Community nonprofit talks money

The Hill County Community Foundation met with its umbrella organization, the Montana Community Foundation, Wednesday to talk about methods for raising funds for the community.

Chair of the HCCF Pam Veis was newly appointed to the position of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to provide organized philanthropy to the county by providing investment funds to the people who reside within its boundaries.

“I’m really proud to be a part of it,” Veis said at the meeting in Wolfer’s Diner Wednesday. “(Montana Community Foundation organizers) are really knowledgeable about what they do, and they are scrupulous and meticulous about the funds that they manage, which makes me feel comfortable and really confident about reintroducing it to the community.”

She said one of the reasons she got involved in the first place was because of the areas of the community the organization focuses on: arts and culture, community beautification and basic human needs.

She said that some of the events the HCCF has hosted may have gotten their true purpose lost in translation as they have tried to make a name for themselves among the other nonprofits in the area.

Though the wine tasting party with live music at the now-Havre Historic Post Office was a successful event, Veis said, the message of the organization was not apparent.

Cathy Cooney, the program director of Montana Community Foundation, said there are 74 community foundations in the state and most of them are fairly small and still growing.

“What we want to do is provide an opportunity for people to leave a legacy back to their community — to leave a legacy back to those charitable interests that they’re passionate about,” Cooney said.

The foundations do this in a number of ways. Under the rule of their umbrella organization, the local foundations give opportunities to individuals who would like to give back to their communities in specific ways.

“We have a number of donors that are setting up funds underneath the umbrella of one of our community foundations that benefit their favorite charities or five different charities that they’re passionate about,” Cooney said. “ … We really do feel that it is important that people do have that opportunity to leave that permanent legacy.”

The main goal is for people to set up endowments that gain interest and pay out repeatedly through the organization, Cooney said.

She added that there are differences between United Ways and community foundations, which is questioned often.

“United Ways are like the philanthropic checking accounts of the community — they raise money, often through payroll gifting programs and then they determine which organizations are very critical to the community and they distribute that money right away,” Cooney said, adding that they are one of the bedrock institutions of the community.

“Community foundations, on the other hand, are philanthropic savings accounts of the community, where we are building this asset that will literally last forever,” she said.

She said community foundations are more grant- and endowment-based than United Way.

The Montana Community Foundation has grants set up for specific circumstances. For example, one donor gave scholarships to children of game wardens and highway patrol officers.

Amy Sullivan, the director of the Montana Office of Gift Planning for the Montana Community Foundation, said the money that comes back to rural areas like Hill County has been dropping off severely, while urban areas’ are steady or rising.

“So many of our children don’t live here,” Sullivan said, explaining that when their parents pass away, the money goes to different states to relatives and community foundations aim to bring back some of the money for the state and for Hill County, in HCCF’s case.

“If we don’t take care of these small communities, what are they going to come home to?” Sullivan said.