Kevin Dvorak, North Dakota Community Foundation president and CEO, makes a brief presentation at the Celebration Social last week at Dakota Farms in Rugby.

The North Dakota Community Foundation (NDCF) is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of Celebration Socials across the state, including an event that was held last Wednesday at the Dakota Farms Restaurant in Rugby. The events are sponsored by the organization’s investment advisors and are meant to be a thank you to local volunteers and donors. NDCF now manages approximately $70 million in charitable resources in over 600 individual funds for communities, charities and citizens across North Dakota.

“Our mission is to improve the quality of life for North Dakota’s citizens through charitable giving and promoting philanthropy,” said Kevin Dvorak, President and CEO of NDCF since 1995. “We accomplish that mission primarily through the management of charitable endowment funds on behalf of communities and charities all across the state of North Dakota.”

Since its inception, NDCF has awarded over 26,500 grants totaling more than $62 million for projects and programs all across the state.

State-wide organization, local funds

One of the funds that NDCF manages is the Rugby Community Endowment Fund, which was established at NDCF in 1981. The Rugby Community Endowment Fund has approximately $440,000 in assets and has made over 160 grants over the years.

Local residents serve on the Rugby Community Endowment Fund Advisory Committee and lead fundraising efforts and determine grant awards every year. Some committee members attended the event on Wednesday night, including Galen Mack, Dale Niewoehner and Kyle Nelson.

Representatives from other community funds in the area also attended the event, including members of the Anamoose Area Community Foundation and the Rolla Community Endowment Fund.

Dvorak showed a video that told the story of the North Dakota Community Foundation and recognized those local volunteers that were in the audience. Also attending the event were area residents who have served or are currently serving on the NDCF Board of Directors, including David White Thunder Trottier from Rugby and Georgia “Gigi” Artz from Bottineau.

For more information about NDCF and its programs, visit www.NDCF.net.