Q: What is a community foundation?

A community foundation, such as HCCEF, is a tax-exempt public charity, created by and for the people of Hardin County.  Local foundations are a valuable resource for people who desire to support causes close to their hearts in their own hometowns —- immediately or through their wills and estate plans.
 
From the environment and healthcare, to education and the arts, the Hardin County Community Endowment Foundation makes grants to local nonprofit groups that are working every day to enrich the lives of people in Hardin County, now and into the future.

Community foundations are the fastest growing sector of philanthropy in the United States. There are currently about 650 community foundations across the country with combined assets of over $31 billion.

Local foundations are a popular choice for donors because they are particularly effective at finding a match between a donor's charitable interests and identified community needs. Donors can give to an existing fund, or they can establish a new charitable fund at the community foundation by contributing a variety of assets. Those assets are then carefully invested by the foundation.

The gift principal never gets spent and the earnings are used to benefit the community through annual grants. Gifts to the foundation will continue to grow and earn resources for the community forever.

Q: Why is Small Town and Rural Philanthropy So Important?

Most of America's wealth is concentrated in urban areas. As a result, the bulk of the country's charitable assets (like grantmaking foundations and larger nonprofit organizations) is located there, too. Since people tend to give their charitable dollars in the communities where they live and work, it is unlikely that large amounts of charitable assets will move from America's urban areas to small towns and rural communities.

In spite of this, rural areas have their own assets that they can develop into charitable funds. For example, research shows that the rural South is home to a large number of high-income earners and millionaires. Even individuals who don't appear to be particularly wealthy may have accumulated a large amount of disposable income and assets over their lifetimes.

Assets like land, timber, mineral rights and farm equipment can all be used to create charitable gifts. By pooling the charitable gifts of all of a community's members -- not just the visibly wealthy -- small towns and rural Iowa communities can accumulate formidable assets to secure the future quality of life for people in their hometown communities.