Athens County Foundation Recognized as One of 26 Civic Hubs Nationwide

September 26, 2025

Big Announcement: Athens County Foundation Receives National Recognition

Dear Friends of the Athens County Foundation,


We are thrilled to share some great news: the Athens County Foundation (ACF) has been selected as a Civic Hub grantee in recognition of our work to advance collaborative solutions in Athens County!


What does this mean?

It means we're on to something here in Athens County. Over 400 leaders have taken part in Leadership Athens County. We've come together to form Co-Create projects to focus on important issues like housing. And we're helping local nonprofits grow stronger through capacity building programs and grantmaking. Now, with the support from the Trust for Civic Life, we'll be able to invest even more into the programs that fuel collaboration and progress.

“Trust funding will help us harness the creativity and knowledge of our community to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. We’re excited to show how co-creation can make a real difference here in Athens County— and in communities like ours across the country.”

—Kerry Pigman, Executive Director, Athens County Foundation (2025 Civic Hub Grantee)

About the Trust for Civic Life

Launched in 2024, the Trust for Civic Life is a collaborative of 21 national and private-sector philanthropies aligned around one core belief: when people come together to improve the places where they live, they rebuild trust and strengthen democracy.


The Trust looks across the country for innovative, sustainable, and scalable efforts that strengthen communities through collaboration. Athens County Foundation and Project Co-Create were chosen as one of only 26 Civic Hubs nationwide.

Dark teal text reads
Map of the U.S. showing locations of 2025 Civic Hub Grantee cities, marked by blue icons.

Why this matters

Athens County has a lot of strengths— and a lot of possibilities. Our commitment to local and shared solutions, proximity to longstanding challenges and gaps, and wide-ranging expertise and lived experiences can all be activated to improve lives and strengthen our communities. Together, we have been building the systems that make this possible.


As a Civic Hub grantee, it will be possible to accelerate the work that sparks and sustains collaboration and participation in the county.


What started as just an idea has become something much bigger—a new way of working together—and it’s all possible because of your support. Whether you’ve given time, shared ideas, donated, or helped in other ways, thank you. We’ll need your continued support as we keep building and creating a better future together.


We look forward to sharing more about what this recognition means for Athens County—and to working side by side with you in the years to come.


With gratitude,

Kerry Pigman (she/her)

Executive Director

Athens County Foundation

Pull up a Chair: September Newsletter

By Emily Prince • September 17, 2026
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Stacy Strauss is ACF's new Director of Finance and Administration

By Emily Prince • September 1, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new Director of Finance and Administration, Stacy Strauss. Stacy looks forward to using her skills to strengthen our community! She brings energy, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to her work, along with a genuine ability to bring people together around shared goals. Her experience spans financial management, fundraising and grant writing, program development, business strategy, and developing materials that tell a clear, compelling story.  Just as importantly, she enjoys helping others grow. She has experience leading and training teams, building collaborative cultures, developing recruitment strategies, and finding practical, creative solutions to complicated challenges. Whether working with colleagues, community partners, or other stakeholders, she builds relationships rooted in trust, communication, and a shared commitment to advancing good ideas.

Fall Grant Applications Open

By Shayne Lopez • August 28, 2026
Athens County's greatest asset is its people. Every day, neighbors, organizations, and local leaders bring skill, creativity, and deep knowledge of this place to the work of building a stronger community. Our grantmaking invests in those strengths, because the best solutions are already growing here, led by the people who call Athens County home. Our grantmaking builds on the strengths already here by investing in the initiatives, people and organizations, relationships, skills, and ideas working to address longstanding challenges and pursue extraordinary opportunities. The deadline for applications for the Senior Fund has been extended to October 18, 2026! The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund supports organizations and programs working to improve the lives of older adults (60+) in Athens County. This year, approximately $65,000 is available through ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle. We want to encourage organizations to think broadly about what supporting people as they age could look like. The Jaycees fund has deep local roots. In 2014, Housing for Athens Senior Residents donated $1 million to the Athens County Foundation to establish the fund following the sale of Heritage Commons Senior Housing. Heritage Commons itself began as an Athens Jaycees project in 1981, created to expand housing opportunities for local seniors. To date, the Jaycees Senior Fund has awarded more than $415,000 to support programs and services benefiting older adults across Athens County. What could an Athens Jaycees Senior Fund project look like? We’re inviting applicants to consider how their work could help make Athens County a community where people can remain active, connected, independent, and supported as they age. Projects might address housing, transportation, community and health services, social connection, healthy living, accessibility, caregiver support, or other needs and opportunities identified by older adults. The Jaycees Senior Fund intentionally remains flexible so that organizations can bring forward ideas grounded in what they are seeing and hearing in their communities. If your organization has an idea that could improve the experience of aging in Athens County, we encourage you to consider ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle to access the Jaycees Senior Fund. The deadline for grant requests supporting senior-related programs has been extended to October 18, 2026. For more information, please visit athensfoundation.org/grants. -------- If you’d like guidance in developing or strengthening an age-friendly program idea, we encourage you to reach out directly to Amy Lipka with Age-Friendly Athens County at alipka@athenspublichealth.org. The Athens City-County Health Department will also sponsor Healthy Aging Community Grants in early 2027.