As one Galesburg native returns to her roots, a new chapter opens for the Galesburg Community Foundation. Sarah Grant, who has spent the last 15 years overseeing the McDonough County
Farm Bureau in Macomb, will join the Community Foundation this November as Director of Development.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring Sarah on board in this new position to support a growing philanthropic region,” said Joshua Gibb, president and CEO. “She has proven herself a master of understanding constituent needs and building strong relationships, talents that will serve us and Knox and Warren counties well.”
As Director of Development, Grant will organize, plan, direct, and evaluate the Community Foundation’s fund development efforts. In this capacity, she will work closely not only with Gibb and the Community Foundation’s board and staff but also with donors and their trusted advisors, stewarding gifts that connect them to the causes they care about and improve the quality and health of the community.
Grant values the opportunity to be a part of the Community Foundation, as well. “Watching the growth of this organization over the last 15 years, I’ve been so impressed,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the role I can play in helping the Foundation continue to grow.”
As head of the McDonough County Farm Bureau, a grassroots agricultural membership nonprofit, Grant has been responsible for a broad range of duties and functions, from daily operations and budget oversight to fundraising, marketing and communications, and membership management.
“At the end of the day, the Farm Bureau is all about people, and so is the Community Foundation. I think there’s a lot of carryover there,” said Grant. “I’m excited to tap into the passions and ideas people in the region have that we haven’t heard yet. The past couple of years have brought clarity to a lot of people and what they care about—what they want to do with their lives and the legacies they want to leave.”
Alongside her work with the Farm Bureau, Grant has served on multiple community committees, including the McDonough County CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) and the Macomb Agricultural Association. She is a graduate of Galesburg High School and Illinois College, where she majored in management and organizational leadership.
Grant said that she, her husband, and their two daughters are looking forward to the chance to move back to the area. “It’s good to go away, but it’s nice to come home, too.”
