WATER VALLEY, MISS. – May 2025 – At its May 20th Board meeting, hosted at Base Camp Coding Academy in Water Valley, the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi’s (CFNM) Board of Directors voted to officially welcome Yalobusha County as the 12th county in its service region. This marks the first expansion of CFNM’s geographic footprint since 2015.
Brandon Presley, representing the Yalobusha Foundation, was elected to serve as the count
y’s representative on CFNM’s Board of Directors. “This community is full of people who are both interested and interesting—folks who care deeply about the future of Yalobusha County,” said Brandon Presley, Yalobusha’s new board representative. “Before we even officially rolled anything out, we already had $20,000 in pledges. That just shows the energy and heart here. What we’ve been missing is a hub to pull it all together—and this partnership with the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi feels like a marriage made in heaven.”
“What’s special about Yalobusha County is that they invited themselves to join us—they reached out to the Community Foundation to explore becoming part of what I truly consider a family,” said Billy Myers, CFNM Board Chair. “From the very beginning, the Community Foundation was built on a shared vision that Robin Hurdle brought to us in the early 2000s, and Tom Pittman’s leadership helped grow. The fact that groups like Brandon’s committee see value in that work tells me we’re doing something right. Yalobusha brings a heartfelt desire to improve their community—and that aligns perfectly with our mission of connecting people who care with causes that matter.”
In tandem with this milestone, the Maddox Nonprofit & Volunteer Resource HUB held a nonprofit partner meeting in Yalobusha County to begin fostering relationships with local organizations. These connections will help inform future grantmaking and donor-driven initiatives in the area.
CFNM Development Director, Stacye Trout said, “We are excited to partner with organizations and donors in Yalobusha to create a lasting impact—specifically through the growth of endowments that will serve the community for generations to come.”
With this special addition, CFNM looks forward to furthering its mission of connecting people who care with causes that matter—now including Yalobusha County.