City Notes: Community Foundation has come a long way, has bright future

By Diane Neuzil, Floyd County Community Foundation Development Associate

The Floyd County Community Foundation (FCCF) started 2018 on a high note, awarding more than $109,000 to 30 area nonprofits and government entity projects building a stronger Floyd County.

The grants were distributed at the Community Foundation’s January 17 awards ceremony. The ceremony gathered people working to make Floyd County communities better for everyone and provided an opportunity to hear how organizations carry out their missions locally.

Since its inception in 2005, the FCCF has given out more than $1.3 million in grants. These grants have supported groups in the areas of arts and culture, community betterment, education, environment, health, historic preservation and human service. 

FCCF growth continues with the Foundation currently holding over $4.2 million in assets — that is a 24 percent increase from 2016.

These assets include 38 funds supporting Floyd County communities. Many have been established by individuals and families to support the causes they care about forever.

Other endowment funds held with FCCF include nonprofit agency funds established by nonprofits to create a stable, professionally managed, long-term source of funding to support their programs and mission.

The FCCF governing committee remains committed to being an active part of the community and its efforts. Party in the Park sponsorship, Women in Philanthropy coffees and annual awards ceremonies are all activities that the governing committee has sponsored in the past year.

These activities bring people of our community together for local interaction and support.

In 2017, FCCF also hosted a remote location in Charles City for local tax and financial advisors to attend the Salvation Army’s 25th Annual Estate and Charitable Gift Planning Institute. FCCF is honored to work with advisors to help their clients meet their charitable goals.

The FCCF continues to work to help local residents find ways to support the communities they love. This includes its ongoing Transfer of Wealth (TOW) initiative.

The goal of the TOW volunteer committee is to help landowners reach their charitable goals by leaving a portion of their estate as an endowment to support Floyd County in the future. An exciting compliment to this is the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa’s Farmland for Good program. (FCCF is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.)

This new program gives farmers and landowners the opportunity to keep their land in production by local hands and support the causes that matter most to them. More information can be found at cfneia.org/farmland4good.

An important statistic that has spurred these initiatives is the amount of money that will transfer to generations in Floyd County over the next 50 years.

According to Iowa probate records, projected Floyd County wealth transfer between 2010 and 2059 is $6.7 billion. If just 5 percent of this amount could be donated and invested in the future, an incredible difference could be made for area nonprofits and government entities.

Exciting staffing changes have also occurred with FCCF. Marcie Andrews served as development associate for nearly seven years and has retired from the position but remains part of FCCF in an administrative role.

I am excited to have recently stepped into Marcie’s shoes as the new development associate. My family and I have been part of the Charles City community for 25 years, and I look forward to continuing to build strong relationships and provide a local contact for those who want to work with the Foundation to create a more vibrant Floyd County.

The FCCF committee would also like to thank members who have recently transitioned off the committee. Thank you to Tony Halsted, Judy Hauser, Al Koenigsfeld, Jenny Loeckle, Angie Ruzicka, and Patty Staudt for your dedication to the Community Foundation and commitment to making Floyd County great.

Members of the current FCCF volunteer governing committee are Chairman Charlie Newman, Sue Bortz, Chuck Davis, Jim Erb, Chris Garden, Kurt Hoeft, Jane Larson, Rod Nordeng, John Olson, Alicia Schmitt, Amy Staudt, Teresa Stevens-Marth and Erika Troyna.

Thank you to all the generous people who have supported the Floyd County Community Foundation by volunteering their time and talents and sharing their financial resources to support the communities they love forever.

We have come so far in the past 13 years and continue to grow with your help! For more information on FCCF, go to floydccf.org or contact Diane Neuzil at dneuzil@floydccf.org or 641-330-7173.