President's Corner on Philanthropy
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President's Corner on Philanthropy Starting a new year is a great time for reflection. In preparing this President’s Corner, I went back and looked at the January 2014 President’s Corner and e-bulletin. While I was struck by how some of the things mentioned in that piece seemed like such a long time ago, there were also things that caused me to wonder where the time goes. We’re currently in the process of closing our year-end books as we do at this time every year and next month I will be able to share some of that information with you. Thanks to your generosity and another boost from the stock market, ICF had a very good year and that is great news for Idaho philanthropy and nonprofits throughout our state! One nonprofit that has received ICF support over the years is Kootenai County’s Trinity Group Homes, which has been providing safe, affordable housing for adults with mental illness since 1979. In my six years at ICF, I have come to know and admire Trinity Group Homes Executive Director Rev. Robert Runkle, or as Trinity’s website calls him, Deacon Bob. Stable housing is a crucial need for those who struggle with mental illness and as awareness of mental health issues increases, so does the need for housing and services. The staff at Trinity work with residents on life skills building and development. In addition, Trinity works with case management service providers to ensure medication compliance and 24-hour crisis intervention, as well as with psychosocial rehabilitation services. The goal of Trinity Group Homes is to enable its residents to graduate from semi-independent group living programs to fully independent community living. Trinity has been highly successful in its mission over the past several years. In 2013 they had 18 rooms available in its group homes and now they offer 32. However, as with many nonprofits, Trinity’s success is leading to increased demand for its services. Bob tells me he is increasingly frustrated to tell prospective residents that it could be 90-120 days before they can move into one of Trinity’s homes. However, Bob and Trinity Homes announced last month that they have closed on a USDA Rural Development loan to purchase a 6-bedroom Hayden home they had been leasing since 2013. The waiting list is still long, but Bob, the Trinity Board of Directors and the staff are working hard to address the issue of home stability for the mentally ill. For more information about their services, or to offer financial or volunteer support, visit their website. The new year is a good time to introduce a new feature for the e-bulletin. Beginning this issue we will introduce a column called “Why I Give,” and we’ll hear why Idahoans are involved in philanthropy. One of Idaho’s most significant philanthropists is Jim Kissler and he has written our first column. Jim is CEO and Chairman of Norco, Inc., and chair of the Kissler Family Foundation. He has been recognized many times over the years for his philanthropy, including as ICF’s Friend of the Foundation in 2007. Jim and Norco have made substantial contributions to projects including the Norco School of Nursing Building at Boise State University, the Kissler Family Chapel at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center, the Kissler Family Library at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, the Y Camp at Horsethief Reservoir, Zoo Boise and several scholarships and humanitarian aid projects. Outside of Idaho, Jim and the Norco Board of Directors recommend grants from the Kissler Family Foundation to organizations throughout the company’s six-state region. We appreciate Jim’s contribution and we look forward to hearing from more of you in 2015! Best wishes to all of you for the coming year! Bob Headlines Guest column: The More You Give, the More You Get Guest column: The More You Give, the More You By Larry Kissler and Jim Kissler Get My Dad used to say all sorts of wise things about his Support the Greater philanthropic beliefs. Some were easy to understand some Tetonia Community took longer to soak in. Foundation at the Great Snow Fest One of his favorite was: “You can’t out give God.” Anyone could understand that, God gives us our health, our wealth All ICF grants will now be and a bountiful lifetime if we follow his instructions for life. distributed by direct You could argue that if God gave us this earth, then there deposit was no way anyone could out give God, but we should all try to anyway. News Briefs He also said: “The more you give, the more you get.” I thought I understood Upcoming Deadlines that, so I took some of the company stock, put