Video Podcast – Episode 1 – Meet Jennifer O’Neal

Meet Our New Grants and Community Liaison Manager: Jennifer O’Neal!

We are thrilled to announce the addition of Jennifer O’Neal to our team as the new Grants and Community Liaison Manager at the Central Foundation of Morgan County (CFMC). In an exclusive interview, Jennifer shares her vision, goals, and what she hopes to achieve in her new role. We sat down with Kim Cole, our President, to discuss Jennifer’s exciting journey and the impact she aims to make within our community.

Listen to the Episode

Links to Resources:

Triple your donation, now!

Learn more: https://cfmconline.org/triple-your-donation/

Join a committee: email: info@cfmconline.org

Grant Opportunities: https://cfmconline.org/grant-opportunities/

 

Transcription:

Hi, I’m Kim Cole, President of the Community Foundation of Morgan County. We are live today at MWP Studios in Mooresville shooting our first podcast. I have with me our new Grants and Community Liaison Manager Jennifer O’Neal. Hello everyone. Hi Jennifer. Can you tell everyone what has brought you to the Community Foundation? Absolutely. I was born and raised in Martinsville, and after graduating from Martinsville High School, I moved on to Purdue. I had a little bit of a career in sales and moved to Texas, and then I moved back to Martinsville last year and I had another job. But I was on the lookout for ways to give back to the community, and this job popped open, and I just knew that the chance to delve in and help the community that raised me would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So, I’m glad to be here today. And we are glad you’re here too. We are having a lot of exciting developments and changes with the Community Foundation, including revising our grant system. I know you’ve been busy since you’ve been on with us, getting out and about in the community, meeting with our non-profits. So can you tell me a little bit about what you’re doing? Absolutely, so far, I’ve been to the YMCA, The Boys and Girls Club and Gleaners Food Bank. And overall, the big theme I feel like from the nonprofits is their effort to support our children and make sure they have a safe place to go before and after school. I also feel like those two organizations are really pushing involvement with just you know, what kids have enjoyment in doing and making sure that their natural skill sets are being pursued and just utilized. I feel like my experience at Gleaners, it was really obvious to me on all the main changes that they’ve made since COVID.

So, they have a huge drive-thru line where cars can come in and pick up their groceries. They’re also working on some renovations inside. But their huge goal is to make sure that individuals and families are self-sufficient and eventually feel confident in being able to provide without the food bank. So overall, it’s been a gift to see all the different organizations and just all their efforts helping our families and individuals in the county work on health and feeling confident in who they are. That is fantastic. Yes, those organizations are doing fantastic work. And of course, we are always supporting them, and other organizations like them in the county. So, I know you’ll be out and about meeting with more not-for-profits.

Right now, for those of you that don’t know, we are in a Lilly gift cycle. So, any donations that we receive will be tripled by the Lilly Endowment. This is a fantastic opportunity to be able to impact our county in a huge way. Lilly has earmarked a million dollars for our county to support our not-for-profits, and these dollars go directly back out to not-for-profits such as the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, and many more.

Another thing I’ve been working on is our grants committee. And this committee is essentially a way for community members in the county to give your input and be a part of a group that is going to help our selection process for our grant cycles next year. So, if you’ re interested, Kim will give you a little bit more information on how you can reach out.

Yes, for those of you that would like to be part of the committee and help in any other way at the foundation, please email info@cfmconline.org. And to triple your donation, visit https://cfmconline.org/triple-your-donation/