Spring 2009 Connections Newsletter

Connections Spring 2009

www.nebcommfound.org

$2.3M Estate Gift for Entrepreneurship and People Attraction A $2.3 million endowment has been established to Rudy Elis made frequent trips to Pflueger’s office support entrepreneurship and people attraction in in Norfolk and to O’Neill, where he visited with north-central Nebraska. Rudolph H. Elis created attorney Jan Krotter Chvala. He needed to make a donor-advised fund in sure he had finances to 2006 that was funded by cover his health care, but a bequest upon his death. he wanted his remaining estate to be used by rural “This bequest is profoundly communities that were important to the work of working to stay vibrant. the Nebraska Community Foundation. For many “Rudy didn’t believe years NCF has talked in handouts,” said Jan about the importance Krotter Chvala. “He was of small business not into charitable giving development and people in the traditional sense. attraction to generate He wanted to see people new wealth creation in helping themselves.” our hometowns. With this Rudy Elis died at the gift, Mr. Elis has given us a age of 92 in September great model to share with 2007, and was buried in others,” said Jeff Yost, NCF The late Rudy Elis accepts his recognition as a a pair of overalls and a member of the NCF Legacy Society. president and CEO. work shirt that he had Rudy Elis believed in hard work, living within personally selected. His values of hard work and one’s means, saving and investing. He was born self-reliance will live on through investments in and raised in Knox County. He worked the family working people for generations. farm outside of Verdigre and tended livestock all of his life. He never married and had no children.

Grants from the endowment will fund According to his friend and financial advisor, Brad programs for job creation, business Pflueger, Elis was a private person who spent transition, youth entrepreneurship and most of his time working the home place. He was people attraction so that communities never seen in anything other than his overalls and can grow and prosper. work shirt.

A LOOK INSIDE...

NCF LAUNCHES REMOTE TRAINING Monthly webinars are helping affiliated fund leaders do a better job of promoting, governing and raising significant gifts for their community and organizational funds.

Full article on page 2

COLLABORATION LEVERAGES HTC FUNDING “Grow Garden County” is off to a fast start thanks to support from the donor-advised fund of Tom and Cynthia Olson of Lisco. Garden County is a recent recipient of a USDA matching grant to support HTC efforts in this county with a population of just over 2,000.

Full article on page 6

GIFTS OF LAND ENRICH AFFILIATED FUNDS NCF helps two countywide affiliated funds accept gifts from families who chose to give back to their communities through gifts of land.

Full article on page 7

NCF Financial SNAPSHOT NUMBER OF PLANNED ESTATE GIFTS 147

TOTAL ASSETS (in millions)

$52.8

BEST PRACTICE: A REGIONAL FOCUS

129 $37.2

108 $28.9

86

Emily Sallach announces the start-up of a countywide Youth Advisory Group for Holt County.

Holt County is walking the talk when it comes to HTC’s regional approach to development. The strategy is moving forward on all four “pillars.”

$23.4

12/05

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12/08

12/05

12/06

12/07

12/08

Full article on page 8

Inside NCF NCF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Members

Brian Thompson of Waverly, Chair Shannon Harner of Lincoln, Vice Chair Brandon Day of Norfolk, Secretary F.E. Pete Peterson of Brule, Treasurer P. Mark Graff of McCook, Immediate Past Chair

At-Large Members

Judy Brockmeier of Eustis Fred Bruning of Bruning Janet Krotter Chvala of Atkinson Judith Scherer Connealy of Decatur Bob Kathol of Omaha Fred Lockwood of Scottsbluff Bob Mundy of Omaha Lori Pankonin of Imperial Carol Russell of Omaha Jon Schmaderer of Stuart Dennis Stara* of Lincoln Susan Ugai of Lincoln Richard Walter of Shickley Ray Welsh of Pender * Advisory Member

