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The Community Foundation of Utah has awarded 20 grants of $500 each that will give area nonprofits the chance to innovate and enhance their service capabilities.

This is the first year the foundation generated enough donations in its general-purpose Utah Fund to solicit applications, said Fraser Nelson, executive director. The fund had grown to $5,000, and GE Financial Services matched that sum. Close to 100 organizations applied for a piece of the $10,000 pot.

"We had such a great response, and I wish we could have funded everyone," Nelson said. "Part of what we want to fund is thinking and innovation. We need money that says try something new, and if it doesn't work out — no foul, no worry."

Recipients are:

> Bad Dog Arts, Salt Lake City; Boys and Girls Club of South Valley, Murray; Cancer Wellness House, Salt Lake City; Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center, Cedar City.

­> Grand County Schools BEACON Afterschool Program, Moab; Neighborhood Nonprofit Housing Corp., Logan; New Frontiers for Families & Allies for Families, Panguitch; Odyssey House, Salt Lake City.

> Ogden Nature Center; Rescue Mission of Salt Lake; Community Action Program Head Start, Salt Lake City; The Road Home, Salt Lake City; Valley Services, Salt Lake City; and Volunteers of America, Salt Lake City.

The following nonprofits also received grants and serve broader areas statewide:

> HawkWatch International, Salt Lake City; International Rescue Committee, New York; Local First Utah, Salt Lake City; Utah Microenterprise Loan Fund, Salt Lake City; Utahns Against Hunger, Salt Lake City; and Utah Nonprofits Association, Salt Lake City.

The foundation helps nonprofits develop social enterprises, and the awards are a sign of that support, Nelson said.

The grants will be used for a variety of purposes, such as purchasing software, grant-writing or picking up the tab for training or participation in a conference.

More than 700 community foundations thrive in cities and states across the nation, some dating back almost a century. Many have funds that are perpetually sustained through endowments. Community Foundation of Utah was launched in 2008. Over time, Nelson hopes to see the Utah Fund grow to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the time the foundation has functioned, it has attracted funding from more than 50 donors and given out more than $780,000 to various communities within the state, according to http://www.utahcf.org.

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