Hunting Family Fund Established at Outer Banks Community Foundation
A new fund has been created at the Outer Banks Community Foundation to support local charities that help residents on their journeys to better health. The Hunting Family Fund for Health and Wellness, recently established by Rich and Cindy Hunting, has a stated purpose to “support projects and organizations that promote health and wellness for people on the Outer Banks, with preference given to organizations or projects that serve the underinsured and/or uninsured, or that bring new health and wellness programs to the community.”
Health and wellness have been lifelong passions for Cindy. As a retired public health nurse professional, she spent a 43-year career promoting and protecting the health of communities in which she served. Rich also shares her passion; together, they decided to establish this new fund for the Outer Banks. They wrote, “We are glad that we can give back to a community that we love, for a cause we both are passionate about.”
Community Foundation President and CEO Chris Sawin said, “Only a handful of the more than 200 funds invested for our community at the Community Foundation have the specific purpose of improved health and wellness outcomes, and we’re thrilled that a new fund has been established to benefit residents in this way.”
Rich and Cindy, now retired, have been enjoying the Outer Banks for decades. Cindy used to come with her family as a small child and has happy memories of beach vacations in the 60s and 70s. Rich is an avid scuba diver from the great state of Maine; he moved to our region for work and soon found the wrecks off our shores perfect for his diving exploits. He partnered with friends and ran a dive operation here for several years, where they made friends and helped more divers get out to see historic wrecks up close and learn about our area’s unique and storied maritime history.
The Huntings have a vacation home in Nags Head, where they enjoy time at the beach with friends and family. The fund they’ve established at the Community Foundation is a field of interest fund, meaning that the Huntings have created a stated purpose for annual grants, and the annual granting decisions are left up to the Community Foundation board of directors.
Like most other Community Foundation funds, the Hunting Family Fund for Health and Wellness is endowed, meaning that the bulk of its assets will remain invested, and only 5% of the fund balance will be spent each year. In this way, the fund will be a perpetual source of support for charities meeting health and wellness needs on the Outer Banks.
Anyone may contribute to the Hunting Family Fund by sending a check to the Community Foundation with the fund name in the memo line, or by making a contribution online at obcf.org/donate-now, and selecting the fund from the searchable funds list.
The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization that connects people who care with causes that matter. Based in a historic flat top cottage in Southern Shores, the Community Foundation manages more than $25 million across more than 200 charitable funds for individuals and agencies, awards grants to local nonprofits, administers 60 scholarship programs, and provides tailored services to help donors pursue their charitable interests. Since its inception in 1982, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $12 million in grants and scholarships to local nonprofits and students.