Honorary Members

Helen Boosalis of Lincoln Steve Buttress of Kearney Brenda Council of Omaha Connie Day* of Norfolk Jim Fehringer of Columbus Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City Richard Hunt of Blair Kim Lauritzen* of Omaha Rodrigo Lopez of Omaha Ed Loutzenheiser of Juniata Senator Ben Nelson of Omaha Ron Parks of Papillion Beverly Pollock of Ogallala Sid Salzman of Ainsworth Jim Scholz of Omaha Frank Sibert of Valentine Bob Stowell of Ord Kathleen Thuman of Maywood Mimi Waldbaum* of Omaha Jeanene Wehrbein of Plattsmouth Jim Wolf* of Albion * Deceased

President and CEO Jeffrey G Yost

President Emeritus Maxine B. Moul (retired)

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Matt Connealy, Sheryl Piere and Marilyn Anderson of Decatur participate in the webinar, “Marketing Tools that Get Results,” using a laptop computer and big screen TV.

NCF Launches Webinar Trainings Affiliated fund leaders now have the opportunity to sharpen their skills in marketing, fundraising and governance without ever leaving their home or office. In January NCF launched its new webinar service, a monthly series of live, interactive online training sessions. The webinars are led by NCF staff members and sometimes feature experienced affiliated fund leaders as panelists. Participants view and hear the sessions through an Internet site, and they can ask questions and make comments by connecting via phone or by simply using a computer headset and microphone.

The sessions are offered on the second Wednesday of each month at 12:30 CT/11:30 MT and are repeated live at 5:30 CT/4:30 MT. Approximately 150 affiliated fund leaders participated in the first three sessions on marketing, donor visits and grantmaking. For information on how to join an online training session contact Sheri Hink at (402) 323-7347 or shink@nebcommfound.org.

Upcoming spring and summer webinars: April 8 FAC Development Strategies May 13 New FAC Orientation and Operations June 10 Working with Financial Planners July 12 Developing a Communications Strategy

“I definitely think this is a way to provide training in an effective and efficient manner. Thanks!”

Randy Vlasin Chase County Hospital Foundation

NCF Staff Profile: Jim Gustafson Jim Gustafson, NCF Gift Planning Director, helps donors, their financial advisors and affiliated funds create charitable gifts that make a positive difference in communities across Nebraska. Jim is NCF’s in-house expert on designing innovative ways for donors to make meaningful contributions to the causes they care about. He has helped to arrange gift plans that benefit both the donor and their community. Jim was recently elected president of the Nebraska Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. Jim and his wife Terri live in Lincoln and are the parents of three adult daughters. Jim spends much of his spare time volunteering as a mentor for TeamMates. He can be reached at (402) 323-7341 or jgustafson@nebcommfound.org.

BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF AND Annual Celebration www.nebcommfound.org

Annual Celebration and HTC Field Day More than 150 community leaders gathered in things get started is leadership. It’s the people McCook on November 6 to celebrate NCF’s 15th sitting at the table.” anniversary and to look ahead to continuing Participants toured McCook and met several HTC success. “What we’re doing is breaking new activists, including the young entrepreneurs who ground,” said Mark Graff, NCF immediate past own Game On, an Internet and retail business chairman. “We’re learning how to talk to people specializing in video games. Each of the HTC Pillar about charitable giving more directly, and how to task forces presented, with the overarching theme make wiser investments by creating endowments of getting young people involved in leadership, that will benefit our young people today and for entrepreneurship, philanthropy and community generations to come. The Nebraska Community engagement.

Foundation is on the leading edge.”

Dr. George Garlick of Richland, WA was honored for his contribution of more than $1 million to build the Curtis Memorial Community Center. “My father never earned more than a dollar an hour as a school janitor in Curtis,” said Garlick. “But he was rewarded with pride, integrity and a sense of community.”

Several western Nebraska affiliated funds were spotlighted during the program. Thedford, Keith County and McCook each Participants pose at the historic Fox Theater—one of the stops during the McCook HTC Field Day. had stories of success to share.

“What we’re doing is breaking new ground… The Nebraska Community Foundation is on the leading edge.”

Mark Graff NCF Past Board Chair

Incoming NCF Chair Brian Thompson of Waverly honored Mark Graff of McCook for his service as Chair of the Foundation from 2006 to 2008. Mark will continue to serve on the NCF Board for the next two years. Bob Stowell of Ord and Kathy Thuman of Maywood were also recognized as they retired after serving nine years on the NCF Board.

