Dear 1311 English Class,

Intro: Today in many cities all over America students fresh out of college are being forced to leave what they call home to pay the bills somewhere else; this is called brain drain. A couple of the main reasons why brain is such a problem is that in their own cities the jobs are simply just not there or the pay is too low. A more specific area where brain drain occurs near the Atlantic Ocean. The agency that helps them is the Danville Regional Foundation or DRF. DRFs main focus is transforming the entire regions economy and creating a better culture by making long term investments to improve the education of people, economic vitality, community wellness, financial stability, and civic capacity.

Brief History: Dr. Bob Ashby who passed away just last year in August was the man who founded this great organization in 2005. This organization began helping people in their region by raising money through grants through a program called Make It Happen! Over the next few years this organization has spread through the Atlantic Coast ranging from Danville, Virginia all the way down to Caswell County, North Carolina. This was established to help limit brain drain in their region.

Characteristics: The legs behind DRF are run by the Board of Directors along with Advisory Members, volunteers, interns, and a Fellow. The board of directors contains 11 regional leaders. All of them serve for a limited time, rotating each term. The four Advisory Members give an input to the Boards decisions. Both the Board and Advisory Members all come from different backgrounds to bring a broader mindset to the organization. A Fellow is someone that is in charge two things directing young adults to the community and manage a program called Dan River Year. This program gives a chance for volunteers to work with the community organization for a year. DRF also works with outside sources like Duke University.

Contributions: DRF has done many things to contribute to the community. One of the many ways was that since its establishment, DRF has committed more than $65 million through over 125 grants. One special way that they use to raise this money is through a program called Make It Happen! (MIH!). MIH! is a multiplier effect. The multiplier effect is a strategic approach to grant making. DRF makes the grants based off of three criteria: need(s) to be addressed, opportunities existing to produce a long term solution, and potential impact that will demonstrate a multiplier effect going beyond the direct beneficiaries of the grant. Another thing that DRF is committed to is education. This

builds a social capital. Social capital increases the desire to work with others within the community. A few of the examples of the educational and outreach efforts are the Duke Nonprofit Management Program, Speaker Series, Community Read, and the River District Festival. The Duke Nonprofit Management Programs are given in three different courses: Individual Course, Intensive Track, and the Board of Directors Training. What these programs do is they help nonprofit workers become more educated in fundraising, grant writing, and volunteer management at the fraction of the cost. The Speaker Series started just a few years ago in 2009 by bringing innovating thinkers to the Dan River Region as a part of the transformation to the regional economy. The audience takes home messages from the speaker with a positive way to make a change.

Discourse Genres: DRF is able to reach out to the community to in several different ways. People can reach the foundation in Danville, VA at their office or by phone. DRF is located on plenty social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. People can do the following: like, follow, and/or subscribe. DRF can also be reached at through their website www.drfonline.org, where you can learn more about the organization.

Conclusion: Brain drain in America especially the Atlantic Coast is a problem that needs to be taken care of by creating more jobs and higher paying jobs for those whom live in those cities. The Danville Regional Foundation has dedicated their time to find different ways to make the economy better for the people around. With the help of other organizations the fund raising and help is endless.

Sincerely, Adrien Terrell