By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The South Shelby Chamber of Commerce logged a busy 2015 and started 2016 with a well-attended luncheon in a new location.

Chamber members gathered at First Baptist Church of Columbiana for a 2015 Year in Review; remarks from speaker Christopher Nanni, president and CEO of Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham; and lunch catered by Johnny Ray’s BBQ on Jan. 7.

Chamber Chair-Elect Casey Morris presented the year in review, which detailed events, fundraising and more the Chamber recorded in 2015.

The year included 20 ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking ceremonies, four professional development seminars, five Coffee with the Mayor events, four Coffee with the Sheriff events, four Business After Hours events, a partnership with Office Depot, 12 luncheons, $5,000 raised for the Chamber’s scholarship fund from its silent auction, a partnership with the Shelby County Arts Council to host Shelby Shindig, a golf tournament and the 10th Annual Diamond Awards spotlighting local businesses and business owners.

The Chamber closed 2015 with the last luncheon at Columbiana United Methodist Church before moving to First Baptist Church of Columbiana for more space.

The South Shelby Chamber will partner with the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce this year on different programs for each organization’s investors and communities.

“2016 has a very bright future,” Morris said.

Nanni talked about the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham’s mission as an organization founded in 1959 to foster leadership and philanthropy in a five-county area.

“We are the community’s endowment,” Nanni said. “We receive gifts from community, we pool all of these gifts together (and) we invest them back into community through non-profit sector. As an endowment, we’re raising permanent resources.”

Nanni said the organization has roughly $246 million in assets, 476 grant-making funds and $224 million community grants since 2000.

“In a typical year, we will raise about $15 million and grant back out $14-$15 million a year,” Nanni said. “It comes down to impact.”

The organization’s proactive initiatives include aging issues, workforce development, post secondary attainment, breast cancer survivorship, mental health, crime reduction and payday lending.

EngAge is an initiative to address aging issues, Nanni said, noting 8,000 individuals turn 65 years old every day nationally.

Nanni also provided the following statistics regarding the area’s senior population: Ninety percent of older adults in Shelby County are homeowners, 93 percent want to remain in their own homes as long as possible; 19 percent (1-in-5) report their residence will need significant work for them to stay in their home over next five years; 26 percent of senior households in Shelby County report income of less than $35k; 3 percent are enrolled in SNAP (national is 18 percent); and 79 percent would use SNAP benefits if they qualified for them.

Shelby County is the youngest of six counties in the survey, Nanni said. Only 12.6 percent of the county’s population is 65 or older compared with 14.9 percent for the state.

Shelby County seniors are active, with 45 percent volunteering and 66 percent attending a movie, play or community event in the past two weeks.

Senior Program Officer Gus Heard-Hughes said the organization has provided 471 grants for $4,242,607 for Shelby County since 2000, and provided 47 grants for $414,396 to county projects in 2014.

“There’s been a lot of investment in Shelby County over the years,” Heard-Hughes said, noting the Alabaster City Schools’ partnership grant with UWCA supporting the school system’s summer feeding program as an example.

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham helps with grants for SafeHouse to support affordable housing and services for domestic violence victims, Nanni said.

“We are so glad and grateful for the partnering,” Nanni said. “We have enjoyed working with people here.”