The Community Foundation of Dunn County is pleased to announce its five nonprofit recipients for the 2020 Nonprofit Endowment Challenge: The Dunn County Historical Society, Landmark Conservancy, The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, Stepping Stones of Dunn County and West CAP.
These five nonprofits applied for a $5,000 challenge grant to jumpstart an endowment fund at the Foundation. Nonprofit endowments are designed to help nonprofits invest in the mission and the future of the organization by providing general operating support, financial stability, and income for areas of high importance to the organization year after year. Endowment funds at the Community Foundation are professionally managed to ensure the funds remain strong over time. Each year, up to five percent of the average fund balance will be distributed to these organizations to help support their mission.
An Agency fund must have a minimum of $10,000 to become established at the Community Foundation. This grant cycle provided each of these nonprofits with a $5,000 grant towards establishing their own Agency fund at the Foundation. They each now have 12 months to raise the additional $5,000 needed to bring their total to the $10,000 endowment level. This initiative is part of the CFDC’s 25th Anniversary year.
The Dunn County Historical Society has been a staple in the community since 1950. Their mission is to discover, preserve, interpret and share knowledge about the history of Dunn County and its role in Wisconsin, and to inspire interest in the past. This grant will help them establish a “forever stream of income” to support their missions and operations.
Landmark Conservancy was born of a 2018 merger between two nationally accredited land trusts: West Wisconsin Land Trust and Bayfield Regional Conservancy. This organization represents over 50 years of conservation work, with a mission to conserve Wisconsin’s natural legacy for everyone, forever. Endowment earnings would be used for conservation outreach efforts in Dunn County, specifically noting the Devil’s Punchbowl Preserve as a near-term initiative.
The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts is a nonprofit organization that offers affordable arts programming and performances for all Dunn County residents. The Mabel was constructed in 1889 by the parents of Mabel Tainter, a young woman who passed away at the age of 19 and had a passion for the arts. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Wisconsin Historical Marker. Annual distributions from this fund would be used to advance expanding operational fundraising and developing and executing a capital plan to increase endowment to $5 million in the coming years.
Stepping Stones of Dunn County is an organization comprised of ‘people helping people strengthen the Dunn County community by providing food, shelter and support’. They currently operate a food pantry, an emergency homeless shelter and a community connections program that helps low income people with direct financial assistance. Stepping Stones opened an Acorn Fund at the Foundation in 2014 and reached the minimum threshold in 2018. This grant will help build upon their existing Agency Fund.
West CAP was established in 1965 and was one of the first community action agencies in the country. West CAP works to promote the self-sufficiency of low-income families in the rural communities of west central Wisconsin. Their mission is to take action against poverty by developing the social and economic assets of low-income families and their communities and by working to create a more just and sustainable society. They cover a 7-county area including Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, Polk and St. Croix. This grant will assist West CAP in diversifying its funding base. While most of their funding comes from government and foundation sources, they have identified resource gaps, especially for innovative activities and administrative costs not covered by contracts or grants.
These five nonprofit organizations are on their way to establishing a ‘forever stream of income and sustainability.” The Foundation congratulates all of our February grant recipients. These recipients were to be recognized at our Annual Luncheon, previously to be held on April 30, and will be recognized and highlighted on the CFDC website and Facebook page in the coming weeks.
Please visit http://cfdunncounty.org/the-endowment-challenge/ for more information on this challenge, its grant recipients, and how you can contribute to their fundraising efforts.