The board of directors of the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation announces 2006 awards from its Community Fund, according to Laura Beasley, board president.

This year’s nonprofit recipients include:

• Union Rural Fire Dept received a grant of $240 to help fund the replacement of a pump and motor.
• Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast received a grant of $150 to help provide scholarship help for eligible girls to attend the summer Twilight Camp to be held August 7-11 at the Kiwanis Building in Ahoskie
• The North Carolina Symphony, The Roanoke-Chowan Chapter, received a grant of $400 to help fund the annual school and community performance of the NC Symphony.
• In addition to these grant awards, six scholarship awards from the MC Ashe Family Scholarship fund were presented to the following students: Racheal V. Hammond, Lynn N. Darden, Kashek D. Hardy, Keith E. Moody, Heather Ann Ferguson, and Jemal L. Boone. The students are all graduating seniors from public high schools in Hertford and Northampton Counties.

Beasley thanked the community for support of the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation. “These grants are important to our community,” she said. “Many critical programs would not be possible without the generosity of many individuals and organizations that have supported Bertie-Hertford’s Community Fund.”

The Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation is an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF). The Community Fund was established to help support local charitable needs through annual grants. In addition to the Community Fund, the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation supports 27 other endowed funds to benefit local charitable purposes. Total assets from all funds is in excess of $1.6 million.

Tax-deductible contributions can be made by any organization or individual who wishes to increase the principal of the Community Fund, which is managed and allocated for the benefit of Bertie and Hertford Counties. Contributions should be made payable to the Bertie-Hertford Community Fund and mailed to North Carolina Community Foundation, Northeast Region Office, The harbinger Center, Suite 4, Point Harbor, NC 27964.
Donors also can establish designated funds for their own causes with an investment of at least $5,000.

For information on the Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation and its Community Fund, contact Peggy Birkemeier, Regional Associate at 888-375-8115 toll free; or visit the NCCF website at www.nccommunityfoundation.org and click on “Affiliates.”

About the NCCF:
The North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF) is a statewide community development organization created to build capacity through philanthropy. The NCCF administers more than $100 million in assets that sustain nearly 1,000 endowment funds established to provide long-term support of a broad range of charitable needs, nonprofit organizations and scholarships in more than 60 counties across the state, with an emphasis on underserved areas. The NCCF operates through a unique network of six regions designed to provide local resource allocation and community assistance. For more information, visit nccommunityfoundation.org

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Peggy Birkemeier
NCCF REGION NAME Associate
252-491-8166
Pbirk_nccommf@mindspring.com

Esther Hall
Vice President, Operations
NCCF
919-828-4387
ehall@nccommunityfoundation.org