After 51 years of marriage, Bob and Melva Riley were beginning to find choosing useful and meaningful gifts for each other more and more difficult. And when Melva was hospitalized in the months before Christmas of 2006, she and Bob were unable to spend time shopping for appropriate presents. That’s when Bob read about the inception of the Acorn Fund Program through the Community Foundation.

 

The Acorn Fund Program gives individuals and families a simple and flexible way to build an endowment fund. Bob and Melva learned they could start their own Acorn Fund with as little as $1,000 and the promise of making it a larger, permanent fund in the future. “We decided it seemed an ideal means to provide gifts to each other and for the community we love,” said Bob.

 

It wasn’t long before the Rileys built their fund to a full endowment. Grants from their fund support charitable needs and opportunities throughout the region. Theirs is a gift of love that will continue to grow.