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(Part of a series of articles on charitable giving and the Union County Foundation by David Vollrath - Exec. Dir.) This past week the Union County Foundation hosted the last in a series of three informational dinners held for Union County Citizens. Previous meetings were held in Plain City and Richwood. It has been a wonderful experience for our board of trustees to meet Union County business and community leaders and dialogue with them regarding questions and misconceptions surrounding community foundations. Many of our information dinner guests have been surprised to learn of the national prevalence of community foundations. Nationwide there are in excess of 650 community foundations with the oldest being The Cleveland Foundation, which was established some 92 years ago in 1914. In the state of Ohio there are over 70 community foundations and a dozen more satellite community foundations that function as components of larger foundations. People often inquire how long the Union County Foundation has been in existence. The answer is that our roots date back to 1953 with The Dana Morey Foundation. That foundation evolved through the years with several name changes along the way (C.P.S. Inc., Community Services of Union Co., Dana Morey Services Inc.) until finally in 1993 we were chartered as The Community Foundation of Union County Inc. A.K.A. The Union County Foundation. Like most community foundations we are classified as a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization by the IRS. We are governed by a 15 member volunteer governing board comprised of a diverse group of outstanding men and women representing the various demographic and geographic sectors of our county. Another often asked question is what exactly is a community foundation? According to the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations "a community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, nonsectarian, philanthropic institution with a long term goal of building permanent, named component funds. These funds are established by many separate donors for the broad based charitable benefit of residents of a defined geographic area." Probably more important than the technical definition is what exactly is our purpose. I offer a simple answer to that question. We promote and facilitate charitable giving in Union County. We accomplish that task by assisting individuals and organizations with the accumulation, investment, and distribution of charitable dollars. In layman’s terms I would simply say to you that if you have a charitable inclination and aren’t quite sure how to shape it into real world action a community foundation can provide fee free assistance to walk you through that entire process. Community foundations are a charitable resource available to all, fully understood by few, but beneficial to many. The Union County Foundation encourages you to work closely with your professional advisor(s) as you consider your present and future charitable goals. The Foundation is equipped to help you achieve your charitable goals by providing: planned giving and estate planning resource information, charitable gift annuities/life income plans, and a broad array of charitable choices. Please call us at 937-642-9618, email commfounduc@imetweb.net, reference our website at www.emarysville.com/unioncountyfoundation, or stop by our Marysville office at 126 N. Main St. We are committed to helping you.... “preserve your footprint in time.” |
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