Sean C. Morgan
Despite a large recent donation that nearly doubled the Sweet Home Community Foundation’s endowment, foundation President Bob Burford is reporting that donations are generally down and the amount of money available for grants is low.
The foundation is asking for community support as it approaches the upcoming grant cycle.
“Our fall giving campaign is where we go directly to the community and seek support for not only our annual grant campaign to support our local organizations but to also build the long-term community endowment to meet Sweet Home’s future needs.
“Up until about two years ago, with the help of the Oregon Jamboree and the local giving campaign, we were able to distribute between $15,000 and $25,000 back into the community annually and add into the long-term endowment.”
The past two years, the Jamboree has not been able to directly support the foundation, Burford said. “They have worked with us on some associated fund-raising projects, such as the meet-and-greet with Neal McCoy.”
The Neal McCoy event raised about $1,500 this year, and the Jamboree facilitated a donation of $2,500 from Safeway last year. The Jamboree has historically provided 10 percent of its annual proceeds to the foundation.
“Frankly, most of the money we received from the Oregon Jamboree we turned around and distributed it back into the community,” Burford said. “Without that revenue source last year, the number of grants and the amount of the grants were significantly reduced.
“We’re hoping to be able to grant at a little higher level this year, but that will depend on support from the community.”
The foundation board understands that some larger donors in the past are under the impression that this year’s endowment donation may have put the foundation in a position where it doesn’t need support, he said, but those funds were dedicated to the endowment, now nearing $400,000, and have not generated income yet.
Burford and the board would like to urge community members to go ahead and donate, he said.
The foundation annually supports Meals on Wheels and the Senior Companion program, he said. It also has supported the East Linn Museum’s new roof and provided cribs, mattresses and car seats to the Crisis Pregnancy Center. It has given grants to Sweet Home Emergency Ministries and numerous other organizations.
The next grant cycle begins on Jan. 15.
“We really want to be able to support these groups,” Burford said. “Some of these groups, during these tough times, need whatever assistance we can provide them.”
The foundation has a low overhead – stationary, postage, legal expenses and auditing, he said. Nearly all of donations go directly to charitable organizations.
“We anticipate requests from many well-run deserving local organizations and we want to be able to help them as much as possible,” he said. “Hopefully, the community as a whole can help us in backfilling some of the funds lost from the Jamboree, remembering that all donations are fully tax-deductible.”
The foundation was formed in 1997 by the Sweet Home Economic Development Group, which produces the Oregon Jamboree, to assist in achieving community goals.
The goal was to give SHEDG a nonprofit tax-deductible arm to potentially receive grants and donations to meet the goals of SHEDG, said Burford, who was a member of the SHEDG board at the time. It also served as a way for the Jamboree to give back to the community if it made a profit.
Foundation board members include Burford, Wendy Younger, Gina Riley, Max Thompson, John Kuhns, Tim McQueary, Kristin Adams, Shirley Way, Sara Windom and Cindy Glick, who also serves on the SHEDG board.
The foundation may be reached by e-mail through its website, sweethomecommunityfoundaiton.org or by mail at P.O. Box 24, Sweet Home, OR 97386.
For information, contact Younger at (541) 367-8969.
Anyone with questions may also contact any board member, Burford said.