A Declaration
The history of Anguilla and its people embraces both a fierce spirit of pride, independence and self reliance and a deep concern for each other's welfare and well-being.
Free people giving freely of themselves to help their fellow citizens and doing so in a spirit of joy. Nothing better captures this remarkable dynamic than JOLLIFICATION, the unique term by which Anguillians describe the celebratory act of neighbors coming together to help neighbors.
The formation of The Anguilla Community Fund signals and confirms that the spirit of jollification has found yet another way to express itself.
The community Fund will enable Anguillians to preserve and enhance the quality of life on our island, to strengthen the viability of non-governmental organizations as well as to foster the creation of new ones and to provide donors with the opportunity and means to fully express their charitable spirit.
May, 1999
A Brief History
The Anguilla Community Fund was founded in 1999 with the goal of building a permanent collection of endowed funds for the long-term benefit of the Anguilla community. An initial gift from the Social Security Development Fund* led to the creation of the first endowed fund, now known as the General Endowment Fund. Today, that Fund has a balance in excess of 1 million U.S. dollars. It has been joined by five other substantial Funds dedicated to specific purposes, plus a broad-based unrestricted AXA Cares Fund devoted to near-term projects. For a complete list of Funds, click here.
The Fund is patterned after community Funds throughout the world. They are created to make grants for projects in a defined community area. Giving to the Anguilla Community Fund enables residents and friends of the island to support projects and NGOs working to make Anguilla a better place for all its residents. Among the issues to which the Fund has responded are: early childhood development; music, sports, educational and rehabilitative opportunities for youth; cultivation of the arts; active engagement of seniors living in community homes; and preservation of the environment. For a full list of projects and organizations which have received grants in the last few years, click here.
Since its inception, the Anguilla Community Fund has distributed over $460,000 USD in grants, and built permanent endowed Funds amounting to more than $600,000 USD. With an endowed Fund, only investment earnings are ever spent……the initial donation remains intact, thereby creating a basis for charitable grants in perpetuity. Through 2010, the endowed Funds under the Fund's management have been the source of approximately $30,000 USD in grants. The rest of the $460,000 in grants has been funded through the Fund's Anguilla Cares campaigns. These campaigns are launched every two years, and the money they raise is distributed within twelve months to charitable projects and NGOs. Donors can choose to place their donation in one of the endowed Funds that will be available in perpetuity for earnings-based grants, or to place it in Anguilla Cares where it will be distributed in the near-term.
* The Social Security Development Fund is a Fund dedicated to purposes similar to those of the Anguilla Community Fund. It is, however, not open to contributions from the general public, visitors or friends of the island. It was built, and is maintained, by the setting aside of a tiny percentage of employee and employer contributions to Social Security.
