Hope Center Opens Barb Larson Memorial Fund
- Faribault Foundation
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 14
The Faribault Foundation is pleased to announce the creation of an endowment that will help provide a permanent source of funding for the HOPE Center, an advocacy center for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Rice County.
HOPE Center, founded in 1995, is one of three area nonprofits to be offered an opportunity not only to create an endowment under the Faribault Foundation umbrella, but to receive a $5,000 grant from the Foundation if HOPE Center raised a matching amount by year’s end.
Since the opportunity was presented this summer, HOPE Center has raised slightly more than the $5,000 needed to obtain the matching funds and received another $5,000 from a very generous local donor. In all, the endowment now sits at a little more than $15,000.
In July, the HOPE Center board voted to name the endowment after Barb Larson, a Faribault native who was killed in December 2016 in an act of domestic violence. Larson was a beloved community member whose death helped area residents understand that domestic violence knows no socio-economic or geographic boundaries.
The Barb Larson Memorial Fund is a permanent endowment which will provide an annual grant from the endowment to HOPE Center. As the endowment grows, so will the amount of the grant.
The endowment lets individuals who support HOPE Center and its work to provide a source of funding, allowing it to continue its work in perpetuity.
“We are so grateful for the Faribault Foundation and its board which selected us to receive a matching grant,” said Erica Staab, HOPE Center executive director. “The funds we receive from the endowment will help us to continue to serve residents whose lives have been upended by domestic and/or sexual violence.”
Said Laura Bock, Faribault Foundation executive director, “The Faribault Foundation is honored to hold this endowment in memory of our friend Barb Larson. This fund pays tribute to her life while helping to ensure the HOPE Center can continue its critical work. We are proud to support the HOPE Center with the establishment of this enduring fund.”
Individuals and organizations are welcome to contribute to the Barb Larson Memorial Fund as well as other funds managed by Faribault Foundation at www.faribaultfoundation.org.
Donate directly via this link CLICK HERE
The Faribault Foundation was established in 1999 by a group of community leaders to enable people who love their community to support it today and in the future. By combining gifts great and small, the foundation gives everyone the opportunity to be a philanthropist.
Contact
Laura Bock, Faribault Foundation Executive Director
507-805-8800
Erica Staab, HOPE Center Executive Director
507-332-0882
If you or someone you know is a survivor of domestic or sexual violence, HOPE Center’s Safeline — 1-800-607-2330 — is available 24 hours a day. Visit it at hopecentermn.org.