The Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund announces the awarding of $123,000 in grants to six non-profit organizations in New Hampshire and Maine: Berwick Academy, Children’s Museum of NH, Pine Tree Society, Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Future In Sight and Strawbery Banke Museum.
The Trustees of the Trust approved a grant to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, Dover NH to support the refurbishment of the “One World” multicultural exhibit and its three components: the Café, Marketplace and Green Screen experience.
“The Museum is truly grateful for the generous support from the Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund,” sas Jane Bard, museum President. “During this challenging time for non-profit fundraising, their investment will help us make a positive impact on the lives of thousands of children each year.”
Eric Erwin (far right), Children’s Museum of NH Director of Exhibits and Facilities, gives museum staff a sneak peak at some of the new elements coming to the One World series of multicultural exhibits, including a Cafe that can be easily updated with different multicultural foods and themes. These exhibit changes are supported in part by a grant generously donated by the Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund.
Theresa Thompson established the endowment fund in memory of her husband Roger, to make a difference in the local community by rewarding six specific educational and charitable organizations whose work was having a positive local impact on the Seacoast communities of NH and Maine. It was important to her to retain local administration of the grants so that there was a direct connection between the Trustees and the organizations she believed were the best able to create a lasting legacy in the names of Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson. Although the six organizations named in the Fund are set, the Trustees determine each one’s eligibility for grants on an annual basis, reviewing not only their proposals but their achievements working with previous grant funds.
In making the announcement, Thompson Fund Managing Trustee Charles B. Doleac commented, “The Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund Trustees are pleased to recognize the work of the six Thompson Fund beneficiaries by awarding this year’s grants. In the current uncertain environment for nonprofits, we feel it is ever more important to support the work of local organizations who are making a difference in the Seacoast community where Roger and Theresa made their home. These annual awards ensure that the legacy the Thompsons intended is sustained: 1) to help local organizations advance their core missions with innovative programs; 2) to build local Board leadership; and 3) to provide an example of a successful independent, directed philanthropy for others to follow.”
To learn more about Thompson Fund beneficiaries and prior grant-funded initiatives, please visit ThompsonFund.org and follow the Thompson Fund on Facebook.