The event was followed by a HomeTown Competitiveness Field Day. Sixty community organizers learned how HTC is invigorating development efforts in 16 sites across Nebraska.

Panelists explained how HTC evolves differently in each setting. Sometimes the entrepreneurship task force is the early driver; sometimes the focus on youth or philanthropy is the catalyst for action.

But as Bob Stowell of Ord pointed out, “The reason

2008 Annual Banquet Sponsors First National Bank, Omaha McCarthy Group Advisors, Omaha Consolidated Companies, Lincoln The Day Companies, Norfolk Farmers State Bank, Maywood McCook National Bank, McCook Millard Manufacturing, Omaha Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, Lincoln Curtis State Bank, Curtis Lockwood Foundation, Scottsbluff Bob Mundy, Omaha Bettenhausen Family Foundation, Lincoln Harris Properties, Lincoln Mutual of Omaha, Omaha Nebraska Bankers Association, Lincoln

New board members: (top left) Judy Brockmeier, (top right) Lori Pankonin, (bottom left) Dennis Stara, (bottom right) Richard Walter

New NCF Board Members

Four new members were elected to the NCF Board of Directors during its annual meeting in November.

Judy Brockmeier currently serves as chair of the Eustis Area Community Foundation. Judy also serves on the Advisory Board for the Nebraska Community Improvement Program. Semi-retired from banking, Judy’s part-time job as a tour director and bank travel coordinator takes her to both regional and international destinations.

Lori Pankonin has been secretary of the Imperial Community Foundation since it was founded in 1999.

She is involved in second generation ownership of four newspapers in southwest Nebraska and northeast Colorado. Lori plays an active role in her community as Rotary president, Arts Council secretary and member of numerous organizations.

Dennis Stara, originally from Butler County, has had a successful career in consulting, tax and audit services. He was instrumental in the growth and merger of several accounting firms with BKD LLP, where he specialized in working with financial institutions, agri-business and distribution clients.

Upon his retirement in 2008, BKD was the 10th largest CPA firm in the U.S. Richard Walter owns an insurance and real estate business in Shickley and is the past chair of the Shickley Community Foundation. Richard is currently Chairman of the Shickley Village board, and has served on the boards of the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska and the American Public Energy Agency.

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Affiliated Fund Updates NCF Community Funds Pender Public Schools now has an automatic external defibrillator (AED) thanks to a grant from the Pender-Thurston Education and Community Foundation. Every staff member at Pender Public Schools was trained to use the new AED.

School nurse Leslie Timm, second from right, demonstrates the AED to (l-r) Joan Moeller, school principal, Jason Dolliver and Mark Lorensen. Moeller and Lorensen are members of the Fund Advisory Committee. Photo: Kimberly Kai, The Pender Times

Butler County Area Foundation continues to support its HTC leadership program, “Leading Locally.” In February eight members of the group traveled to Lincoln to tour the Capitol and Governor’s Mansion. They also sat in the gallery of the Unicameral and observed floor action, discussed the economy with Governor Dave Heineman, and visited their senator, Chris Langemeier, and others to learn what it is like to serve in the Legislature.

(Standing l-r) Committee members Gene Johnson, Bryan Eldorado, Caroline Hall, Darren Vanness and Gerald Gunderson accept contributions from Russ Koehler (seated left) of Wausa Insurance Agency and Doug Johnson of Commercial State Bank. Each company recently contributed $10,000 toward the Hunt Challenge.

The Wausa Community Foundation (pop. 636) is on track to receive an additional $5,000 when it meets the next benchmark for its Hunt Challenge Grant. The Foundation has raised more than $134,000 and has received an additional $40,000 from the Robert and Jeannette Hunt Challenge to build a permanent community endowment.

The challenge grant campaign began about two and one-half years ago. The goal is to build an endowment of $200,000 by August 2009.

Bids rise as Ruth Sheffield and Jim Smith display a quilt auctioned at the Wallace Community Foundation and Teen Center event.

