Where There’s a Need

HORRIFIC TRAGEDIES, when embraced by the community, can lead to some good. This was the case when Spc. Sterling Wyatt was killed in Afghanistan in July and a memorial fund to provide scholarships to Columbia Boy Scouts was set up in his name. A donor presented an idea, community members backed it, and it gained structure and permanence through the Community Foundation of Central Missouri.

As an independent, nonprofit organization founded in November 2010, CFCM works to help philanthropic donors establish charity funds and channel their donations directly to those in need. The community foundation model has been active for nearly 100 years and is growing to about 750 foundations around the country. Columbia is just beginning to catch up.

“The city wanted to find an inexpensive way to expand into more powerful philanthropy while also keeping it very local, personable and donor centric,” says John Baker, executive director.

The goal was not only to have a foundation serving as a community savings account in Columbia but also for all of central Missouri.

“There are all kinds of need that are still not addressed,” Baker says. “Everything from your definite human interest needs for relief, the arts, historic preservation, religious concerns, race relations: They are all kinds of things the Community Foundation can work with.”

Putting funds to use

Mary Rodriquez is another philanthropist who saw a need in Columbia. She recognized the necessity to reward high school students who are academically successful, participate in the community and have overcome some sort of adversity, be it physical, mental, societal or otherwise. As a result, she sought out CFCM to create the Mary Rodriquez Achievement Through Adversity Scholarship Fund. This fund is significant in that it acknowledges college-bound students who might not have been recognized otherwise, Baker says.

Teresa Maledy, president and founding member, says CFCM’s flexible avenues for giving and personalized service — backed by guidance from attorneys, financial planners and the like — ensure that those looking to give are absolutely able to achieve their charitable goals. At the same time, the needs of the community are addressed in the most cohesive and effective way.

Donors have five options when selecting the type of fund they want to establish; all types are professionally managed:

• • Donor-advised funds enable donors to periodically suggest how their gift is used.
• • Field-of-interest funds prompt donors to choose a specific program area (such as education, health, the environment, etc.) to which their gift will be channeled.
• • Designated funds allow donors to select several organizations that will be annual recipients of monetary gifts.
• • Scholarship funds are available to students who meet particular criteria designated by donors.
• • In an unrestricted fund, donors essentially write blank checks and give CFCM the autonomy to decide which sectors of the community are most deserving of the money.

Because of the flexibility CFCM offers, donors have many options available to them. Sometimes they need the foundation’s help when “cutting through the fog” and exploring how to give in a way that best coincides with the donor’s interests and passions, Baker says.

To ensure that receiving charities use the money in accordance with the donors’ wishes, CFCM becomes familiar with the leaders of the organizations and even provides additional training and education as needed.

Looking forward

Two years ago, CFCM managed nine funds with a combined asset value of $265,000. Today, it manages 33 funds, including those of the affiliate foundation in Boonville, Mo., for a total value of $1.75 million. In the long run, Baker says he’s shooting for more than 500 funds with assets at $300 million, which he believes will be possible through the continued growth of Columbia and additional affiliates.

“It requires people, it requires identification of a concern, and it requires money,” Baker says. “Then we go from there.”
CFCM is a fledgling organization with many of its funds still in the process of amassing money, but it’s picking up speed. Baker has high hopes for the future of CFCM.

“We really want to be the philanthropic center of mid-Missouri and the first place that philanthropic donors look to give,” Baker says. “Ultimately though, we don’t want to grow for the sake of growth. We want to grow for the sake of needs.”
For more information about CFCM’s services, funds and how to donate, visit cfcmfoundation.org