it in a charitable foundation and caused my company to tithe every year from the earnings. That worked really ICF's New and well with my customers, my employees, the communities we did business in Renewing Members and myself. People soon recognized our firm was a philanthropic business and knowing that made it a better place for people to work and for our customers Month Year to do business. The company thrived and we were able to increase our giving New Member | Renewing every year. Member Then I turned 60 and began to understand the true wisdom of my father. Benefactor ($1,000 and When he said, “The more you give, the more you get,” he wasn’t referring to above) the ability of a firm to grow and prosper because it made a habit of steady A J and Susie Balukoff, Boise charitable giving. What I think he meant was that being charitable gives so much personal satisfaction that the more you give, the more you begin to Ford and Jean Elsaesser, Priest River realize the true meaning of why God may have put us on this earth in the first place. N. Charles and Polly Hedemark, Boise To leave here with the knowledge and comfort of knowing that you did what you could to make our planet a better place than it was when you got here. To Tom and Alice Hennessey, feel the joy of helping people you may never know or meet. To acknowledge Boise that there are many of us on this planet that didn’t get the same opportunities Kissler Family Foundation, that we might have had, not because they didn’t try, but possibly because of Inc., Boise circumstances beyond their control. Maybe a divorce, maybe a bankruptcy, maybe the loss of a home or even pestilence, famine or civil war. Lex and Celia Kunau, Burley Maybe when I turn 80 I will realize even a different meaning for some of Dad’s Kelly Turk and Debra Riedel, sayings. He also said: “Give until it hurts.” In the meantime, I might try to out Boise give God, though I know it will be impossible. For now, I know the more I give, Ron Sali and Simone Greear, the more I will get. Eagle ICF would love to hear from you! If you’d like to write a guest column about Patron ($500-$999) philanthropy, giving, the work of nonprofits or anything related, please email it John and Martha Arrington, to Jennifer Oxley. If you have questions, you can call Jennifer at (208) 342- Idaho Falls 3535. Larry and Marilyn Cope, Buhl Bistline Fund in ICF gives almost $47,000 in grants for William and Leslie Drake, Boise arts The F.M. and Anne G. and Beverly B. Bistline Foundation Mark Durcan and Shelly Fund in ICF is providing $46,628 in grants to arts-focused Bedke, Boise nonprofits in southeastern Idaho. Phillip and Anita Murelaga, Boise The Bistline Fund, which became an ICF fund in 2011, gives Artitorium on Broadway grants twice a year. Previously it was the F.M. and Anne G. Peter and Julie Oliver, Boise and Beverly B. Bistline Foundation, a private foundation founded in 1999 by Pocatello philanthropist Beverly Bistline Gay Simplot, Boise and named in honor of her parents. Linda Wilkins, Swan Valley Recipients of the fall/winter grant cycle are: Sponsor ($250-$499) John and Susan Bennett, Bear Lake Senior Citizens (Montpelier) – $4,500 to purchase a piano. Grangeville C. Richard and Vonnie Lue Blackfoot Performing Arts Center (Blackfoot) – $3,000 to support arts Broulim, Rigby performances. Larry Paske and Julie Gem Valley Performing Arts Committee (Grace) ¬– $3,344 to support arts Chenoweth, Orofino performances. Julie Custer, Boise Idaho Falls Arts Council (Idaho Falls) – $3,000 to support marketing of Andrew and Shannon Erstad, ARTitorium on Broadway in the southeastern counties of Idaho. Boise Idaho Public Television (Boise) – $3,000 to sponsor the Great Clark and Sydney Fidler, Performances program on Idaho Public Television in southeast Idaho. Boise Kent and Kim Fletcher, Burley Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise) – $3,000 to support the eastern portion of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s educational outreach programs, John and Deb Holleran, Boise Idaho Theater for Youth and Shakespearience. Richard and Donna Hutter, International Reading Association (Pocatello) – $3,000 to assist with the Sandpoint honorarium costs for a featured author for the 29th Annual Bellon Visiting Dorothy Kidd, Caldwell Author Series event which will take place in March. Arthur and Annaliese Kull, Lillian Vallely School, Inc. (Blackfoot) – $750 to buy a serger and Idaho Falls supporting supplies (needles, thread, extra spools, etc.) for use in making Irv and Trudy Littman, Boise Native American costumes for the students to wear when performing, and to use in other sewing projects within the culture program.