Governor Dave Heineman and Extension Educator Dennis Kahl meet with members of Butler County Leading Locally at the State Capitol.

The McCook Community Foundation HTC Youth Working Group and McCook Public Schools have established a youth-led foundation. Students from 8th through 11th grades may participate in the McCook Youth Advisory Council to make grants and engage donors interested in helping to grow the endowment to support youth-led initiatives. An endowed gift from Andy and Geri Anderson of McCook supports HTC youth activities in the community.

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Affiliated Funds Provide Emergency Grants NCF assisted four affiliated funds that were invited to apply for $20,000 grants from the Peter Kiewit Foundation in Omaha to meet emergency relief needs in their communities. Community foundations in Columbus, Imperial, McCook and O’Neill distributed the grant moneys in January to area agencies providing emergency food, shelter and utility subsidies to needy families.

Lyn Wallin Ziegenbein, executive director of the Peter Kiewit Foundation, wrote a letter to the affiliated funds that explained the distribution of funds. “We are supportive of the good work our nonprofit colleagues are doing and are glad that

The Newman Grove Community Foundation has been issued a $50,000 challenge grant. The goal is to raise an additional $100,000 over the next two years to establish a permanent endowment to support entrepreneurship, youth engagement, economic development and nontraditional scholarships.

Bloomfield Community Foundation is spearheading the development of a new medical clinic with the City of Bloomfield. Fundraising for the $600,000 project totaled more than $100,700 within the first few months of the campaign.

Construction will begin this spring.

Thedford Area Community Foundation (pop. 211) held its 5th Annual Banquet with 167 people attending. The event raised more than $15,000, which easily qualified the affiliated fund for an additional $3,000 grant from Consolidated Companies. The event includes a community auction and dance.

The Diller Community Foundation (pop. 287) endowment goal of $200,000 was met and surpassed as the year 2009 began. A group of 96 charter supporters will be honored, and gifts will continue to grow the endowment and generate earnings for annual support of community and economic development efforts.

Wallace Community Foundation (pop. 329) surpassed by far its $3,000 challenge from Consolidated Companies by joining forces with the Teen Center for a banquet and auction that raised nearly $25,000. Proceeds are divided between the two groups. The Foundation’s profits will be used to build the community’s endowment. we can partner with so many of them in these challenging times,” Ziegenbein wrote in the letter.

Members of the Imperial Community Foundation present checks to the Imperial Community Center and the Southwest Nebraska Ministerial Association to be used for emergency food and utility needs.

COMMUNITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS HIGHLIGHTS www.nebcommfound.org

NCF Organizational and Donor-Advised Funds The WealthSpring Fund is a statewide affiliated

fund providing resources to increase women’s economic self-sufficiency. WealthSpring was one of four recipients of Lincoln Benefit Life donations made on behalf of LBL’s employees in honor of the company’s 70th anniversary.

Recent WealthSpring grants support training in health care occupations, financial education for low-income women and economic empowerment counseling for battered women.

Lincoln Benefit Life president, Larry Dahl; Marcus Johnson, Boys and Girls Club; Susan Ugai, WealthSpring Fund chair; Brian Wachman, United Way

Alumni Support Their School

The He-Hi Alumni Association, which holds its account within the Hebron Community Foundation, has contributed $4,500 to replace badly worn stage curtains at Thayer Central Schools in Hebron. “The school is the center of activity during most of the year in our small communities” said Chairman Pat Kenner. “A project that many people see and enjoy regularly sends a great signal to alumni and community residents that their contributions do achieve results,” Kenner commented. The alumni support was leveraged with school funds. Drew Harris, Thayer Central Superintendent, stated that the board of education was inspired to act with the challenge donation from the alumni association last year.

Norfolk Launches Heroes Park Project

Construction of Heroes Park is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2009.

Plans are taking shape for an eight-acre backyard park project for the Norfolk Veterans Home. The $1.5 million project will offer a tranquil space for veterans and visitors.

It will feature a plaza for large gatherings, accessible walking paths, a kitchen facility and recreational areas.

