We are so fortunate to live in this Mercer Island community which we call home. If you are nodding your head in agreement, I hope you’ll keep reading. The Mercer Island Community Fund (MICF) asks for your support to keep this community strong. Please respond to the appeal arriving in your mailbox this week.

“Community” has become a very hot topic of late in the philanthropy field. Every day I see blogs, white papers, and gatherings promoting community topics: community philanthropy, community capacity building, and community engagement. Residents are looking to their communities to address problems large and small. One recent report describes community philanthropy as being driven by “ordinary people working from the bottom up of our societies, rather than by wealthy people working from the top down.”

Our own MICF is a prime example of this community philanthropy. You and your neighbors are ordinary people vested in your hometown, pooling a few dollars to make our community a better place for all. MICF supports the arts, and the environment; it supports the city, and the schools, and it supports an awful lot more! Our grants benefit Mercer Island residents of all ages, and all socio-economic backgrounds. With the support of caring donors like yourself, MICF does its part to continue to make Mercer Island a great place to live, and a stronger community.

Please take the time to read our brochure arriving soon, and consider a gift to MICF as a gift to yourself and your community. For more, go to www.micommunityfund.org or send inquiries to info@micommunityfund.org.

Cheryl Frizzell

President, Mercer Island Community Fund