Community Foundation is serving the Keys well
The Community
Foundation of the Florida Keys has good reason to take pride in two
major achievements. The organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary
this month, having grown from not much more than a dream to a
flourishing institution that provides broad financial support to
nonprofit causes in our communities. Furthermore, that mission has been
strengthened substantially by the fact that it has successfully met the
terms of a $3 million challenge grant from the local Rodel Foundation, a
milestone also reached this month.
We salute the
visionary citizens who founded the organization, the energetic board
members whose hard work has produced such a remarkable success in such a
short time and, of course, the many nonprofit organizations whose
continuing collaboration has made the foundation's mission a reality.
The foundation now
boasts $9 million in assets under management, all intended for the
benefit of charitable causes. The best news is that sum is only a start,
a beginning. Nevertheless, this has already created a nest egg
generating at least $450,000 in grants every year. A next milestone, the
goal of achieving $20 million under management would at least double the
available grant-making monies. These are mainly monies not otherwise
available from other funding sources.
For those among our
readers who may be unfamiliar with how a community foundation functions,
here are the basics:
Individuals, families,
businesses or other affinity groups make tax-exempt gifts to the
foundation. Typically, these gifts are in the form of stocks, bonds or
cash but they can also be physical assets such as real estate, art work,
autos, boats or anything else for which an accurate value can be
established. Donor's funds can be earmarked for specific charities or
fields of interest such as education, arts, social services or
scholarships. Gifts can also be directed to a general fund administered
by the board of directors to meet unanticipated community charitable
needs. The foundation invests and manages the assets, administers and
monitors grants and handles all administrative work for a modest fee
that is paid out of earnings on the investments. In short, a community
foundation is the most convenient and efficient way for donors to adopt
the custom of planned giving to support the charities whose services are
so essential to quality of life in our communities.
Currently, the
Community Foundation manages 50 different funds created by donors for
various charitable causes. In addition, 20 local charities have
established endowments managed by the foundation. These endowments will
grow in value over the years, thereby supplanting or augmenting
fundraising events and, also, provide rainy day or emergency funds when
needed.
Another important
function of a community foundation is to provide a reserve of
unrestricted funds to meet emergencies or unanticipated or emerging
needs. Recently, in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, a group of
generous individuals and businesses created the My Key West Emergency
Fund to assist victims and, also, provide immediate cash grants to
critical social service organizations whose work was also disrupted by
storm damage. The Community Foundation was immediately chosen to
administer the Fund because it can accept tax exempt contributions
immediately and is readily equipped to handle grant-making and whatever
administrative work may be required.
The success of the My
Key West Fund is a wonderful model for providing immediate help in
future emergencies, in concert with the charities whose mission is to
marshal various kinds of resources and expertise and respond immediately
to victims' needs when crises occur. We therefore urge the board of
directors of the Community Foundation to redouble its efforts to build
up its unrestricted funds as a means of providing timely flexibility in
responding to unanticipated events.
In the meantime, it is
plainly evident that our community and its many charities are being well
served by the existence of a flourishing Community Foundation. We look
forward to the day when this page can take note of the next milestone, a
$20 million portfolio of donor funds and endowments.
— The Citizen |