The Norfolk Veterans Home Foundation is an account within the Norfolk Community Foundation. The park’s theme, “From the Greatest Generation to the Latest Generation,” promises that people of all ages will enjoy the experience.

Affiliated Fund Leaders Learn and Share NCF’s 2008 Rural Philanthropy Conference drew an overflow crowd to the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City last fall.

200 Total participants 58 Presenters 57

Affiliated fund participants

25

Affiliated funds represented

22 Affiliated fund presenters/panelists Action planning for moving community funds forward was built into each of the 16 concurrent training sessions. The final morning was devoted to planning for implemention of new ideas back home.

For a full report on the 2008 Rural Philanthropy conference, go to www.nebcommfound.org/RPC/2008RPC.htm.

Gifts to NCF Affiliated Funds in 2008 Despite economic uncertainty, charitable giving to affiliated funds remained strong in 2008.

HTC Youth Leaders Honored Emily Sallach and Bergan Carr were honored at the 2008 National Philanthropy Day Luncheon, hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Nebraska Chapter in Lincoln. Sallach and Carr were nominated for the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award by Meg Johnson of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. Sallach and Carr serve on the Governor’s Youth Advisory Council and the O’Neill HomeTown Competitiveness Task Force. As young leaders they have organized numerous fundraising activities and events to support community projects. “These two outstanding leaders have left a mark on the community of O’Neill and their state and they continue to inspire the next generation of rural community leaders and philanthropists,” said Johnson.

Month of December

Year-End Total

First Time Donors 279

1,745

Number of Gifts

1,233

6,977

Number of Affiliated Funds Receiving Gifts

101

139

Total Amount

$3,680,430 $15,920,000

Gifts over $500

291

1,273

Emily Sallach, Meg Johnson and Bergan Carr

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Charitable Giving Private Support Sparks HTC Initiative Tom and Cynthia Olson of Lisco established a donor-advised fund through NCF with a gift of more than $100,000 in 2006. They wanted to get Garden County in western Nebraska growing again, and NCF’s message of rekindling hope through HomeTown Competitiveness inspired them.

They started using their charitable dollars to support homegrown prosperity.

Today things are happening in Garden County. Eight local public NCF President and CEO Jeff Yost with Legacy Society members and private entities have partnered Cynthia Olson and Tom Olson of Lisco to leverage support for several that it is forming a strategic plan to diversify its community development grants. Recently, NCF was awarded a USDA matching grant for $124,000 economy beyond agriculture production. Grow Garden County can be successful with the joint over three years to support HTC in Garden County. effort of individuals throughout the county,” said The county has hired an HTC coordinator and Mr. Olson. business coach.

Garden County is known for its pristine natural environment and excellent hunting and fishing.

“To come back and give back can This may be why more than half of the teens insure that our legacy will be around surveyed there say they would like to stay in or for awhile. One thing is certain; it is a return to the area if career opportunities were good, safe investment that can pay available. The same number would be interested big dividends.” in entrepreneurship training and owning their Tom Olson own business someday.

Lisco, NE People like Tom and Cynthia Olson are helping to make that possible. As Chairman of the Now “Grow Garden County HTC” is moving into Lisco State Bank and with banking interests in strategy development. In January 70 residents other communities, Mr. Olson recognizes that came together to set priorities for leadership investment in people is critical to the future of our development, entrepreneurship, youth small towns. Philanthropic assets are a perfect, engagement and philanthropy. With a county yet often untapped, resource for community population of just over 2,000, that’s a significant reinvestment. number of people taking on leadership roles.

“To come back and give back can insure that our “With the difficult economic times facing our legacy will be around for awhile,” said Mr. Olson. country today, it is an opportunity for Garden “One thing is certain; it is a good, safe investment County to demonstrate its great quality of life and that can pay big dividends.”

The Nebraska Community Foundation partners with community leaders to inspire charitable giving, prudently manage financial resources and make strategic investments for the prosperity of our people and our communities.

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Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations

Benefits of DonorAdvised Funds Donor-advised funds make charitable giving simple and enjoyable. In a donor-advised fund, donors make an irrevocable contribution to a fund, claim a charitable contribution on their income tax returns, then recommend how the money in the fund should be distributed to charity. There are several advantages: • You have flexibility in the timing of distributions.

