2022 FM Area Foundation Annual Report

IMPACT Inspiring

For Good. For Ever.®

For over 60 years, we have been helping people establish charitable funds to make a meaningful difference in the communities they love. We work with individuals, families, nonprofits, and professional advisors to inspire philanthropy.

Since our inception, we’ve granted out over $80 million to help create vibrant communities. We work with donors to maximize their philanthropy and make giving a simple and rewarding process. We have 450 endowed funds—funds that will be here forever, carrying out the donor’s intent and paying out a percentage each year to support charitable causes. That is the power of endowment and the reason why giving through the FM Area Foundation is a smart investment for the community today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Discover how you can leave a legacy to benefit the charities you love forever.

Our Mission

We help donors maximize their philanthropy to create a vibrant community full of opportunities for everyone.

Our Vision

The FM Area Foundation began in 1960 and has granted over $80 million to deserving charities, near and far. Our vision is to bring that number to $250 million invested in creating a vibrant community.

Our Commitment to Transparency and Accountability

GuideStar, the world's largest nonprofit information source, recognizes organizations with the highest level of transparency through the Platinum Seal of Transparency. By sharing our metrics, we're keeping you, our donors, informed about our progress toward our mission. This allows you to see firsthand how your donations are helping us create a vibrant community full of opportunities for everyone.

Staff

2022 Board of Directors

April Walker, Chair

Toni Sandin, Vice-Chair

Katrina Turman-Lang, Secretary

Gary Nolte, Treasurer

Louise Dardis, Immediate Past Chair

Lisa Bode

Marilyn Guy

Don Haugen

Joel Jorgenson

Matthew Leiseth

Matthew Mohr

John Stern

Sher Thomsen

Sandy Korbel, Trustee Representative

Accredited

The FM Area Foundation is accredited by the Community Foundations National Standards Board. The National Standards ensure the values of community foundations are demonstrated through their commitment to legal compliance, philanthropic best practices, and excellence that benefits communities.

from left to right: Carrie Feigum, Donor Services Associate; Michelle Johnson, Marketing & Scholarships Associate; Eric Wilkie, Executive Director ; Greg Diehl, Director of Gift Planning & Donor Services; Patty Mastel, Director of Finance & Operations/CFO; Jamie Olson, Administrative Assistant; Lexi Oestreich, Director of Philanthropy

The Power of Community

Message From Executive Director and Board Chair

On behalf of the entire team at the FM Area Foundation, I am delighted to present our annual report for the year 2022. It is with immense gratitude and appreciation that we reach out to express our heartfelt thanks for your continued support and dedication to our mission.

This past year has been a testament to the power of community and the importance of collective action. Despite the challenges faced by our society, we have witnessed incredible acts of kindness, generosity, and resilience. Through it all, your unwavering commitment to the FM Area Foundation’s mission of creating a vibrant community full of opportunities for everyone has profoundly impacted the lives of countless individuals and organizations within our community.

Your financial support has enabled us to provide critical resources to those most in need, offering a helping hand to families struggling with food insecurity, students seeking educational opportunities, local arts and cultural events, animal services, and vulnerable populations requiring healthcare and social services. Together, we have been able to build a stronger, more inclusive, and compassionate community.

Because of you, over $9.5 million was granted locally and beyond to important charitable causes, and throughout the history of the FM Area Foundation, more than $83 million has been given to impact our world!

None of this would have been possible without your philanthropic spirit and dedication to making a positive difference. Your support has been instrumental in fostering positive change and transforming lives within our community. We are truly humbled by your trust and grateful for your continued partnership.

As we move forward, we are committed to adapting and evolving to meet the emerging needs of our community. Your ongoing support and partnership will play a vital role in enabling us to expand our reach, promote local philanthropy, and impact important causes. Together, we can create a vibrant community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

In closing, we sincerely appreciate you, our esteemed supporters, donors, professional advisors, and volunteer board of directors. Your generosity and belief in this work inspire us to continue striving for excellence. We would be honored to welcome you to our upcoming events and engagements, where we can celebrate our collective achievements and share our vision for the future.

Once again, thank you for your invaluable contributions. We look forward to continuing this incredible journey together and making an even greater impact for our region in the years to come.

With profound gratitude,

Eric Wilkie

Executive Director of the FM Area Foundation

April Walker

2022/2023 FM Area Foundation Board

Chair

Animal Welfare Community Building & Disaster Relief Recovery

$9,537,391 Total

$9.5

MILLION GRANTED

Arts, Culture & Creativity

The Impact

Demonstrating Love & Compassion

Furniture Mission of the Red River Valley

MISSION STATEMENT: To demonstrate love and compassion by connecting furniture/household items with individuals and families in their time of crisis and challenge.

