Gary McIntosh sees the new Allen County Community Foundation as “a guardian angel for people’s dreams.”
Still in its infancy, the foundation will help fund projects of non-profit organizations throughout the county.
A $500,000 gift from the Kansas Health Foundation gives the foundation an auspicious start.
The new Allen County Hospital is the first target of foundation funds, said McIntosh, a longtime proponent of getting a community foundation started in Allen County.
Those giving money to establish an endowment fund for the hospital will receive a 25 percent match from the Kansas Health Foundation. So a $100,000 gift will grow immediately to a $125,000 gift. The $25,000 from the Wichita-based foundation will be a “draw down” from the $500,000 grant, leaving it another $475,000 for future matches.
For those who give unrestricted funds to the foundation, a 50-percent match from KHF is in store.
The matching mechanism is good for six years.
The campaign for the hospital, Uniting for Excellence, hopes to raise $3.8 million for equipment not in the current hospital budget, and $1 million for its endowment. An endowment is a fund from which only interest from its investment is used to purchase goods.
“We don’t touch the principal,” said David Toland, who, as executive director of Thrive Allen County, is helping in the initial organization of the community foundation.
Jim Gilpin heads up the hospital campaign and sees coordination with the community foundation as a win-win.
“We’re all about taking Allen County into the future,” he said.
All gifts to the hospital campaign will be under the direction of the Allen County Community Foundation. The foundation is affiliated with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, which provides investment and grant management services.
Toland and Angela Henry, director of SAFE BASE, the after-school program, were instrumental in writing the grant to secure the $500,000 award for the community foundation.
The opportunities available through a community foundation “grow exponentially,” said Henry, explaining that the foundation can give leverage to secure funds from outside foundations.
“Many times a foundation such as the REACH Healthcare Foundation will give funds only if a local source also buys into the project,” she said.
