Does Faribault need a community foundation?

Communities and the people in them have many needs. Essential services are provided, but there are needs and wants that go beyond essential services. Governments cannot meet all the needs and wants, mostly because of lack of funds and partly because some expenditures may go beyond the role of government. Community charities enhance community life for the people they serve, even though their financial capacity is often limited, and their mission is specific.

“So why do we need a community foundation?”

The primary strategy of a community foundation is to develop permanent endowment funds and use the annual growth to support a variety of needs in a community. A community foundation is a public charity that can receive funds for its mission from various sources. The secondary strategy is to serve those who donate to the funds by helping them accomplish their charitable giving goals.

The Faribault Foundation was established as a community foundation in 1999 by a group of local leaders. Their vision was to enable people who love their community to support it in a meaningful way, now and in the future. Local philanthropists made donations over the years to the foundation and those donations were granted out back to the community to support our non-profits and charities. The Foundation was doing important community work, but no endowments were established.

Fast forward 23 years or so and the organization has dramatically changed. During the past 18 months the Foundation established the policies, procedures, and the structure needed to operate as a full-fledged community foundation. Adopting a donor centric approach, the community foundation can meet the complex needs of today’s donors, while building endowments to support the greatest needs in our community now and in the future, just like our founders originally intended.

Imagine taking the stress from local non-profits because they had a stable income from endowments. Imagine having grant funds available to help new organizations get started, or creative ideas to take flight. Imagine having a trusted resource that local people will gladly use to fund their philanthropic goals. Imagine an organization that will help fund the greatest needs and the greatest ideas for Faribault, now and long into the future. That’s our vision for the Faribault Community Foundation. We invite you to share the vision and join the movement.

How can you be part of this exciting movement? By combining gifts, great and small, the Foundation gives everyone the opportunity to be a philanthropist. Join the effort by making a small (or large) one-time donation, donating to a 100 Men or 100 Women event, or establishing your own donor advised fund. Some people are contributing annually to the Greatest Needs fund or making plans to leave a legacy bequest or memorial fund. There are many options for donors to consider. Everyone can participate.

It is my pleasure to support Faribault’s philanthropists as we grow our community foundation together to support the greatest needs in the Faribault community. I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about your desire to give back.

Laura Bock   Faribault Foundation, Executive Director. Laura is the enthusiastic leader of this dynamic emerging organization, dedicated to community philanthropy and serving the needs of donors.

Contact her at 507-805-8800 or LauraBock@FaribaultFoundation.org

A Faribault native, Laura brings her

love of the community along with her

leadership experience making her the

ideal person to meet the changing

needs of the Faribault Foundation.

Her experience working

alongside local estate planning

attorneys and financial advisors gives

her the ability to manage the donor

centric organization.