Board fears confusion has stalled fund-raising effort
By GRANT OVERSTAKE
Star-Journal
The thermometer on the sign at the corner of Main Street and Grand had been frozen for several weeks at under the $200,000 mark for the Hillsboro Impact Fund.
As the red stripe edged over the $200,000 level this past week, Hillsboro Community Foundation (HCF) board members were eager to express their gratitude to the 75 citizens who have given to the ongoing campaign drive.
But board members are concerned that their efforts to raise $250,000 have been slowed because of public confusion about their purpose — to create an endowment for worthy community projects and causes.
With a mid-June deadline fast approaching, a handful of board members stayed behind Thursday after the regular board meeting.
HCF chairman Mike Kleiber, an upside-down lefty, carefully addressed another envelope to a potential donor. Kleiber took some ribbing for his painstaking slowness, but everyone knew why.
Everything, including the first impression of a letter, matters now.
That's because, from the very beginning, experts told the board that the success of the Impact Fund hinges on the amount of money raised during the "forever founders" campaign.
With so much at stake, the board called a press conference to set the record straight:
— This is not a typical fund drive.
Unlike annual fund-raisers such as the United Way campaign, this is a one-time-only campaign drive. It will not be repeated.
Because the Hillsboro Community Foundation is brand new, money is needed to establish an endowment. The goal is to start the Impact Fund with as much "seed money" as possible.
To help donors make larger gifts, pledges can paid in installments over the next three years.
— The seed money won't be spent.
Unlike a charity that spends the donations it receives in a cash-in, cash-out fashion, money given to the Impact Fund will go directly into the endowment, and will not be spent.
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Instead, the endowment funds will be invested, and a portion of the investment income will be given to charitable causes in the community, beginning in 2008.
— There's still time to contribute.
To be included among the "forever founders," endowment pledges must be turned in by mid-June.
Once established, the Impact Fund will continue to grow and improve the lives of Hillsboro residents for years to come. And in the future, donors will be encouraged to add to the Impact Fund with outright gifts, estate gifts, or memorials.
The Impact Fund drive began last year with a silent phase in which $100,000 was raised.
The public campaign began Nov. 6 when the Impact Fund was introduced by HCF at a gala dinner celebration at the Parkview Mennonite Church.
A countywide electrical outage plunged the banquet hall into total darkness for most of the keynote address, given by TV journalist Larry Hatteberg from KAKE in Wichita.
As flashlights shined on the Kansas journalism icon, he encouraged about 180 guests to make "heroic contributions" to the new fund.
"I think it's a great thing that your foundation is doing," he said. "I love it when people feel strongly enough to help their fellow man. That's what life is all about
Later in the program, Kleiber expressed confidence that the people of Hillsboro would come through.
"Our community has benefited from a heritage rich with passion to succeed and refined by the passion to accomplish goals," he said.
"This fund focuses on continuing the success of those who have built our tremendous community by taking responsibility today to nurture our future."
Board co-chairman Jayson Hanschu emphasized Thursday that, all things considered, it's remarkable that so much has been raised.
"With the church campaign, the Tabor campaign, the price of gas, fertilizer, and fuel, and the wheat crop getting hit, there have been a lot of economic challenges; and yet we still have a full $200,000 in pledges from this community," he said.
"I think the people in this community still deserve a pat on the back for doing that. Because it would be easy to come up with excuses not to do this, from a community standpoint."
Even though 75 founders' pledges have been received, according to board member Jim Brennan, "There are a number of people in this town who are conspicuous by their absence."
Brennan, who with other board members has made several one-on-one pitches to prospective donors, said many people don't really understand the purpose of the Impact Fund.
"I guess we can't say it enough," Brennan said. "They say, 'If we give you all this money, what are you going to do with it?'
"People don't seem to hear that this fund is not going to be spent for anything," he added. "Only the income from this fund will go to worthy projects."
Board member Jared Jost added,
"Every year, no matter what happens, this endowment is going to give money toward a great cause in my community," Jost said. "This could go toward the Boy Scouts, or the baseball summer league and they could come to this foundation and they could apply for money."
Seeking greater returns for their endowment dollars, HCF has from the beginning associated itself with the Greater Newton Community Foundation. Newton's executive director, Dennis LeFevre, was present at the board meeting, providing expertise.
How much good can Hillsboro do with a $250,000 endowment?
"If the endowment reaches the $250,000 goal, then about $12,500 will be available each year for distribution," LeFevre said. "The theory is that we ought to be able to spend five percent of these dollars each year and invest them in such a way that, not only do we replace that five percent, we also add enough back in to count for inflation and to count for the investment fees."
Earnings above this amount would be put in the endowment fund, he added.
"Each year you get five percent of that larger pool to spend," he said. "That's what really makes it work long term."
As the endowment fund drive enters the home stretch, everyone on the board is going all-out to find the $50,000 it needs to meet the goal.
Board member and USD 410 superintendent Gordon Mohn will make an Impact Fund presentation May 26 at the Hillsboro High School all-school reunion banquet.
Other members will continue their efforts, calling on a variety of potential donors, ranging from wealthy retirees, to couples with kids to feed and mortgages to pay.
Donors are being asked to pledge based on one of four Founding Member designations:
— Gold Founder — $10,000 and up.
— Silver Founder — $5,000 to $9,999.
— Bronze Founder — $3,000 to $4,999.
— Foundation Friend — gifts up to $2,999.
Of the 75 donations and pledges received so far, eight have been in the gold category, four in the silver, 19 in bronze. All the others are Foundation Friends.
But a person doesn't need to be a gold, silver, or bronze giver to experience the joy of giving. Repeatedly, the board's message has been that the important thing is to give.
"Each of us have to examine where we are financially when we get involved in this," said Brennan, 74, who retired in 1998 after 30 years as assistant plant manager at Associated Milk Producers, Inc., (AMPI).
For Brennan, "It's a way of giving back to a community that's been good to us for a long time."
To learn more about the Impact Fund, contact any member of the board:
Mike Kleiber, chairman; Jayson Hanschu, vice-chairman; Brad Bartel, secretary-treasurer; Gordon Mohn, Jim Brennan, Delores Dalke, Kim Kaufman, Lynette Barkman, Keith Harder, Clark Wiebe, and Jared Jost.
Send gifts and pledges to Impact Fund, c/o Hillsboro Community Foundation Box 273, Hillsboro KS 67063.
