When generosity goes the extra mile
Greg and Dr. Christine Anderson Petty
For Greg and Dr. Christine Anderson Petty, places leave lasting impressions. When they moved from the Quad Cities to Denver in 2009, they were returning to a city they had come to love during a brief residence there three decades earlier. But even as they enjoy Colorado’s dry air and alpine views, their generosity remains tethered to the places where their roots run the deepest—the Quad Cities and the wider northwestern Illinois region.
“In many ways, we feel closer to where we came from than where we ended up,” said Greg. “While we think it’s important to philanthropically support causes where we live now, our heart is still where we grew up.”
In Greg’s case, that means Mount Carroll, Illinois, about an hour’s drive north along the Mississippi River from Christine’s hometown of Moline. Ten years ago, Greg was instrumental in the founding of the Mount Carroll Community Foundation (MCCF), a Geographic Affiliate Fund of the Quad Cities Community Foundation. In helping donors promote a broad range of causes in the Mount Carroll community, Greg and the other members of MCCF’s affiliate advisory board partner with the Community Foundation for administrative and investment management, a variety of resources, and encouragement.
“The Quad Cities Community Foundation has been tremendously supportive of the Mount Carroll Community Foundation,” said Greg, describing how the Community Foundation staff has put his team in contact with other organizations as well as contributed their own expertise. “They care. They’ve literally driven up to Mount Carroll, and I mean more than once or twice. They’ve made our giving feel more meaningful.”
It’s this care and attention that makes it easy for Greg to trust in the Community Foundation’s ability to support his and his hometown community’s needs from sixty miles away—and to steward his own generosity from across the country. “I’ve seen it personally,” he said. “The responsiveness and consideration for donors, no matter where they are, is paramount to the Community Foundation staff.” Looking ahead, Greg and Christine have included the Mount Carroll Community Foundation affiliate in their estate plan.
While COVID-19 kept the Pettys from returning home to visit the places and people they love, one silver lining of the pandemic for Greg was the enhanced opportunity to participate in MCCF board meetings from afar over Zoom. This sense of connection was critical in June 2020 when it came to distributing $50,000 to Mount Carroll community nonprofits for pandemic response efforts. Part of a $400,000 grant awarded to the Quad Cities Community Foundation from the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund, the $50,000 went to several organizations serving the Mount Carroll area, including River Bend Food Bank, Riverview Center, and the Tri-City Opportunities Council.
“The Mount Carroll Community Foundation affiliate advisory board members took the time to research and identify the organizations that could use this money the most effectively,” said Anne Calder, vice president of development. “Their great collaborative work leveraged those dollars for the greatest impact in their community.”
The fourth recipient of those funds, Sinnissippi Centers, carries special significance for Greg, whose family history has been greatly impacted by a mental health issue. Through the Mount Carroll Community Foundation, he and Christine established the Georgia and Donald Petty Family Fund, which memorializes Greg’s parents and has supported Sinnissippi Centers’ mental health services in Carroll County.
“Part of our reason for giving is that we want to honor people in our lives while also giving back to the communities we came from,” Greg said, referring not only to the endowed fund in his parents’ name but also to gifts he has made through the Community Foundation in memory of teachers who affected him and separate gifts he and Christine have made to Augustana College in memory of Christine’s parents. “Not that you can literally repay these folks, but you can show you really appreciated them,” he said. “You might move away, but the attachment and loyalties are still there.”
To learn how you can ensure the causes you love are supported in your community, contact Anne Calder, vice president of development, at (563) 326-2840 or AnneCalder@QCCommunityFoundation.org.