Setting their sights high: Solomon Valley Community Foundation establishes founders campaign
A community foundation is a permanent, steady, and secure source of grantmaking that addresses present and future community needs. The kicker is, you have to have assets.
Quickly after the formation of Solomon Valley Community Foundation the board went to work on launching a Founder’s Campaign in an effort to raise initial dollars into a Fund that would generate revenues for grants to charitable organizations in the communities of Mitchell County.
Many area community foundations had established campaigns with donor levels of $3,000 to $5,000 for founding donors, however in true SVCF style, the initial Board had greater aspirations and set their sights on a goal of $500,000.
The Board started by establishing a Business Level and an Individual Level to qualify as Founding Donors. To be a Business Donor a commitment needed to be made to contribute $25,000 over a 5 year period. Likewise on an individual basis, a person or couple could become Founding Donors by committing to contribute $7,500 to the Impact Fund, or they could establish an endowed fund of $10,000 by making a commitment of $12,500; $10,000 of which would go toward the establishment of their endowed fund, and $2,500 of which would go to the foundation’s unrestricted Impact Fund.
By September of 2013, just one month after the launch of the campaign, SVCF had already secured $246,895!
6 months later, in March of 2014, Solomon Valley Community Foundation announced in a press release within the Beloit Call that, “the founding campaign has now raised over $550,000 which is in excess of the $500,000 goal it set last year. Many local citizens and companies have shown a passion for their community and their desire for it to remain extremely viable for future generations.”
Board member Darcel McPeak was quoted in stating, “future generations will benefit from the visionary actions of current and future donors who want to pass forward what our communities mean to them.”
Solomon Valley Community Foundation’s Founding Donors include:
AGCO
AgMark, LLC
Carrico Implement Co., Inc.
Catlin’s Friendly Apple Market
Cunningham Telephone & Cable
Farmway Co-op, Inc.
Farmway Credit Union of Beloit-Lincoln-Mankato-Osborne
Frasier, Johnson & Martin, LLC
Guaranty State Bank & Trust Co.
Ringneck Ranch, Inc.
Curt & Sherry Frasier
Harold & Eileen Frasier
Jim & Lynn Gates
Max & Michele Heidrick
Keith & Debra Houghton
Kris & Melinda Kimple
Tom & Beverly Porter
Robert Severence/Severence Children
Mike & Kathy Thompson
John & Eleanor Yeary
Donor that has chosen to remain anonymous