• You avoid the time and expense of establishing a private family foundation.

• You recommend grants, but do not have to handle the contributions to individual charities.

• NCF handles all accounting, investment management and recordkeeping.

• Your fund is not bound by the IRS minimum distribution rules applicable to private foundations.

• You may be able to recommend an investment advisor for the fund, in accordance with NCF policy.

• You have the option of remaining anonymous.

For more information, contact Jim Gustafson, NCF Planned Giving director at (402) 323-7341 or jgustafson@nebcommfound.org.

Ways to Establish a Donor-Advised Fund Donors can use a number of common gift options to connect to the causes they care about: • Gifts of Cash • Appreciated Property • Real Estate • Securities (public or privately held) • Gifts of Ag Commodities • Bequests in Wills or Trusts • Beneficiary Designations

- Life insurance

- IRAs

- Bank accounts • Charitable Gift Annuities • Charitable Remainder Trusts For illustrations and stories about people who are investing in their hometown, visit the NCF Web site at www.nebcommfound.org/ tools4donors.htm.

COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO NCF www.nebcommfound.org

Land Transfers Retain Wealth Locally NCF helped to facilitate two recent gifts of land, illustrating the opportunity for capturing wealth transfer within NCF’s affiliated funds.

Butler County Butler County area organizations will receive the proceeds when NCF completes the sale of 154 acres of fertile farmland located about three miles southwest of David City. Charles Stoops of Carpenteria, CA contributed the property. He told Larry McPhillips, chair of the Butler County Area Foundation (BCAF), that it is what his dad, Charles Stoops, Sr., would have wanted. The Stoops family isn’t interested in recognition, Stoops said. They just like to help out.

The gift will benefit the community through the BCAF, as well as the David City library and hospital foundations.

This is the second gift of land the Stoops family has made to the Butler County area. About 10 years ago Stoops’ parents, Charles and Grace Stoops, gave the community 80 acres of land just before the elder Mr. Stoops’ death.

Keith County A housing development in Ogallala is the source of a recent gift to the Keith County Community Foundation. The proceeds from the sale of a donated residential lot will go to support the Keith County Community Foundation’s endowment fund.

The gift comes from the developers, Clark and

Eileen Anderson, who are former long-time residents of Paxton and Ogallala and the former owners of Buenz Drug (now the U-Save Pharmacy) and gift store in Ogallala. They like the idea of a countywide foundation, and saw the advantages of making a meaningful contribution through a gift of real estate.

Jim Thalken, chair of the Keith County Community Foundation, said working through NCF makes the transfer of title an easy process. “Jim Gustafson has been extremely helpful. NCF is taking all the necessary steps and handling all the paperwork involved with the acceptance of the property,” Thalken said.

New Grants Will Focus on Impact Results of youth surveys conducted by NCF in two area middle and high schools are prompting affiliated fund leaders of the Boone County Area Foundation (BCAF) to refocus its grantmaking to emphasize greater long-term impact.

The surveys, funded by the donor-advised Connie Fund of Norfolk, show that the vast majority of teens surveyed rate their communities as at least average or above average, and more than 60 percent say they could picture themselves living in their community in the future if career opportunities were available.

These findings surprised many adults.

With three new members on the Fund Advisory Committee, BCAF decided to forego its traditional annual grantmaking this year. NCF is helping the affiliated fund take a close look at what strategies might better nurture youth engagement and people attraction.

BCAF met a $100,000 challenge grant issued several Justin Bounds, Emily Martian, Beau Bremer and years ago by Jim and Elaine Wolf of Albion. With Alexandria Mullings are students at Boone Central more than $300,000 in endowed funds, BCAF can Middle School, where 80 percent of the students provide significant annual support for countywide surveyed said their community was a good place for kids. entrepreneurial efforts.

