Celebrate community foundation week
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Historically, individual Americans have voluntarily joined together to meet important needs in their communities. This generosity and willingness to work together for a common goal is a hallmark of the American character.
One of the ways Americans have done this for about the last 100 years is through community foundations. The Greater Polson Community Foundation will join with the Montana Community Foundation in celebrating National Community Foundation Week Nov. 11-17.
GPCF was formed in 2008, joining more than 45 affiliates of the MCF. The GPCF is part of a network of 73 community foundations across Montana working to build permanent assets to benefit their communities in perpetuity. In Montana, community foundations have more than $80 million in assets under management. They collectively grant more than $4 million each year to charitable organizations across the state.
Our foundation serves the area around Polson as a public charitable foundation committed to community grant-making, resource development, public leadership and collaboration. Through the generosity of many types of donors, including those who consider leaving a legacy for their favorite charities as part of their estate planning, we share a common goal of maintaining local assets in Polson.
Community foundations represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. Even through the recent challenges of the Great Recession, gifts to many community foundations are up. GPCF now holds assets of about $208,000, which are included in the Montana Community Foundation’s $60 million in assets.
In the four years GPCF has been awarding grants to local nonprofit organizations, $50,000 has been given back for community needs.
A study commissioned by the MCF found that in Lake County, nearly $310 million will transfer from one generation to the next over the next 10 years. Consider what would happen if only 5 percent of that figure, $15 million, was invested in a permanent endowment. If that investment earned 5 percent, it would mean there would be nearly $775,000 available each year to meet the needs of local communities.
We look forward to continuing to support Polson with charitable resources developed here to benefit residents here forever. If you want to learn more about GPCF, call me at 883-2248 or visit our website polsonforever.org.
(Editor’s note: Penny Jarecki is the board chair of the Greater Polson Community Foundation.)
