When Trevor Davies and his business partner first decided to build a new funeral home in Monmouth, they hoped the community would be receptive. Today, Davies can say with certainty that his hometown is the type of place where good ideas that serve local needs will find the support to flourish.
“That’s one thing about Monmouth—the community will embrace you,” said Davies, the fourth generation in his family to own and operate a business in the city. “If people see that you’re trying to invest in the community, they’ll support you.”
Now, as Davies and a small group of his fellow community members come together to spearhead the Monmouth Community Fund through Galesburg Community Foundation, he is confident that the wider community will see the value of this new initiative, which could represent a momentous investment in Monmouth, and get behind it with full force.
The advisory board’s first major goal will be to raise $70,000, unlocking a match grant of an additional $70,000 through the Warren County Community Fund Initiative, a partnership among the Twomey Foundation, United Way of Greater Warren County, and Galesburg Community Foundation. Once the fund is established, it will begin making grants to the community’s nonprofits, schools, churches, and municipal agencies, with more resources available each year as the endowed fund grows through additional gifts, investment earnings, and compound interest. The new fund is a way for Monmouth residents—and those who love Monmouth—to keep their wealth in the community and support it forever.
“People in this community are very generous and giving,” said Davies, who has served in leadership roles at several local institutions, including United Way, Community National Bank, and the Warren County Prime Beef Festival. “I think this goal is obtainable. I believe we can even go past it.”
“It’s been so rewarding to see Community Funds in Alexis, Roseville, and other communities across Knox and Warren Counties reach their match goals and begin granting in ways that are making tangible impacts,” said Joshua Gibb, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, which will administer the fund while leaving all of its grantmaking decisions to the advisory board and the Monmouth community. “We’re proud to play this role in bringing communities like Monmouth together around their passion for the place they live and the hopes they hold for its future.”
“I jumped right on board with this idea because I want to keep finding ways of making Monmouth a better place to live for generations to come,” said Davies, who with his wife, Edith, has two young sons. “With this fund, we’re going to be able to provide opportunities not just for the here-and-now—it’s for the perpetual longevity of our community.”
Davies has been excited by the developments he’s seen in Monmouth in the nearly 15 years since he returned from mortuary school in Chicago, from the community’s growing cultural diversity to its pop-up shops and new housing subdivisions. “With Monmouth’s values and everything it has to offer, this is small-town living at its best,” he said, adding that more and more people he grew up with who moved away are coming back to raise their families here. “We can keep this momentum going.”
As Davies and his fellow advisory board members begin to spread the word about the fund and its match challenge goal, he hopes one message will out ring loud and clear: “This is truly a community fund. Whether you can give $5 or $5,000, you’re part of this,” said Davies. “This is a way that anyone can contribute to the community, and we can all work together for the common good.”
“I hope people realize the true benefit that this could provide for our community,” he added. “It’s not just another fundraiser—this is about our legacy.”
The Monmouth Community Fund is a fund of the Galesburg Community Foundation. Donate to the Monmouth Community Fund here.
