Emergency Assistance
Joining Hands to Lend a Hand
In the first quarter of 2009, the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund was established at the Fox Valley United Way in response to the unprecedented need for emergency food and shelter in the Aurora area during the recent economic downturn.
The Emergency Assistance Fund was seeded with a $50,000 outright gift from the Dunham Fund with a commitment to match dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 of all funds raised by United Way to provide emergency assistance. United Way successfully matched the Dunham challenge. In early July, recognizing the greater extent of the economic crisis, the Dunham Fund further enhanced the Emergency Assistance Fund with an additional $100,000 grant, bringing the fund’s total to $350,000 to be distributed to nonprofits providing direct food and shelter services.
Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund
administered by Fox Valley United Way
In the first quarter of 2009, the Dunham Fund established the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund to help address the unprecedented increase in demand for services for basic human needs by citizens of the Aurora area due to the recent economic downturn.
Recognizing that the mission of the Dunham Fund was to support organizations that work to make the world a more comfortable, safer place for mankind to live and prosper and recognizing that the basic human needs of food and shelter must be satisfied in order for individuals to excel in other pursuits, the Fund’s Board of Advisors earmarked all funds raised for the emergency fund to support nonprofit agencies providing direct food and shelter services in the Dunham Fund service area.
To maximize the effectiveness of the emergency assistance program, the Dunham Fund collaborated with Fox Valley United Way to efficiently administer the emergency grants and to utilize their expertise in identifying nonprofit agencies providing food and shelter services to those most affected by the challenges of the current economic climate.
The emergency fund was seeded with a $50,000 outright gift from the Dunham Fund with a commitment
to match dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 of all funds raised by United Way to provide emergency assistance. The grants were to be proactively awarded and there was to be no application process for emergency funding.
By July 1st, through the remarkable generosity of area donors, United Way had successfully met the $100,000 challenge. In early July, recognizing the greater extent of the economic downturn, the Dunham Fund further enhanced the Emergency Assistance Fund with an additional $100,000 grant, bringing the fund’s total to $350,000.
Fox Valley United Way, in consultation with the Dunham Fund, awarded the total $350,000 in the Emergency Assistance Fund to the following area nonprofit organizations:
- A total of $205,000 was distributed to the Association for Individual Development, Hesed House, Mutual Ground, and Wayside Cross Ministries to provide emergency shelter.
- A total of $125,000 was awarded to Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, Batavia Food Pantry, Kendall County Food Pantry, Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry, and the Salvation Army for emergency food assistance.
- A total of $20,000 was awarded to Quad County Urban League and the Salvation Army for rental assistance to area residents.
The Dunham Fund wishes to extend its thanks to Fox Valley United Way for its expert administration of the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund and to United Way’s generous donors for joining hands to lend a hand to respond to the urgent needs of our community.
To visit Fox Valley United Way’s website to learn more about the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund, click on the United Way logo.