Aiming High
Shickley
In April 2010, the Shickley Community Foundation Fund announced its semi-annual grant awards. The Fund provided nearly $7,000 to 10 area nonprofits. What makes this last round of grantmaking special in this town of about 350 people is that the Fund has now surpassed the $100,000 mark in community reinvestment, the majority of that occurring in the last 10 years.
Most of those grants have been made from earnings on the Fund’s endowment account.
Even more remarkable is the broad base of donors. According to Fund Advisory Committee 1st Vice Chair Richard Walter, half of the 300 households in the local school district contribute to the fund.
Shickley became an NCF affiliated fund in 2001. The goal was to build a robust permanent endowment and encourage people to give back in the form of legacy gifts through estate planning.
The first step was to secure a challenge grant. The Wilkins family of Geneva pledged $105,000 over three years if the community could match the gift. Volunteers went to work, talking to their friends and neighbors about the importance of building a permanent source of charitable investment for their hometown. In less than three years the Fund had built an unrestricted endowment of more than $250,000. Reaching that goal only encouraged them to do more.
Today the Shickley Community Foundation Fund has nearly $400,000 permanently endowed, plus additional accounts for the swimming pool, cemetery improvements, scholarships, library, fire department and religious organizations. Seven planned gifts are in place that will provide at least $1.5 million in the future.
The Fund Advisory Committee has no intention of slowing down. Members recently completed NCF’s new action planning process. Ambitious goals have been set. The plan calls for $3.5 million in assets and expectancies in 2013; in 2020–$8 million; in 2030–$12 million.
Why does this little town think they can do it?
“All of our committee members are very pro-Shickley,” said Chair Dan Miller. Committee members include farmers, business owners, homemakers, employees and school officials who are a cross section of the community. They regularly take advantage of the training sessions, leadership summits and technical assistance provided by NCF.
The answer also can be found in the depth chart of community leadership. During one action planning session, FAC members were asked to name a community organization that they admired. The group came up with 10 different organizations… a lot for a small town!
Joe Kamler, the Fund’s treasurer, says people in Shickley love their hometown and take a great deal of pride in its accomplishments.
The next time you’re in Fillmore County, head down Highway 74 and see for yourself what big-time ambition looks like in a small town.
In the photo: Deb Johnson, 2nd Vice Chair, prioritizes objectives during an action planning session in early 2010.
