Jim Baum led the early effort to create a vehicle for local philanthropy in Grundy County, Illinois. The foundation's core work channels donor-advised funds and estate gifts into grants for nonprofits serving the county's communities. Grantmaking addresses health, education, and basic needs across Grundy County. The foundation also stewards a portfolio of real assets, including the Coleman Hardware Building in Morris, a farm property known as the Peg Davis Farm in Seneca, and the South Grundy Resource Center in Gardner. These properties generate programmatic space and, in some cases, revenue. The foundation's endowment assets support its long-term grantmaking capacity, though the foundation does not publicly report its total assets under management. Julianne Buck serves as Executive Director and holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation. She also serves on the Illinois Attorney General's Charitable Advisory Council. The foundation participates in the Council on Foundations and meets National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. In May 2023, the foundation convened donors through its 100+ Women Who Care of Grundy County program and continued its annual scholarship selection process for local high school seniors. The foundation operates as a geographically focused community foundation rather than a private family office, pulling its capital from multiple local donors rather than a single family. Its hybrid model — grantmaker, landlord of community properties, and donor-convening platform — differentiates it from a donor-advised fund sponsor like Fidelity Charitable. The regulatory posture of a public charity, subject to Illinois Attorney General oversight, imposes transparency requirements that a private foundation would not face.