Allen County Commissioners arrived at a solution Tuesday morning after a change in a grant’s eligibility requirements.
Last year, Your Community Foundation (YCF) qualified for a grant from the Patterson Foundation of Kansas City. The Patterson Foundation agreed to match any funds raised by YCF, up to $70,000.
This year, the funds raised currently sit at $61,988. “We’re in pretty good shape in that regard,” said YCF Treasurer Alan Weber. “We still have a few days left on that.”
The Patterson Foundation match has a stipulation this year that any of the funds raised by YCF not be donor-directed. This would affect how the county’s environmental fund is managed. If the county wants the environmental fund to qualify for the Patterson matching grant again, it would have to change it from being a donor-directed fund to a Field of Interest (FOI) fund.
The change would mean the commission would give up majority power over how the funds are spent.
“Right now, the way it is set up, the three commissioners are the ones who determine how the money gets spent,” explained Weber. “To make it eligible for the match, it needs a commissioner to be an advisor to the YCF board, with the board being the final authority.
“It would take away some of your power to direct how funds are spent and give it to us, but with you as an advisor.”
Gary McIntosh, YCF Board Advisor, added that the board still has a contract with the commission to go by. “We don’t unilaterally do stuff,” he said. “You recommend it and then the board makes sure it’s proper.”
THE environmental fund was established in 2012 with the county contributing $50,000 in 2013.
The fund now has a value of $100,000. The funds must be utilized for environmental projects and is available for distribution for Allen County or any other charitable, education, or government entity for the purpose of improving the quality of Allen County’s environment.
This would include, but not be limited to, prevention of pollution, conservation, and promoting environmental literacy.
Commissioners had asked at a previous meeting if the funds could be used for items beyond the stated scope of environmental related items.
“You can change the coverage by mutual agreement with the board and foundation,” said Weber. “We’re open to that. Within that language, we can expand it some if you had an idea of what direction you’d want to go with that.”
Commissioner David Lee asked if the fund could be used to cover donations towards community events. “Every year, we’ve got organizations that come to us for Biblesta, Farm City Days, Elsmore Days, or whatever,” he said. “They’re looking for funds to help support their activities. I thought, depending on how things were written, that those funds could come from some sort of situation like what we’re talking about here. Instead of coming out of the general fund, we would say the Your Community Foundation has those dollars, go talk to them and let them distribute them.”
Weber noted that he would encourage the commission to not use the environmental fund to “plug a budget hole” or to cover something that they’re doing currently.
