Fremont Area Community Foundation

Welcome Auditors!

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:06:27 +0000

About this time every year, we have the opportunity to welcome our friendly auditors from Dana Cole. I’m very sincere when I say opportunity because that’s exactly how we think of it. Simply put, when applied to an organization’s financial statements, the audit tests the accuracy of the financial information presented by that organization’s management. The audit first focuses on the organization’s internal controls such as management system practices and documentation. If the auditor finds that the financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with appropriate accounting standards, the auditor will certify the financial statements and issue an unqualified audit opinion. If changes need to be made the auditor will work with the organization to recommend and make the necessary changes. We believe that it is so important to be proactive and to have an external review assuring our board members, donors, and the community of the organization’s transparency and sound financial management.

Friendly Auditors

I have to give credit where due because the job of an auditor would not be for me. These ladies have been in my office since 9 a.m. diligently pouring over files. I’d also like to give a shout out to Jennifer from Erickson & Brooks in Fremont who does our compilation and pre-audit prep, and of course to our own Kim Taylor who does an amazing job managing the administration of our accounts alongside her other responsibilities.

As friendly auditor Kerry told me today, “It’s much better to invite us in, than to have have us show up when the State or IRS calls!” Amen.

Philanthropy Meet Strategy

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:44:49 +0000

There is always a spotlight on end-of-the-year giving, and the rush to make a charitable contribution before the clock strikes midnight. I love this article from the Denver Post about strategic philanthropy. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19567126

At the Fremont Area Community Foundation, we would be thrilled to help you become a more strategic philanthropist and align your giving intents with organizations in our community that do great work. Give us a call at (402) 721-4252 or email info@facfoundation.org to learn more!

Happy Holidays!

Annual Dinner 2011

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:05:30 +0000

We hope that you will join us for Annual Dinner 2011 on Tuesday, November 15th at 6:00 p.m. at the Opera House. This is going to be a wonderful event, and we are excited to be the first dinner event at the Opera House since it reopened!

For me this night will be especially fun, as it will be my first Annual Dinner. Those of you who attended last year may remember that my baby boy made his arrival two weeks early, a day before the dinner. I was sad to have missed it, but it was a very good excuse.

This year our guest speaker will be Patrick McNamara, Fulbright Scholar who has just returned from India where he has spent the last five months studying community foundations and philanthropy. We are also excited to be recognizing three retiring board members, Cherry Gocken, Bob Hillis and Steve Pribnow.

If you would like more information about the event, or to purchase tickets, please send us an email at info@facfoundation.org or call (402)721-4252.

Join Us: Upcoming Events!

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:03:38 +0000

FACF has two great upcoming events that I would invite you to attend.

Growing Your Business Through Charitable Planning!

October 11, 2011

6:00 p.m.

Fremont Golf Club

Presented by: Joe Twidwell, Security National Wealth Management, Senior Vice President and Trust Officer

Reserve your spot today by emailing info@facfoundation.org!

And

October Fremont Women’s Connection Event!

October 20, 2011

5:30-7:30 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE:

FREMONT GOLF CLUB

2710 N. Somers, Fremont

Tickets are on sale through the Chamber or Fremont’s Hy-Vee store.

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:50:15 +0000

Good morning! I’m pleased to be back home enjoying the beautiful Nebraska weather today. I want to share with you all a final blog post that I wrote following the conference. It can be found at http://www.cofinteract.org/rephilanthropy/?p=3387.

I thought it was important to write this post because it speaks to the momentum that we often feel following a good conference experience. I have learned and continue to be reminded that it’s important to slow down a bit before jumping in head first.

As you will read, I also learned a life lesson about this as well.

Fiscal Sponsorship – Lessons learned from fund clean-up!

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:21:15 +0000

I’m having such a great time at the Council’s national conference, and have learned a great deal. One of the sessions that I attended yesterday particularily hit home for me as we are navigating through what I call “fund clean-up” and understanding how to do fiscal sponsorships correctly.

The Council on Foundation’s picked up this blog and I would encourage you to visit it and the other conference attendees posts to learn more! http://www.cofinteract.org/rephilanthropy/?p=3371

Day 1: A Conference Geek’s Snapshot of Opening Day

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:43:49 +0000

Good morning from the West Coast! As I sit from my hotel room watching the sun rise over the downtown skyline, I can’t help but to be so very grateful for the opportunity to be at the National Fall Conference for Community Foundations. This is the first time in the 31 year history of the Fremont Area Community Foundation in Nebraska that anyone has attended a conference of this scale, and I plan on soaking up every minute.

