Harbor Crest Endowment continues to benefit Fulton

Even though Harbor Crest Nursing home closed its doors more than a year ago, its endowment is intact and will continue to support Fulton residents for years to come. It recently benefitted four different services Fulton offers. This is all a result of the fact that some donors to Harbor Crest chose to have their gifts endowed rather than go into a general fund.

The Harbor Crest Endowment was created in 2009 through Fulton’s Association for Community Enrichment (FACE) and its parent, the Quad Cities Community Foundation (QCCF), to provide a perpetual source of granting funds for the support of the nursing home and was protected from going toward Harbor Crest’s debts when it closed.

With Harbor Crest’s closure, FACE and QCCF are now responsible for ensuring that each year’s distribution of funds goes to support Fulton services and programs in line with the original intent of the endowment. That means that, going forward, FACE will be recommending grants from this endowment to services and programs that help residents live at home more successfully, avoiding or delaying the need for them to move to an out-of-town nursing facility.

Grants from what is now called the Harbor Crest Legacy Endowment began in December 2021. Four different services received grants: Fulton’s Meals on Wheels, Fulton Township’s medical equipment loan program, Schmaling Library’s collection of large print books, and the Fulton-Thomson Food Pantry’s trial addition of adult diapers to the personal items it can offer.

“This is such a great example of the benefit of endowing one’s donation because it protected that money from disappearing with the closure of the nursing home,” FACE advisory board member Connie Koehn commented. “Everyone who donated to the Harbor Crest endowment can feel good that their contributions are continuing to support people in Fulton with medical challenges.”

Any organization or program interested in being considered for a 2022 grant from this fund should be sure to submit a grant application. The application period is scheduled to open on April 13th and close on May 31st.  If your organization or service would like to be added to our distribution list announcing grant opportunities and how to apply for them, email FACE at facecf@QCCommunityFoundation.org.