Since 2020, Furniture Mission of the Red River Valley has served over 1,400 local families by regifting over 15,000 pieces of donated furniture, helping over 50 households a month.

Their clients are referred to them by a network of local organizations who provide resources and support for a variety of challenging scenarios, including transitioning from homeless to home, overcoming addiction, recovering from a natural disaster, escaping an abusive relationship, and others.

With only 1 staff person, everything is made possible through the caring hearts and willing hands of volunteers.

15,000 pieces of donated FURNITURE HELPING OVER 50 households a month

“The FM Area Foundation goes above and beyond to help our mission thrive! They have been instrumental in helping us serve so many local families with access to furniture and are a wonderful asset to us and our community. We are incredibly grateful for their support!”

- Jordan McCormick, Furniture Mission Executive Director

Photos by Studio Freshly

“Support through the FM Area Foundation and its supporters has created an immeasurable impact on our work — delivering hope and fostering a sense of belonging for so many in our community going through a tender time in life. This ripple of kindness is cultivating joy and shared connection in our community, just because, and only made possible through generous donors. What a beautiful gift to know your community cares about you!”

- Kelly Krenzel, Hope Blooms founder

Changing Lives, One Bouquet at a Time

Hope Blooms

MISSION STATEMENT: Inspiring hope, happiness & emotional healing through repurposed flowers.

Small acts of kindness change lives. Simply knowing you are valued — especially during challenging times — can be a great source of hope and comfort.

Kelly Krenzel founded Hope Blooms in the basement of her home in 2016 to provide comfort and joy to community members who need it most — while also honoring her sweet Grandma Freda.

Hope Blooms provides bedside bouquets to individuals in hospice care, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living, memory care centers, shelters, women and families in need, individuals facing difficult times, and so many more.

With the caring hands of thousands of volunteers, Hope Blooms has created nearly 70,000 bouquets and moments of joy for community members in need.

Hope Blooms is solving a problem where people can feel forgotten or unimportant with a beautiful but simple message of “You matter.”

70,000 BOUQUETS and moments OF JOY

Photos by Britta the Photographer

Prairiewood

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

A Trusted Partner For Understanding The Big Picture Of Charitable Giving

The FM Area Foundation helps donors maximize their philanthropy to help create a vibrant community full of opportunities for everyone. Our organization works closely with individuals, families, and businesses who share our commitment to positively impacting the local community and beyond. Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with Steve Nelson, a fund holder at the FM Area Foundation and a professional advisor at Prairiewood Wealth Management. During our conversation, Steve shared his personal and professional experiences with the FM Area Foundation.

For over six decades, the FM Area Foundation has been a steadfast presence in the local community, serving as the sole community foundation in the area. What began as a mere idea among community leaders has since blossomed into an institution that has granted over $82 million to charities, both within and beyond the community. The Foundation’s work today is still guided and motivated by the core values that founded the organization in 1960. Local attorneys, wealth advisors, and financial advisors alike play a vital role in educating Cass and Clay County residents on the many opportunities that are available through the community foundation. Thanks to their tireless efforts, the FM Area Foundation continues to provide invaluable support to the community and those in need.

Prairiewood Wealth Management is committed to providing clients with a wide range of financial services, including comprehensive financial planning, proactive tax planning, and investment management. Their team consists of highly skilled professionals who are dedicated to delivering exceptional client service. They strive to help their clients coordinate their entire financial life and ensure their financial well-being.

Steve and Christine Nelson have two funds at the FM Area Foundation. They established a personal Qualified Endowment Fund to benefit from the ND Qualified Tax Credit. They also created a donor advised fund by donating a portion of their privately held business. Donating a privately-held business interest is a complex form of giving with significant tax advantages, and they felt it was great to have the local expertise of the FM Area Foundation team involved in the gift. Steve wanted to experience working with the FM Area Foundation before recommending it to his clients.

Steve recommends the FM Area Foundation to his clients because of the Foundation’s experience and dedication to fulfilling clients’ charitable giving goals. For clients with North Dakota income tax liability, having a local option to qualify for the 40% ND Qualified Tax Credit is very helpful. Collaborating with donors, their advisors and the FM Area Foundation can achieve a mutually agreeable outcome by addressing challenges and working towards a shared goal.

Prairiewood Wealth Management has had clients set up donor advised funds and endowment funds with the FM Area Foundation. Setting up a personal ND Qualified Endowment Fund can eliminate any ND income tax liability the client may have. It can also streamline the annual process of deciding which charities to donate to and reduce the risk that the charity spends or invests the funds inconsistent with the client’s wishes. In addition, we recommend, and our clients have utilized, the FM Area Foundation when a complex gift (real estate or privately-held businesses) would benefit from the Foundation’s expertise.