As I blogged about earlier I am a big Conference Geek. I love attending conferences, and just spent the last thirty minutes carefully plotting out the outline of my day. Here is a snapshot of the sessions I will be attending today:

8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Opening Plenary: Rehabilitating the Classroom: A Candid Discussion of Education Reform

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Trustee Leadership: Where are you on the continuum?

Noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Plenary: Pledge to lead by Example

This lunch plenary session is one that I have anticipated since I registered for the conference. On the heels of Nebraskan Warren Buffett’s “Giving Pledge” this session will include a personal account of a husband and wife who have taken this monumental philanthropic pledge and how they plan to fulfill and make and impact with their gift.

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Dessert in Community Central (I had to include that. Love it when dessert is actually on the day’s agenda!)

1:30 = 2:30 p.m. Leveraging Women’s Collective Giving for Your Community Foundation

This session is particularly relevant just following the Fremont Area Community Foundation’s new partnership effort with the Fremont Women’s Connection events. Out of our original discussion of how to encourage, educate, and empower women has been an ongoing conversation about a “women’s fund” or “women’s circle” that would leverage collective giving to make an impact on the Fremont area community.

2:30 – 4:00 p.m.Beyond Grants: Civic Engagement for Community Problem Solving

4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Impact Investing: Deepening Impact and Donor Engagement

6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Offsite Evening Learning Opportunity: Growing Faster and Smarter, co-sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation and Council on Foundations

It is almost as if this session was planned for our community foundation! Just last Wednesday, the executive leadership of my board gathered for its second strategic planning meeting where we started looking at the James Irvine Foundation publications regarding strategic growth for emerging community foundations. This networking and informational event will be the perfect solution to answering some pressing questions that we have about how to make sure our strategic plan is aligned with a growth strategy that is engaged with the community and sustainable. And by the way it is held at the California Historical Society which I’m very excited to see!

If you want to follow more about what is happening at the conference, please follow me here and on the Council blog: http://www.cofinteract.org/rephilanthropy/.

Recap of Give & Gain and Prepping for Conference #2

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:29:59 +0000

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to attend the AFP Give and Gain Conference on planned giving. The opening speaker Viken Mikaelian was an energetic individual with a very unique perspective on how to build a planned giving program. Coming from a background in marketing, his expertise was truly in how to engage an audience and capture the attention of a donor base. Here are a couple of his “rules.”

Don’t use jargon that donors do not understand. Nix “foundation”, “bequest”, “CRT”, “501(c)3″, and other industry terms from your language. (I’m not sure how we are to get rid of Foundation from our name, but I get where he was going with this.)
Donor recognition should always be done in print and in a very prominent location.
Utilizing donor stories as a way to capture attention is a great idea.
People enjoy being a part of a successful enterprise. Be careful not to sound too desperate for funding.
Pursue planned gifts that don’t affect the donors cash flow today.
Stop telling the prospect we can’t wait for them to die! (This is important!) Instead give them helpful information that will benefit their planning for the future.
Focus on gifts that anyone can make, such as appreciated stock, life insurance policies, IRAs, etc.

He also shared from very interesting statistics:

69% of planned giving donors give less than $500/year.
50% of planned gifts are from people ages 45 years and younger.
A typical planned gift is 200-300 times larger than a donor’s annual gift.
Only 5% of the nation’s wealth is in cash.

I was struck by the practicality of these ideas and facts, and look forward to recrafting our messaging for Legacy Society prospects to reflect this great new information. More information from Viken can be found at his website: www.PlannedGiving.com.

I’m also excited to begin preparing for the next AWESOME conference that I will have the chance to attend. The Foundation is sending me to the National Conference of Community Foundations in San Francisco, CA! I’m thrilled about the line up of speakers, sessions, and networking events. I’m also excited to share that I have the opportunity to be a blogger for the event. I’m going to be sharing updates from the conference Sunday – Wednesday on this blog and at http://www.cofinteract.org/rephilanthropy/.

The first post will be on Sunday night recapping the first networking event with John Korbara. I’m thrilled to be able to share my experiences with all of you and hope that you will follow my comments next week!

