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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jeffrey J. Hartman
March 24, 2014 Vice President of Development
"Doing Our Part" Selects OnLight Aurora
to Address Community Needs
Community Foundation and Dunham Fund Add OnLight Aurora
to Its Collaborative Initiative
AURORA, IL - In conjunction with the Dunham Fund,Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley recently announced that it has partnered with OnLight Aurora to help address local community needs through its "Doing Our Part" initiative.
Over the past few months, the Community Foundation and the Dunham Fund have been collaborating on an initiative that will address some of our communities' most pressing issues. Feedback was collected from constituents throughout the area on what those community needs are, and the responses were wide-ranging. Among those participating, no issue surfaced as the single most critical.
"It became very clear that this initiative could not just focus on early childhood education, food insecurity, workforce development, or any one issue that dramatically affects our communities," said Mark Truemper, Community Foundation and Dunham Fund Chair. "We needed to redirect our efforts to an area in which all organizations in our community could benefit." OnLight Aurora quickly became the perfect match for this initiative.
OnLight Aurora is an Illinois not-for-profit serving the community by providing low cost, highly available and scalable access to the City of Aurora's fiber optic network. Its services are designed to support and foster economic development, organizational growth, and promote collaboration through this network.
What Does This Mean for "Doing Our Part"?
Through this initiative, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations alike will now be able to significantly strengthen their capabilities with a more reliable internet and communication infrastructure from the fiber optic network of OnLight Aurora. A not-for-profit organization itself, OnLight Aurora currently has more than 60 miles of fiber optic running through Aurora.
By partnering with OnLIght Aurora, this initiative will greatly enhance the capabilities of organizations addressing the most pressing issues of education, healthcare, environment, human services, workforce development and more.
A Real Success Story
Earlier this year, Rush Copley Medical Center became the first healthcare facility to utilize OnLIght Aurora. "OnLight is the real deal," said John Diederich, Rush Copley Medical Center COO and Community Foundation Board member. "OnLight is in total keeping with our commitment to advanced medicine and our promise of extraordinary care to our patients and guests. The speed and reliability of the fiber optics is enhancing real-time patient care efforts and bringing direct Internet access to those who make daily use of Internet access throughout our facility,"
What Does This Mean For Local Organizations?
 The Dunham Fund has agreed to provide a dollar-for-dollar match - up to $250,000 - for all funds raised by the Community Foundation for this initiative. Furthermore, OnLight Aurora is working with area funders and corporations to raise additional dollars. All monies raised will be deposited into a fund at the Community Foundation. The monies raised will be used to assist local organizations in accessing the fiber optic capabilities at a significantly reduced rate. In 2013, OnLight Aurora provided connectivity to educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and an array of businesses including West Aurora School District 129, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, Aurora University, Alarm Detection Systems, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and PDS. Aurora Christian Schools, Indian Prairie School District 204, and a number of Downtown Aurora businesses are expected to be connected in the near future. Next Steps If you are an organization interested in learning how fiber optic can enhance your capabilities, if you are donor interested in supporting this initiative, or if you would just like to learn more about how the Community Foundation and Dunham Fund are addressing our communities' issues, please contact the Community Foundation at 630-896-7800, or the Dunham Fund at 630-844-2774 today. We look forward to hearing from you! For more information on the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, please visit www.CommunityFoundationFRV.org. For more information on the Dunham Fund, please visit www.dunhamfund.org. For more information on OnLight Aurora, please visit www.onlightaurora.com. About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley The Community Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt, philanthropic organization that administers individual charitable funds from which grants and scholarships are distributed to benefit the citizens of the Greater Aurora Area, the TriCities and Kendall County, Illinois. Founded in 1948, the Foundation provides a simple and powerful approach to charitable giving. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations have the opportunity to custom design their own named funds that reflect their charitable goals and interests. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has quietly grown to nearly $71 million in assets and has awarded more than $50 million in grants and scholarships. Funds may be created on a permanent basis or they may serve a more limited purpose. Donors establishing permanent funds have the assurance that their charitable objectives will be fulfilled in perpetuity. 
111 West Downer Place, Suite 312 Aurora, IL 60506 630-896-7800 www.CommunityFoundationFRV.org # # # | 