Contributions to the Nebraska Community Foundation July 2008 through December 2008 $100,000 or More The Ford Foundation $25,000 to $99,999 First National Bank of Omaha * The Peter Kiewit Foundation W.K. Kellogg Foundation $10,000 to $24,999 Cooper Foundation Kathleen Thuman/Farmers State Bank * $5,000 to $9,999 The Day Companies * Consolidated Companies McCarthy Group Advisors $2,000 to $4,999 Great Plains Communications Inc.

MNB Financial Group/McCook National Bank Nebraska Investment Finance Authority Ron and Judy Parks/Millard Manufacturing Corp. $1,000 to $1,999 Bruning State Bank * Robert E. Mundy * Curtis State Bank William and Erma Damme Farms LLC Cornerstone Bank Tinstman Family Donor-Advised Fund $500 to $999 Bettenhausen Family Foundation Fred and Carol Lockwood Jeff Yost and Cindy Ryman Yost * Sam and Joyce Baird Janet Krotter Chvala and Gary Chvala Deryl Hamann

*All or a portion of this gift was made in support of the NCF Endowment.

Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company Harris Properties HBE Becker Meyer Love Nebraska Bankers Association $100 to $499 Shannon Harner and Philip Goddard Doug and Pat Friedli * Jana and J.C. Jensen * Reggi and Doug Carlson * BKD LLP Wenke Manufacturing Company Lorenson Lumber & Grain Company Welsh Financial Services Karla and Matthew Egger * American National Bank Lori and David Pankonin Brian Ardinger and Susan Stibal Judith Scherer Connealy and Matt Connealy

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Volunteers

BEST PRACTICES www.nebcommfound.org

Best Practice: A Regional Focus Holt County is one of NCF’s most dynamic HomeTown Competitiveness sites because it takes a regional approach to community development.

In 2005 HTC fueled the imagination of leaders and young people in Stuart (pop. 625) and Atkinson (pop. 1,244). These two small towns launched a leadership program that brought people from both communities, including adults and teens, together for the first time.

Interest grew among the four task forces working on entrepreneurship, leadership, youth engagement and philanthropy, and soon, the county’s largest city, O’Neill (pop. 3,733), joined the collaborative work. Each of the three communities had already established NCF affiliated funds through which charitable gifts could be made and directed to support HTC activities.

Jon Schmaderer explains the HTC impact at HCED’s first countywide celebration.

to secure outside resources, such as a Building Entrepreneurial Communities grant and a Federal Home Loan Bank JOBS grant.

In less than two years, HCED has directly assisted with the creation of 11 start-up businesses and 9 business expansions, which resulted in the creation or retention of 110 jobs. HCED helped to bring 11 families back to Holt County since 2007.

“The HTC framework enabled us to Even more alumni have returned on their own. focus on the key areas that would When HCED held its first countywide celebration, ultimately help us achieve long-term “Expanding Business – Building Community,” Jon sustainability… ” Schmaderer, a member of the Stuart Community Jon Schmaderer Foundation, credited HomeTown Competitiveness Stuart Community Foundation as the major catalyst for recent achievements.

Speaking to the 144 people who had gathered for the event, Schmaderer said, “The HTC framework In April of 2007, Holt County and its eight enabled us to focus on the key areas that would municipalities signed an inter-local agreement to support a new Holt County Economic Development ultimately help us achieve long-term sustainability because HTC pillars are built on resources we (HCED) office, and hired its first full-time director. already have right here in our communities.”

Each of the communities is represented on the HCED board of directors. They have collaborated

The O’Neill Youth Task Force is spearheading efforts to form a countywide youth advisory council. And, as a sign of its commitment to young people, HCED gives each high school graduate a full-sized, personalized mailbox as a reminder that they are always welcome home and an invitation to come back.

NCF works with donors and financial advisors in the county to secure major planned gifts to support ongoing HTC efforts. Significant local gifts from donor-advised funds of Paul and Karen Seger, Martha and Mary Linhart and Rudolph Elis, totaling nearly $2 million, will provide a significant annual infusion of funding for Holt County far into the future.

Ultimately, HTC’s regional approach is proving to be a powerful case statement for prospective donors because it has renewed their hope for the future prosperity of their hometown.

High school student Jesse Thoendel of Chambers receives a personalized mailbox inviting him to return home sometime in the future.

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