Pumped About Conferences! 1 of 2: “The Science and Art of Fundraising”

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:54:42 +0000

I love professional development conferences, and by love I mean LOVE! When you enjoy your job as much as I do the chance to get to spend the day with super smart colleagues who love what they do too, is a real joy. And I’m a sponge, I always learn something new and something I think I can implement into our work at FACF. I’m the one who shows up early with a big pad of paper for notes, has her sessions all planned out, passes out business cards throughout the day, asks questions during sessions, and usually has a follow-up question or two for the speaker that I address via email later in the week. Yes, I am “that” person…

In the next couple of weeks I get to attend not one but two terrific conferences. The first is the Nebraska Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Conference titled, “The Science and Art of Fundraising.” This conference is focused on planned giving, and for the Foundation this is a very timely topic as we continue to talk to the community about the importance of leaving estate gifts back to the community, and how to utilize the Foundation as a vehicle for doing so. I’m very excited to learn how better to work with donors and their professional advisors, and to learn more about the effects of tax rates.

I would encourage any nonprofit development officer or executive director to attend this conference. It would also be a great resource if you have a super engaged board member who wants to learn more as well. More information can be found at, http://www.afpnebraska.org/index.php?bid=60.

I’ll be reporting back on this event on September 16th, so stay tuned… And conference number two, well that one is even more exciting… more information coming soon!

Business Supporters: Breaking down the Who, How Much, and Why!

Fremont Area Community Foundation — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Last month the Foundation launched its annual Business Supporters drive to request operational support from our area businesses. Each year that we initiative this drive I look forward to answering questions and inquiries from supporters about the “Who,” “How Much,” and “Why” of our request.

So let’s break it down. The “Who” is the Fremont Area Community Foundation requesting direct support from businesses in Fremont. We have not typically extended our requests beyond Fremont because we want to Affiliate Funds in Hooper, North Bend, Uehling and Arlington to also have the opportunity to sustain their funds in their own communities. “How Much?” The answer to this depends on your business. We have five levels of support that are recognized: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Every dollar counts!

By far, my favorite question to answer is “Why” and better yet “Why is this request different?” These questions from savvy corporate philanthropists and strategic business owners are the best because they give me the opportunity to explain why the Foundation exists in the community, and why giving to operational support is important to us. Very simply stated the Foundation exists to help donors support the community and make it a great place to live both today, and in the future. Operational support is important because it means that we do not have to use any of the Foundation’s unrestricted endowment for operational expenses, freeing it solely for funds available to the community through our granting. And why is our operational support different from other requests? In some respects it is not. We maintain a very streamlined budget for basic operational expenses, but the difference is our dedication and support invested back into the community in everything that we do. The best way to explain what a Business Supporter’s contribution means, is to use the illustration of a pebble tossed into a pond. One contribution starts off by supporting the Foundation’s basic operating, but that basic operating support ripples to support the operating of our Affiliate Funds in four towns and two counties, which supports the growth of those communities. It then ripples into support for nonprofits in the Fremont area; in some cases through start-up funds to launch new initiatives, and in others through direct training provided to organizations to help them become stronger, more efficient, and sustainable. And then the ripple extends even further to operational support that is reinvested back into the community through our committment to “buy local” whenever possible for office supplies, marketing materials, insurance and other expenses.

Our tagline “Give to Grow” nicely sums it up. For our Business Supporters, they have committed to helping the Foundation grow and by doing so have helped the community grow!

Our special thanks to these businesses who have committed their support in 2011!

Adams Oil, Inc.

All Metals Market Inc.

Allied Appliance

Boschult Engineering Co.

Charlie Diers Ford-Lincoln-Mercury

Christensen Lumber Inc.

Dodge County Title & Escrow Co.

Don Peterson & Associates

Dugan Funeral Home

Eagle Distributing

First State Bank & Trust

Fontanelle Hybrids

Fremont Contract Carriers

Fremont Area Medical Center

Fremont Electric

Fremont Eye Associates

Gene Steffy’s Chrysler

Gringo’s Cantina

INSPRO, Inc.

Leonard Management

Metropolitan Community College

Midlands Printing

Miller Pharmacy

Moser Funeral Home

Nye Senior Services

OfficeNet

Overland Products

Paden Enterprises

Park Professional Group

Pathfinder Company

Pinnacle Bank

Scribner Bank

Sid Dillon Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac

Sidner, Svoboda, Schilke, Thomsen, Holtorf, Boggy, Nick & Placek

U.S. Bank

Valmont Enterprises

Vance Plumbing & Heating, Inc.

Wal-Mart Super Center

Yost, Schafersman, Lamme, Hillis, Mitchell & Schulz, P.C.