McCook Community Foundation Fund
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Floyd Hershberger |
For a long time Floyd Hershberger had felt that McCook was missing some huge opportunities by not having a local Charitable Foundation. Floyd had noticed the substantial benefits that many communities were realizing from their local foundations. Floyd knew that McCook had some outstanding local Foundations that were doing incredible work, but Floyd sensed that the area could benefit from a community-wide charity that had the flexibility to benefit other local charitable organizations and help fund local projects for which no organization or fund currently existed. So in the year 2000, Floyd thought it was high time for a community foundation and visited with then MEDC Executive Director, Kay Lavene about this idea. Although Floyd didn’t know it at that time – the McCook Community Foundation Fund (MCF) was born with that visit.
Kay and Floyd contacted a number of individuals in the community they knew were interested in seeing McCook grow and prosper in this new millennium. These individuals included Doug Skiles, Stan Goodwin, Van Korell, Mark Graff, Lemoine Anderson and Bill Rockwood. This group met over the next few months and studied the best available options for this fledgling organization. After discussions with several knowledgeable individuals and existing organizations, the group decided to proceed with affiliating with the Nebraska Community Foundation. This organization provided MCF with valuable assistance in the charitable organizational area, plus provided MCF with access to the technical assistance needed to operate the organization in compliance with state and national laws and regulations. More importantly, it provided MCF with the vital IRS 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt designation needed to provide contributors with valuable tax advantages for donations to the organization. In 2001 the McCook Community Foundation Fund was accepted as an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation and the dream was a reality.
The next step was to form an Advisory Board that would oversee the initial fund-raising efforts and provide guidance on the activities of this new organization. The initial Advisory Board included Stan Goodwin, Gene Morris, Mark Graff, Bill Rockwood, Floyd Hershberger, Kay Lavene and Doug Skiles with Floyd serving as the Board’s first Chairman.
The initial goal of the Board was to obtain 35 “Founding Members” who would contribute $1,000 to the organization to help provide the seed money needed to organize. To make this commitment feasible for many, the Board voted to allow “Founding Members” to commit to funding this contribution over a three-year period at $333.34 a year. By March 2003, the organization achieved its initial goal and continues to add “Founding Members” to this day.
The Founding Members were excited about the potential that this new charitable organization held for our area. With this outlet, there is virtually no community-beneficial project that can’t be undertaken. Floyd’s vision is now benefiting the residents of the McCook area by helping caring individuals realize their dreams of making a positive difference in the lives of others.
The McCook Community Foundation Fund grew to over $700,000 in assets in seven years.