The Nebraska Community Foundation is today serving 150 affiliated funds in 118 communities in 63 of Nebraska counties, and those numbers are growing every quarter.

More than $9 million was raised by those funds in the last fiscal year for charitable giving and community development, and $8.6 million was distributed back for that work.

Two new full-time development staff members are helping provide assistance to communities across the state, helping create workable community development plans, helping in fund raising, and helping people find ways to give back to their home towns.

Two $500,000 lead gifts have been received to kickoff the capital campaign for a new $1.4 million swimming pool for Wilber (pop. 1,527) in southeast Nebraska.  The donors have also indicated an interest in building an endowment fund to support the pool.

A $250,000 gift will create an endowed donor-advised fund to support five charities (libraries, schools, 4-H) in Valley and Sherman counties (central Nebraska) and the Nebraska Humanities Council.  The donor has also changed her will to create a $1.8 million expectancy for this fund.

A $30,000 bequest to Shickley (pop. 376) will help them match their $100,000 Legacy Challenge grant to build an unrestricted community endowment fund.  With this gift Shickley has nearly raised its $100,000 match in cash and pledges.

1,477 total contributions were received during this 3-month period (a 24% increase over the same period last year).

The Nebraska Community Foundation impact in its nine year history is now about $60 million ($30 million distributed; $17 million in current assets; and $15 million expected.)

A substantial and significant bequest for an endowment for Spencer (pop. 541), which is located in Boyd County (pop 2,438), one of the poorest counties in Nebraska (46% of county residents are low income, nearly double the Nebraska average).  The county will have a peak transfer of wealth in about 2010.  We are hoping that at least 50% of this bequest will be unrestricted.  This expectancy, from two 89-year-old donors, is on top of a $60,000 gift to Spencer two years ago ($30,000 of it endowed) and a $150,000 expectancy we confirmed last fall.

A $2-3 million expectancy for an unrestricted endowment for Bassett (pop. 739), located in Rock County, another very poor county with 40% low income residents.  

Total expectancies for Foundation affiliated funds now total $15.3 million.  During the last quarter, nine new expectancies were confirmed totaling $5.26 million.