b'NEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTDear Friends of the Erie County Community Foundation, How many times have we used the word unprecedented in the past year? 2020 brought RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- about challenges and circumstances to work and to life that none of us, perhaps with the NEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTexception of those who work in public health, could have imagined. This annual report,reflecting on 2020 and the Foundations 25th Anniversary, captures just a few of the stories RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- that emerged from our response to the Covid-19 pandemic and from our more thoughtful work NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTthat came as an outcome of a Community Needs Assessment conducted in 2019.Personally, I write with immense pride in all that we, staff and our board members, accomplished RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRE- last year in spite of work shutdowns, the inability to meet in-person, and all of the challenges NEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTthat tested our creativity and our patience, never missing a deadline and keeping the work of the Foundation moving forward. We quickly created an Emergency Response Fund to help RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- support our nonprofits, especially with food resources. We adapted to new software that took NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTour Grant and Scholarship applications and evaluations online. We supported our friends at the Sandusky State Theatre by holding and managing contributions for them so that they could RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RE- direct their attention on rebuilding. We began having more thoughtful conversations aboutNEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECT our reach and our role in building a more equitable community. In addition, we: RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-Distributed a total of $912,115 with $117,122 going to support studentNEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTscholarships for higher education.RESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRE-Distributed grants to nonprofit organizations and community projects totaling $449,330.NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECT Created twelve new Funds within the Foundation.RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-Received gifts and bequests totaling $3,695,860.NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- We are immensely grateful for the community and foundation contributions to our Emergency Response Fund, for the partnerships created to help meet the extreme challenges that arose, NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTand for our network of colleagues in philanthropy here in Erie County, Ohio, and the United RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- States. We learned that we can be more flexible during a disaster, that Zoom meetings really arent all that terrible, and that having the ability and privilege to gather in person once again NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECT will never be taken for granted.RESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- Like you, we look forward to concerts and gatherings, and, with vaccines becoming more readily available to all, there is much reason to hope. This generous community also gives us NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECThope for a brighter future, and with much renewed optimism, we will continue to make this a RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- better community for all. We thank each and every person who has grown the Erie County Community Foundation to over $30 million in twenty-six years.NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECT Sincerely,RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE- Elizabeth P. Maiden NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTExecutive DirectorRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-NEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPOND RENEW REFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECT 1RESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRE-NEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECTRESPONDRENEWREFLECT'