2016 ANNUAL REPORT UNION COUNTY FOUNDATION Invest Today . Shape Tomorrow. A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2016 - The Year in Review We are grateful for another year of growth at the Union County Foundation. Our menu of Funds has increased to over 90 which represents a healthy 10% increase from last year. And it seems like every time we turn around we are receiving an inquiry asking how to start a scholarship fund. Through the outstanding efforts of UCF Director of Finance Sue Devine, our online scholarship platform continues to be among our finest offerings. Students, school guidance counselors, recommendation letter writers, and application evaluators all agree the program is outstanding. We are proud to have awarded in excess of $500,000 in scholarships over the last five years. The Foundation’s charitable reach is substantial but nothing we do is more important than supporting post secondary education through these scholarships. Also of note in 2016 we successfully hosted our second annual Marysville Charity Car Show and UCF Covered Bridges Tour (cycling event). Both of these events serve to create awareness about the Foundation and to raise important dollars in support of our operations. At our annual Foundation Celebration event we were pleased to be able to honor the Lee Family of Marysville. The Lee’s have been friends and supporters of the Foundation for four generations. Gary Lee was a founding trustee and in many ways responsible for the Foundation’s trajectory of growth. Thank you Gary and family! Each year brings new challenges and new opportunities to our staff and board. Our pledge is to continue to work diligently to advance the Foundation and in turn make our Union County Communities even better places to live, work, and raise our families. With the help of the fine people who support us, we will continue to be a positive influence and a catalyst for “good.” Special thanks to the men and women that comprised our 2016 board of trustees: Chad Hoffman (Chr.), Mardy Hanlon-Stolte (Vice Chr.) David Allen (Treas.), Dr. Victor Trianfo (Sect.), Dr. Charlotte Agnone, Ken Boehm, Jim Cox, Bruce Daniels, Eugene Mayer, Joseph Mitchell, Dr. Jennifer Morrison, Chris Schmenk, Alan Seymour, Jim Vandre, Carol Young Ph.D., and Ron Zimmerly. David Vollrath Executive Director P.S. The Foundation’s IRS Form 990 is available for public review during scheduled office hours or can be viewed at http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php 1 UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS The community foundation field is one of the fastest growing philan- thropic sectors in the United States today. Community foundations build and strengthen communities in a multitude of ways, including providing the means for a wide range of donors to create permanent funds to meet critical needs. Though the first community foundation was launched just 100 years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, today there are more than 750 community foundations in the United States. The concept has spread throughout the world, with community founda- tions now in countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa and the United Kingdom – in fact, every continent but Antarctica has at least one community foundation. It has been estimated that there are at least 1,000 community foundations outside the United States and Can- ada. Community foundations in the United States are located in almost eve- ry region and state in the country. Community foundations grant funds to a wide variety of causes—urban affairs, the arts, education, environ- mental projects, health and disaster relief. Community foundations of- fer donors many services and benefits. They routinely work with fami- lies, individuals, attorneys and estate and financial planners to design gift plans that fit every economic situation, ensuring that donors re- ceive the most benefit from their charitable contributions and that their philanthropic dollars are used to the fullest extent. Community foundations accept gifts of various sizes and types from private citizens, local corporations, other foundations and government agencies. Nearly every type of gift—real estate, closely held stock, art- work and insurance—can be contributed to a community foundation. Gifts are made from bequests and by living donors through various types of funds and deferred giving vehicles. Community foundations range greatly in asset size, but all named funds share the common goal of serving donors, nonprofit organizations, and the community. In addi- tion to this, one of a community foundation’s special functions is to pro- vide effective leadership and coordinate the needs and services in its communities, so that charitable gifts are used effectively to fulfill a community’s most critical needs. 2 2016 FOUNDATION OFFICERS Chad Hoffman - Chairman Mardy Hanlon Stolte - Vice Chairman Victor Trianfo, D.O. - Secretary David Allen - Treasurer David Vollrath - Executive Director Sue Devine - Director of Finance 2016 Foundation Trustees David Allen Jennifer Morrison, M.D. Ken Boehm Chris Schmenk Jim Cox Alan Seymour Bruce Daniels Mardy Hanlon-Stolte Chad Hoffman Victor Trianfo, D.O. Eugene Mayer Jim Vandre Joseph Mitchell Carol Young, Ph.D Ron Zimmerly MISSION STATEMENT To assist individuals and organizations with the accumulation, investment, and distribution of charitable dollars. VISION STATEMENT To enhance the quality of life for all the citizens of Union County by promoting and facilitating charitable giving in Union County 3 Community Foundations provide a simple, powerful, oundatHelping donors d and highly personal OVERVIEW approach to giving. The Union County Foundation is a nonprofit, community corporation created by and for the people of Union County. We are here to help our donors make a We offer a variety of positive impact on their community. giving tools to help people achieve their charitable goals. You Three special features of The Union County Foundation can give cash, appreciated stocks, One: personalized service. We make giving easy and effective, accepting a wide variety of real-estate, or other gifts and providing donors a number of charitable options. You can contribute cash, assets. Most charitable stocks, property, and bequests. You may establish a fund in your name or in the name of a gifts qualify for maximum tax loved one. In most cases, your gift qualifies for maximum tax advantage under federal law. advantage under federal law. For more Two: local expertise. Our professional staff has an in-depth understanding of the issues, information and ideas opportunities, and resources that shape our community. They monitor all areas of on ways to integrate community need — including human services, education, the environment, healthcare, your financial planning with the arts, and economic development. We can help you learn more about local organizations and charitable giving, ask programs that make a difference in areas you care about most. your financial advisor and contact The Union Three: community leadership. We invest in the long term and bring people and organizations County Foundation. together, convening diverse voices to address local issues and opportunities. Our business is building community. 4 5 Establish a Fund Donor Advised Funds. You can have ongoing involvement in the use of your gift. You work in your name with our professional program staff, identifying ways to use dollars from the Donor Advised Fund you establish to address the issues and needs you care about most. Your recommendations are Any of these funds can submitted to our local board for approval; we then distribute grant dollars. be established in your name, or in the name Unrestricted Funds. Your gift can address ever-changing community needs — including future of your family, your needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community well-being — arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health organization, or anyone and human services, neighborhood revitalization, and more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift you wish to honor. All enables your community foundation’s program experts to respond to the community’s most pressing grants distributed from needs, today and tomorrow. the fund you establish —today and in the Field of Interest Funds. You can target your gift to address needs in an important area of future — are then community life. Arts. Aging. At-risk youth. You identify your personal interest area when making your awarded to charities in gift; our board awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference the name of that fund. in the area you select. It’s a great way to always be involved Scholarships. You can invest your gift in our community’s future and show students you care, all with the guidance and personal services of The Union County Foundation. You determine the criteria with, and remembered students must meet to receive the Scholarship you establish. With your assistance, students achieve for, your community their academic and career-oriented goals —from preschool to postgraduate work. investment. Designated Funds. You can direct your gift to a specific nonprofit organization or purpose. Help provide ongoing funding for a senior center, hospital, or virtually any nonprofit charitable organization. Nonprofit organizations can use a Designated Fund through the Union County Foundation to build their endowment and enhance their ability to accept