It took the Douglas County Community Foundation 10 years to distribute $5 million in grants to community groups. It took two more years to double that number.

The foundation announced Thursday that it had surpassed $10 million in total grants awarded since its formation in 2000.

“It means a lot of people in the community have been very generous in supporting their neighbors and the service organizations that do great work every day,” said Chip Blaser, executive director of the foundation.

The foundation’s grants have added up to about $2 million annually each of the last few years, Blaser said, and the total is likely to end up at about that level this year.

“We’ve had quite a lot of grant activity over the last couple of years,” he said.

One reason for that, he said, is a number of community projects occurring in recent years, including capital campaigns for the Lawrence Public Library, Theatre Lawrence and the Lawrence Community Shelter.

The Community Shelter was the beneficiary of the foundation’s largest grant awarded this year, worth $100,000.

That grant, like the majority awarded by the foundation, came from a donor-advised fund — funds committed to the foundation by individuals, families or businesses that then recommend donations to local nonprofit organizations.

“The really gratifying thing about people setting up a charitable fund like this through the foundation is that they have made a commitment to make charitable giving to our community a part of their everyday way of life,” Blaser said.

Other grants awarded this year were as small as $100.

The foundation also has an unrestricted community grant fund, established with the $4 million gift from the late Tensie Oldfather that gave the foundation its start.

Altogether, the foundation’s assets total more than $21 million.

Since 2000, it has awarded more than 1,300 grants.