That powerful quote is attributed to Nelson Henderson, whose son immortalized his father’s words in a book about growing up on their family farm. It reminds me that we have all benefited from the shade of trees planted by the generations before us, so we too are obligated to plant trees for the generations that will come after us.
That is the essence of philanthropy, and the essence of Arkansas Community Foundation, where for almost 50 years our donors, grantees, community partners, and friends have been planting seeds with the promise of making our state better for future generations.
The Foundation wants Arkansas to be a place where our kids want to raise their kids. In this report, you’ll read how multiple generations across Arkansas are making this a reality. From Mountain Home, where the father-son duo of the Rhoades family have helped their clients become philanthropists for more than two decades. To Marked Tree, where fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the Ritter family are working to improve early literacy rates. To DeWitt, where Misha Murphy, an entrepreneur and mother of two, is building her Delta-based food truck business thanks to a loan from one of our impact investments. And finally, to three generations of the Van Horn family who are serving our Pope County Community Foundation that is making more local grants than ever before.
These stories and the impact of our statewide grantmaking are sustained by a commitment to strategically investing now for future generations. I am proud to report that in fiscal year 2024 alone, we grew our asset base to more than $744 million and deployed $52.9 million in discretionary and donor-advised grants.
While the shade of trees planted before us continues to grow, thank you for joining us as we plant and sow more seeds for generations to come.
With hope and gratitude,
Heather Larkin
President and CEO