Holiday Newsletter with Insert 2022

Photo Credit: Matt Lindsey-Schrupp

Board of Trustees

Linda Danielson

Chair

Tom Larson

Vice Chair

Dale Wood

Treasurer

John Satre

Secretary

Karl Murch

Past Chair

Grant Beardsley

Jason Beckermann, M.D. Greg Bremer Amelia Daniels

Cody Filipczak

Cindy L. Hangartner

Jeff Kowieski

Julia Kyle, M.D. Paul Kulig Katie Murphy

Jackie Rasmussen

Greetings!

The holiday season doesn’t just bring us together; it also reminds us to open our hearts to giving. For the past 25 years, our community has done just that: Thanks to donors like you, ECCF has been able to distribute more than $23 million in grants since our doors first opened. And you can keep the momentum going!

Please consider joining the “You Care. We Care. Eau Claire.” Campaign, which will help grow our Community Fund. Donations to this Campaign will allow us to continue addressing the most urgent and pressing needs of our community’s nonprofits.

Each year, the Community Fund supports grants as part of our Community Grant Cycle. So far, it has granted almost $320,000 to local nonprofits! Your gift can help us make an even bigger impact, both now and for years to come.

If you ever considered opening a Fund with ECCF, but haven’t had the resources to do so, this is the perfect place to start. A gift to this Campaign will put your dollars to work, starting with our 2023 Community Grant Cycle! You can even donate to this Campaign in honor of a loved one–it’s a gift that will keep on giving! You can donate online at eccfwi.org, mail a check to ECCF, or use the QR code.

All of us at ECCF sincerely thank you for making 25 years of support for nonprofits possible. We look forward to working with you as we continue to serve our community. For Good. Forever.

Happy Holidays,

Community Fund

You Care. We Care. Eau Claire.

Sue

Bornick Executive Director

FUND SPOTLIGHT The Community Fund

ECCF has been busy during our first 25 years: We’ve awarded over $23 million in grants, including more than $2 million in 2022 alone. While many of those grants came from Donor Advised and other types of Funds, the heart of our granting process is our annual Community Grant Cycle, and the heart of that is our Community Fund.

Because it’s Unrestricted, this Fund helps ECCF make grants that address our area’s most pressing needs. So far, it’s supported almost $320,000 in grants to local nonprofits! A gift to the Community Fund is an excellent way to ensure that a diverse array of charities can continue to enrich life in the greater Eau Claire area.

Support our community with a donation to this Fund! Scan the QR code to give!

GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT

Beaver Creek Reserve

As a 2022 recipient of the Royal Credit Union and ECCF Nonprofit Professional Development grant cycle, Beaver Creek Reserve (BCR) was one of the first organizations to receive a grant from this fund. With this grant, staff at BCR will be able to attend a live bird, Raptor Care and Management Workshop.

Through this training, BCR hopes to expand their raptor program, which currently consists of an American Kestrel and a Barred Owl. These raptors are occasionally used in BCR programs, but they hope to make them a more prominent component in their educational outreach. These Raptor Programs will provide an up-close experience to connect youth and adults alike to the animals around them, fulfilling Beaver Creek Reserve’s mission of “connecting people with nature.”

In the year leading up to our 25th anniversary celebration... THANK

There will be a time in your life when you stop and reflect. What’s your passion? What legacy will you leave? How will you be remembered? Will you leave the world a better place?

If you want your charitable impact to extend far beyond your lifetime, our Legacy Society can help you support the causes you love for years to come; consider establishing a new fund or give to an existing fund.

Ways to Leave Your Legacy

Bequests in your will, life insurance, retirement plans, appreciated securities, stock, IRA/QCD, real estate, mutual funds, and mineral rights.

Meeting Community Needs, Now and Forever

Our world is changing in unpredictable ways, but one thing that doesn’t change is ECCF’s commitment to helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals and to meeting our community’s needs, now and forever. As one of our fund holders said, “I made it here, I want to leave it here.” ECCF can help you create a sustainable legacy.

STEADY

THROUGH UPS AND DOWNS

We all know how volatile the stock market has been this past year. It’s during hard times like these that our nonprofits need the most support--and they can count on ECCF to provide it. How do we do this? Our prudent distribution policy is intended to safeguard the financial health of endowments to distribute grants to nonprofits both today and for generations to come.

Investment Strategies

ECCF has two options for Long Term investment portfolios: Socially Responsible and Diversified. Donors select which option they prefer upon establishing their fund. Either way, fund holders can be confident that we strive to maximize investment income while minimizing financial risks prudently. Our Investment Committee, composed of members with strong business and/or investment backgrounds, monitors all investments on a regular basis.

Spending Policy

Why did ECCF move to a 20-Quarter (five year) rolling average for our spending policy in 2016? To prepare for a situation like today. While the market is fluctuating, this policy provides our Funds a more balanced and sustainable distribution from year to year; it evens out the peaks and valleys of the market. This stability ensures that nonprofits will continue to receive similar grant amounts each year.

Why Start a Fund Today?

ECCF’s investment strategies position your Fund to do very well in the long term regardless of current market conditions. In fact, starting a Fund when the market is low can lead to an even greater increase in its value when the market eventually picks up. No matter what happens, a Fund that you start at ECCF today will benefit the community for generations to come.

This endowment fund, established in 2003 with approximately $100,000, has impacted our community over 20 years of weathering the ups and downs of a long-term investment.

Ways to Give

ECCF helps donors simplify their giving and amplify its impact. As your philanthropy partner, we work with wealth managers, financial advisors, attorneys and accountants to craft customized, flexible giving strategies for their clients — while maximizing tax benefits and reducing administrative burdens. Gifts to a fund can be made in the form of IRA/QCD, cash, check, or stock.

Donate and learn more at eccfwi.org.

to the community. That means ECCF donors have reinvested $2 million by supporting the Club.”

Ann Kaiser, B&GC of the Chippewa Valley

December

December 29

December

Standing: Cindy Fahser, Erin Dayton, Hannah Schierenbeck

Seated: Rebecca White Body, Sue Bornick, Brenna Lindsey-Schrupp