Steve recommends discussing values, goals, interests, and tax impacts with potential clients to understand their charitable giving, and if possible,

consider involving the client’s children so that the next generation can be included in charitable giving. They suggest planned giving strategies that minimize taxes or increase contributions. They coordinate with estate and tax advisors to maximize family impact.

“Given charitable giving impacts everything - investment planning, taxes, and estate planning, a holistic approach where someone understands the big picture is often helpful.”

- Steve Nelson

Steve and the team at Prairiewood Wealth Management feel very fortunate and humbled to have a significant number of highly successful, charitable business owners as clients. When asking their clients why they want to build additional wealth, they often answer so they can more meaningfully support charitable causes. These successful entrepreneurs have built great businesses with great systems, processes, and plans, and a natural evolution for them is to focus on using their success to make a difference in the world around them and create a legacy that lasts beyond their lifetime. Prairiewood Wealth Management’s mission is to come alongside them and help them do that as effectively as possible. The FM Area Foundation has been a great partner in helping to serve their clients’ charitable needs.

Given that there are so many ways and strategies to give tax efficiently to charities, we are surprised at how many people gift cash, the least efficient method. After sharing some of the charitable giving strategies with them (charitable bunching, gifting appreciated stock to donor advised funds, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs, charitable trusts, endowment funds, etc.), the question Prairiewood Wealth Management gets most often is, ‘’Why has no one told me about these before?’’.

“Donors have the option to recommend their own fund manager when establishing a charitable fund through the FM Area Foundation. There is sometimes the perception that referring clients to us will result in lost business for existing managers and advisors, but this simply isn’t the case.

We understand the value of the relationship you’ve built, and we want to help facilitate giving. Advisors who work with us can become part of our fund manager portfolio.”

- Eric Wilkie, FM Area Foundation Executive Director

Steve & Christine Nelson and Family

Donor Fund Highlights

Making a Lasting Impact: Enhancing Quality of Life

A generous individual named Vivian Dahl designated the FM Area Foundation as a beneficiary of her IRA and established a fund that the proceeds from her IRA would finance. Part of the fund aims to support individuals with visual impairments rather than organizations directly. Specifically, it seeks to aid and support those who are blind, partially blind, or have conditions that severely affect their vision. The fund’s annual distribution aids the Life Enrichment program at the North Dakota Association for the Blind (ndab), which helps members pursue new life experiences, skills, training, and nontraditional education. This serves as an example of how your legacy can live on, with the FM Area Foundation always ready to help.

Vivian dedicated her life to caring for others humbly, and her legacy lives on indefinitely.

The Donovan Kolness Scholarship Fund: Preserving a Legacy Through Education.

It’s with great respect and admiration that we remember Donovan Kolnessa man who touched the lives of so many people in Hendrum, Minnesota, and beyond. He was a true hero, both on and off the battlefield, and a cherished friend, father, and husband. His stories were captivating, and his presence in the community is dearly missed.

To honor Donovan’s legacy, his friend and partner, along with the Flint Group, have established the Donovan Kolness Memorial Scholarship Fund at the FM Area Foundation, which provides annual scholarships to students who are majoring in graphic arts or related fields. It’s a small act of gratitude for a man who lived a beautiful life and brought so much joy to those around him. Donovan was an artist through and through, and his masterpiece was the countless memories he created with his loved ones.

Each year, the fund will award scholarships to students studying graphic arts or a related field at a local university or trade school.

“Our family wanted to do something in honor of Donovan, his creative skills, and his great career in advertising. We hope the scholarships help the recipients in a small way as they pursue their careers. A special thanks to all who contributed to the fund.”-

The FM Area Foundation stewards more than 400 charitable funds. To view the full fund listing, visit areafoundation.org and click “Support a Fund.”

Becky Kolness

“As a minority, foster child, and woman, I feel as though I have a lesser advantage to succeed compared to my peers. This scholarship gives me hope for my future educational endeavors and my career. My gratitude cannot be expressed enough.”

- Skylar Olson (Donovan Kolness Scholarship Fund recipient)

“My cane means a lot to me. It’s my freedom and independence. It makes me feel confident and empowered.”

- Emily (Receiver of a cane from the NDAB)

Impact Investing

IMPACT INVESTMENTS ARE INVESTMENTS MADE WITH THE INTENTION TO GENERATE POSITIVE, MEASURABLE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ALONGSIDE A FINANCIAL RETURN.

