For 40 years, The Community Foundation of Frederick County has built what a community needs to respond to a crisis: trusted relationships, charitable infrastructure, and the flexibility to act fast. When the unexpected arrives, the Community Foundation is ready to channel neighbors’ generosity where it’s needed most.
Support Following 9/11
Commemorative print by local artist Richard Markey, sold to support September 11th relief efforts.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Community Foundation quickly mobilized to help Frederick County residents turn their compassion into action. Responding to an outpouring of community members eager to help, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved a special charitable fund just weeks after the attacks. The fund immediately began accepting donations for relief efforts supporting victims and their families in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Local residents found creative ways to give, including purchasing commemorative artwork donated by a local artist. The swift response gave Frederick County residents a meaningful way to make a difference during a time of national crisis.
In the years that followed, as the U.S. fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Community Foundation helped the families of five soldiers who lost their lives create funds in their memory, honoring what mattered to them.
“While nothing can erase the pain of losing a loved one, these soldiers’ families have told us that creating funds that provide scholarships or services to those in need in their loved ones’ memory has given them a sense of purpose after unimaginable loss,” said Betsy Day, President and CEO of the Community Foundation.
The Great Recession of 2008
In 2008, the nation faced what many consider the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Families were facing intense challenges as they tried to stay afloat. Charitable giving nationwide fell 7 percent. Frederick County kept giving.
The Community Foundation created The Family Relief Fund, a pass through fund awarding quarterly grants to nonprofits providing food, shelter, medical care, counseling, utility assistance and job training to those hit hardest by the recession. Despite the downturn, the Community Foundation awarded more than $3.8 million in scholarships and grants that year.
Cold Weather Shelter
From left: Community Foundation board chair James Shoemaker presents a $12,534 emergency grant to Rev. Brian Scott, then-executive director of the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs (now Beyond Shelter), alongside Community Foundation President and CEO Betsy Day in March 2014.
In March 2014, community leaders flagged that the Alan P. Linton Cold Weather Shelter, operated by the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs (now Beyond Shelter), closed each spring until November. The Community Foundation approached the nonprofit and invited it to apply for funding to fill the gap.
“Our Human Needs Assessment released in 2011 had identified the need for a year-round shelter,” said Day. “It was time to act.”
A $12,534 emergency grant kept the shelter’s doors open through April 18, while the City of Frederick, Frederick County Government and the state funded the rest of the year. The shelter began offering beds year-round, so a change in seasons no longer meant losing a safe place to sleep.
COVID-19
When COVID-19 brought closures and layoffs in March 2020, leadership staff and trustees joined other local funders to form The COVID-19 Philanthropic Funders Collaborative. The Collaborative included Ausherman Family Foundation, The Mark and Susan Butt Saturday Mornings Fund, The William E. Cross Foundation, Delaplaine Foundation, The Kahlert Foundation, Our Heavenly Cause Foundation, Helen J. Serini Foundation, United Way of Frederick County and the Women’s Giving Circle.
Through The COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, nonprofits used a single online application so funders could align support without duplication. The Collaborative distributed nearly $1.3 million in March, April and May of 2020 to address food insecurity, eviction prevention and childcare.
“Because of groundwork laid in previous years with local funding groups, the Community Foundation was in a position to be a catalyst in the COVID crisis,” said Day.
Feeding Our Families
A volunteer packs food for FEED grant recipient Blessings in a Backpack.
That readiness showed again in 2026, when reductions in SNAP benefits left many Frederick County families wondering how they would keep food on the table. Parents stretched grocery budgets further, and local organizations saw lines grow. Frederick County Government committed $1 million to the Food Equity and Emergency Distribution (FEED) grant program, and the Community Foundation managed every step, from application and volunteer review to due diligence and distribution of funds.
“Their track record gave us confidence that the $1 million would reach organizations with demonstrated capacity to deliver immediate impact,” said Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater.
For families facing empty cupboards, that speed mattered. Help reached the local organizations feeding their neighbors while the need was still urgent.
From wartime loss to recession, homelessness, a global pandemic, and hunger, the lesson holds: when Frederick County faces the unexpected, the Community Foundation is ready to turn crisis into catalyst.