Dedicated to promoting a greater life for present and future generations by meeting needs and creating opportunities in the Pipestone area.
Dedicated to promoting a greater life for present and future generations by meeting needs and creating opportunities in the Pipestone area.
Published March 17, 2009
Effective immediately, the local foundation you know as the Pipestone Area Educational Enrichment Foundation has a new name: Pipestone Area Community Foundation, Inc. (PACF).
The new name is a direct reflection of the foundation's expanded purpose to serve the needs and capitalize on the opportunities of the community…as a whole. PACF Chairman, Kevin Paulsen, says the mission of the group will actually be expanded, and that should be good news to local residents and alumni.
Paulsen said the name change goes with a "broader scope" of potential assistance that can be offered throughout the county. He said the former focus on educational needs, although important, will continue to be a small part of what PACF can benefit. But in the future, he said, the new foundation "will help in other areas of the community, rather than focusing solely on school."
He added, "Now we're looking to help all organizations in the Pipestone area, whether they're involved in education or not, like youth groups, the elderly, beautification, recreation, the arts, and more. Our goal is to fill the voids where there is a need on a much broader scale. We are becoming part of the larger nationwide movement toward community-wide foundations."
The Pipestone Area Community Foundation receives matching dollars from its administrative partner, the Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF), which administers 18 other community based foundations in the 18 counties of southwest Minnesota.
Paulsen added that the local PACF, which is also seeking gifts from residents, past residents and students, has contracted with the Southwest Initiative Foundation to assist with administrative duties and to help meet intricate IRS regulations for nonprofit foundations. Paulsen said the Southwest Initiative Foundation provides key oversight and bookkeeping to assist board members, who are volunteers and local business people and residents.
"That's huge," Paulsen said. "We're all business people on the foundation board and we're donating our time. We all have other businesses to manage. For a reasonable fee, SWIF handles all of the oversight that becomes burdensome for volunteer groups. Our generous donors know that their gift to the foundation will remain in the community."
Paulsen added that having SWIF providing such duties is a "huge advantage," and the matching dollars will help the community build a permanent endowment resource, which will provide grant dollars to our local organizations.
He said individuals wishing to make donations to help their home town or school can be assured their donations are safe and will be kept locally, and that legal requirements are met. "Every penny will be accounted for," he said. "We want to let people know that they can trust us. It's a very highly regulated industry."
Paulsen said he or other board members have received "a number of inquiries" from potential donors wanting to know if a New Name…a New Focus vehicle is in place to make donations to their home town area. "This is the perfect vehicle," he said. "It's tax-deductible, safe, and will be used to help meet community needs and achieve community goals."
Paulsen said the foundation members are a group that cares about the community. "We are a passionate group committed to making Pipestone a better place, for young and old. We want to improve the quality of life. You can feel the passion of this group. I also know there are people with the ability and desire to give back to their hometown, and this is the vehicle to do it."
Paulsen emphasized that the group has moved away from providing scholarships for students because other groups have stepped up to take that spot. "Rather than duplicating work that's already being done, the new focus of the Pipestone Area Community Foundation will allow us to focus more broadly…and on everything else in the community," he said.
"We want to work in a joint effort with others as a fund raising leg. We will use the Southwest Initiative Foundation's administrative experience. We could benefit all areas. It's just up to people to ask. We want to make these funds available to improve life in our communities, whether it's for recreation, nonprofit organizations, the arts…there are all kinds of things we could help with," said Paulsen.