Over $1.2 million in loans were provided by the FM Area Foundation to local projects aimed at enhancing the Fargo-Moorhead community. In 2014, the Foundation acquired their office building in Fargo with a 20-year fixedinterest note, preserving their endowment fund and paying similar monthly installments to their previous lease.

Since then, the FM Area Foundation has provided loans to several nonprofit organizations in our area, including Soul Solutions Recovery Center in Fargo, ND. A $300,000 guaranty is helping Soul Solutions secure a five-year lease with Alliance Property Group. Soul Solutions is a new nonprofit that will provide outpatient chemical dependency services to people in Fargo and the surrounding area.

“We're so grateful to the FM Area Foundation for their support in helping us secure our building lease. They took a risk on us by agreeing to be the guarantor for our lease, and we wouldn’t have been able to open our doors without their help. The FM Area Foundation Team and Board were invaluable in making our mission and vision a reality, and we're proud to be able to offer our services thanks to their support.”

- Patti Senn, Clinical Director, Soul Solutions

Bridging the Gap Between Addiction and Recovery Soul Solutions Recovery

MISSION STATEMENT: To provide services in a compassionate environment founded in the belief that each person has the capacity to heal and embrace a new way of life.

Clinical services opened on December 8, 2021. Provided services to over 450 individuals who have reached out for help since opening.

Over 200 family members and loved ones seeking hope and healing through The Family Program.

“Hope and Coffee” served over 5,000 cups of since opening in March of 2022.

Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person. Every Family. Every Community.

Holiday Giving

CARING CATALOG

A Holiday Community Giving Partnership with 25 Local Nonprofits

In 2018, the FM Area Foundation launched its Caring Catalog initiative, aimed at spotlighting local charities during the season of giving. Since its inception, this program has raised over $900,000 for over 150 local charities. Over time, the FM Area Foundation has sought ways to increase the impact of this program by focusing on local outreach.

This year, the Foundation proudly presented 25 outstanding local charities collaborating with us in 2022. These organizations represent diverse causes that the FM Area Foundation has already invested in and were excellent candidates for community support in the 2022 Caring Catalog.

The FM Area Foundation covers all credit card fees for donations, and there are no participation fees for the nonprofits involved in the Caring Catalog event. This means that 100% of donations go directly to the chosen cause.

TOTAL RAISED

$30,195 $105,744 $226,461 $250,577 $285,567

The Caring Catalog returns November 27 through December 8, 2023.

Visit areafoundation.org to learn more.

$903,409 SINCE INCEPTION

• All participating charities raised at least $1,000; one charity even surpassed $50,000 in donations.

• Increased fundholder engagement by 60%.

• Record number of sponsorship dollars, totaling $40,000.

TYPES OF FUNDS

Donor Advised Fund

You work with our professional program staff, identifying ways to use dollars from your Donor Advised Fund to address the issues and needs you care about most. You have the ability to change the charity who benefits from your fund each time you recommend a distribution from your fund. We then distribute the grant dollars in your fund’s name or anonymously according to your wishes.

Designated Fund

At the time you create the fund, you choose the specific nonprofit organization(s), generally to a maximum of five, who will receive the proceeds from the fund on an annual basis. Your onetime selection can help provide ongoing funding for a senior center, museum, homeless shelter, or virtually any 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.

Field of Interest Fund

You can target your gift to address needs in an area about which you are passionate - the arts, food insecurity, aging, mental health, at-risk youth, etc. You identify the interest area when making your gift; the FM Area Foundation awards grants to community organizations and programs that are making a difference in the area you select.

Scholarship Fund

You can invest in our community’s future and show students you care, all with guidance and personal services of the FM Area Foundation. You determine the criteria students must meet to receive the scholarship you establish. With your assistance, students achieve their academic and career-oriented goals.

Unrestricted Fund

Your gift can address ever-changing needs, including future needs that often cannot be anticipated at the time your gift is made. We evaluate all aspects of community wellbeing - basic human needs; arts and culture; community building; education; and many more. The flexibility of your unrestricted gift enables the FM Area Foundation to respond to the community’s most pressing needs, today and tomorrow.

Nonprofit Agency Fund

A nonprofit organization initiates a fund to permanently support the operations of the organization and enhance their ability to accept large and complex gifts.

Supporting Organization

You can use your gift to establish an excellent alternative to a private foundation with only a fraction of the administrative responsibilities. You select some of the board members, maintain personal involvement, and support the causes and organizations you care about while enjoying the favorable tax treatment of a public charity. Leave investment management, startup costs, grant administration and reporting to the FM Area Foundation.

The FM Area Foundation offers a variety of funds and flexible options to help you meet your charitable goals.

492 CHARITABLE COMPONENT FUNDS

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