The Community Network Weaver: How Jefferson Community Foundation Powers Local Giving
While JCFBA and JCF have worked together in the past, JCFBA was entering a time of transition and growth. That conversation between neighbors led to months of collaboration that would reshape how JCFBA thinks about its operations, its future, and its place in the broader Jefferson County safety net. It's an ongoing partnership that illustrates exactly what JCF does best: Connecting people, resources, and expertise to solve real problems.
More Than a Money Pass-Through
Most people know JCF as a funding vehicle. JCF facilitates grants to the Food Bank and other nonprofits. They also handle pass-through gifts, allowing donors to contribute or transfer stocks to the Food Bank without additional administrative burden. "We pass it along without charge," for the handling of the tax letters and paperwork that typically falls on nonprofits' already-stretched teams, says Dr. Nichol Preciado-Youngs, JCF Senior Director of Finance and Philanthropy .
But that's only the surface of what JCF brings to the table.
The Deep Dive
When the JCFBA board recognized they needed strategic direction, they turned to JCF for executive consulting. Siobhan Canty, President & CEO, didn't just answer questions; she helped staff ask the right ones: Should we hire a new executive director? How do we go about it? What should we be doing next?
That expertise comes from JCF's deep knowledge of how nonprofits operate across Jefferson County. They've watched hundreds of organizations navigate similar challenges, and they bring both the strategic framework and the learned wisdom that only comes from seeing patterns across an entire ecosystem.
The Data Work Nobody Wants to Do
On behalf of the Food Bank, Nichol undertook what might sound tedious but proved invaluable: invoice analysis. She worked through the JCFBA’s inventory data to figure out the strategic ebbs and flows of food coming in, where the shortfalls happened, which foods moved fast, which sat.
"It's not exciting on paper," Nichol says, "but it was exciting work, figuring out the operations, talking through different ways to manage inventory." That kind of granular operational analysis is exactly what helps JCFBA run more efficiently.
CRM Tools and Community Knowledge
JCF also brought deep expertise to help the Food Bank navigate CRM (customer relationship management) tools, essential infrastructure for a nonprofit managing donors, volunteers, and client relationships. But again, it was more than just technical setup. As Director of Development for JFC, Lisa brought the organization’s accumulated knowledge of what nonprofits actually need.
"A lot of what we do crosses over," she notes. The boundaries between grant facilitation, consulting, operations support, and relationship building become less of a concern because JCF sees the whole picture of what any single nonprofit is trying to accomplish.
The Handshake
Newer staff member Emily “EJ” James, Finance and Stewardship Manager, said it best: "JCF is the handshake between the community and the nonprofits." It's a perfect description. People come to JCF with questions about charitable giving and a desire to make a difference. Instead of asking donors to research nonprofits, understand their programs, and guess where their gift would have the most impact, JCF becomes the translator.
Donors tell JCF what they care about—ending hunger, supporting families, building community—and JCF can typically map them to the right organization and the right opportunity. The foundation doesn't just know the hard data; they invest in understanding the soft data too. The human stories, the emerging needs, the strategic opportunities that numbers alone can't capture.
"We help people be strategic in how they can impact Jefferson County," Lisa explains. "They come to us for charitable giving, and we help them direct their money in ways that make real change."
The Community Network Weaver
Giving from the Heart
"Everyone who gives to a nonprofit is giving from their heart," Lisa observes. "We are helping that donor give with their heart."
The reality is that one donation, positioned correctly, often fills exactly the need a nonprofit can't otherwise meet. JCF's role is to steward both sides of that transaction, making sure the donor gets the impact they're looking for and the nonprofit gets the resources it needs.
According to JCFBA board president Roland Faragher-Horwell, JCF’s Crystie Kisler, Director of Nonprofit Services, has been “a rockstar in getting us into the right rooms to learn how to work with our farmers and our diverse community, meeting them where we can help them most.” From her side of the project, Crystie says, “I appreciated Roland’s spirit of collaboration and commitment to making the Food Bank resources more accessible to a more diverse cross-section of communities. The key here is that Roland and other JCFBA leaders have shown up at these different food systems convenings to meet people, make connections, and explore collective strategy and opportunities for working together!”
JCF's work with the JCFBA and other nonprofits extends beyond a single partnership. In fact, JCF’s Nonprofit Resource Center gives any Jefferson County nonprofit access to a meeting space for many purposes. The space is available during the day, evenings and weekends (just leave it the way you found it). It's free. It's private. It's not available for fundraising, but it can host board meetings, trainings, operational work—anything that builds nonprofit capacity. "We don't play favorites," Nichol emphasizes. "We play for all."
The hub also features grant resources, running dedicated campaigns like the United Good Neighbors’ Give Jefferson campaign that’ll run this year from mid-October through the rest of the year.
A Bigger Team, Deeper Impact
As JCF has grown its team in recent years, the organization has been able to expand what it does for nonprofits across the county. They're focused not just on the data points but on the relationships. They're working toward better ways to keep nonprofits connected, informed, and supported over time. "We want to know the people behind the mission," the team explains, "so we can do a better job helping donors and the nonprofits."
The Real Partnership
That conversation, which started at a kitchen table, didn't end when they answered strategic questions. It led to ongoing collaboration, shared learning, and a JCFBA that's stronger because JCF took time to understand how it operates, what it needs, and where it's headed.
That's what partnership looks like in Jefferson County. Not just resources flowing one direction, but expertise, strategy, and genuine investment in seeing a nonprofit succeed.
Jefferson Community Foundation doesn't just facilitate giving and support nonprofits. It builds the infrastructure that makes it possible for the whole community to thrive together.
To learn more about Jefferson Community Foundation and how to support the Food Bank or other Jefferson County nonprofits, visit jcfgives.org if you’d like to keep in touch with them, sign up for their newsletter!
