Community Foundation of the Lowcountry

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry welcomes guest blogger Mark Baker for this week’s contribution.  Mark is chairman of the Public Art Committee of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.

On the corner of Pope Avenue and New Orleans Road, a park has been brought to life.  It received two new residents this past Saturday in the form of an alligator and the Island’s visionary leader, Charles Fraser.

The Community Foundation’s Public Art Committee commissioned the design and casting of this larger-than-life bronze sculpture of Charles Fraser walking with an alligator from the well-known photograph published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1962.   This is our first piece of public art donated to the Town of Hilton Head Island and hopefully a glimpse of many more to come.

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry created a Public Art Fund for the purposes of funding and acquiring public art and outdoor sculpture to be placed in the public realm on Hilton Head Island. We believe that the arts provide much needed shared experiences for many in our communities—they also help drive local economies. Having an abundance of art in public places makes our communities more attractive to professionals, retirees, families and tourists who are increasingly driven by quality of life and the availability of cultural amenities.

So if you get a chance, stop by Compass Rose Park and visit its newest residents.  Climb on the alligator, search for the hidden compass rose.  This piece is for you.

When in a downpour, nothing is quite as exquisite as a stranger sharing with you his umbrella.  You know that while your feet are still getting quite wet, there is immense comfort in having your head sheltered from the driving rain.  You know that this unknown individual is not quite as dry as he would have been without this act of kindness.  And you feel the connectedness of humankind, as you struggle together against the elements.  What a happy turn of events—a stranger with an umbrella!

We never know when that sudden shower will come…or a financial setback…or a serious illness…or a disastrous loss.  We never know when we may need that stranger to help us.

Fortunately, here in the Lowcountry, we have a number of capable and caring nonprofits which provide umbrellas in times of need.  These are organizations which offer education, health care, safe haven, food.  These are organizations which have working for them individuals of great professionalism and heart, and which utilize the talents and generosity of many volunteers and donors.

But who provides the umbrella for the nonprofit community?  Who offers organizational development so nonprofit boards can strengthen themselves and improve their efficiency?  Who offers the opportunity for an agency to expand or add a new service badly needed in our area?  Who makes it its business to connect people and resources with discovered needs?  The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, through its competitive grantmaking programs (like the Hilton Head Island Foundation Endowment Fund, or Women in Philanthropy, or Hargray Caring Coins, or the Long Cove Club Community Endowment Fund, or the PEARLS of Hampton County, to name a few), provides umbrellas.  The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, through a myriad of funds designed to support particular organizations, or provide scholarships, or allow donors to manage their own philanthropy in a cost effective way, provides umbrellas.  And the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry offers the umbrella of leadership when an objective convener is needed to begin the process of solving a community issue.

And who provides the Community Foundation with shelter from the rain?  It is those like you who provide support, both volunteer and monetary, for the important work we do.  We continue to need you to be at the ready with your umbrellas, just as we try to be.  Downpours are inevitable.  But so are rainbows.  We just need to keep providing the umbrellas in the meantime, because every day matters—rain or shine.

Denise K. Spencer

On March 10 and 11, 2010, the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations (SCANPO) held its annual conference on Hilton Head Island.  As a co-chair for the conference planning committee, I was offered the opportunity to provide a brief “welcome” for the more than 430 nonprofit leaders from around the state.  I did so, and enough folks asked me for a copy of my words that I’ve resurrected them here to make their access to them simple. 

About a year and a half ago, I was going through some boxes still unopened from my move to the Lowcountry in the summer of 2006.  My thought was that in these difficult economic times, there may be things better placed in the hands of others than stored unused in my garage.   Dog-eared paperback books, an extra set of knives, as well as curtains and blankets no longer needed—these things and more went into boxes to be dropped off for charity.

But an old coffee can caught my attention and caused me to spend time in quiet reflection—it was my button tin.  How many of you had a button tin—or jar—or box–in your household?  A button tin had many uses.  It was, first and foremost, a recycling effort.  Buttons were snipped from shirts and blouses, dresses and coats before the worn items were discarded or cut up for quilts or rags.  Whenever we made a new outfit, we went first to Mother’s button tin.  Dolls got dresses made of leftover fabrics and reused buttons.  I learned to count, and to find matching items, and to sew from the treasures in the tin.  I made sock puppets with button eyes, and make-believe earrings with tape and buttons.  My grandmother had such a tin.  My mother had one.  And I have one. 

I suspect I may be part of the last generation that would find value in such things.  But as I fingered the multicolored fasteners, memories came flooding back.  There were buttons that looked like daisies from one of my school dresses that Mother had made.   There was the one large green button which sat at the neck of a wool sheath dress—my main “special occasion” outfit when I was in high school.  There were buttons that looked like jewels which I had cut from my mother’s 13th birthday party dress, and I begged her for them before the frock finally went into the burn barrel.  Buttons representing my daughter’s baby bonnet, her first bib overalls, and her first dance were there. 

When I was considering how to welcome you, the nonprofit leadership in the State of South Carolina, my thoughts rested on the button tin.  In many ways, YOU are the fasteners, the embellishments and the collective keepers of our history, our current quality of life, and our future.  The nonprofit framework which you’ve had a role in developing, keeps us all “buttoned up tight” against the elements.  In these times, the elements I’m speaking of include a struggling economy, increased governmental rules and regulations, and a state filled with communities that have mounting and changing needs.  As you travel around the State, you realize that there is never a day that goes by that you don’t see something that has been touched by the nonprofit sector, and therefore by all of you, in a way that makes it more beautiful.  A smiling high school or college graduate, an artistic endeavor, a child protected, food delivered instead of destroyed, a life saved–these embellishments enrich us all, and you are all a critical part of that.  You are also creating the living history of our times; you provide guidance, recall for us how we got to where we are, and encourage us to hold that proud past sacred—in our own button tin of sorts. 

These difficult times require that we use all resources at our disposal.  We need all our creativity, all our positive forward action and all the lessons of our past, to provide protection in the storms that are upon us.  We need YOU.  We need your leadership, your assistance, your resources, and your kind thoughts.  We need you to be the best you can be, and this SCANPO Conference is one of the ways that you improve yourselves and your organizations.  We want to be able to pass this button tin on to the next generation and the next, offering structure, beauty, and memories on which to continue to strengthen and build our wonderful State.  Welcome to Hilton Head Island, thank you for sharing your valuable time with us, and as you leave us and head back to your important work, and button up against the difficult winds to come, remember all your new friends and the lessons you take from here. 

Denise K. Spencer

My father, whose parents made him painfully aware of the hardships of the Great Depression, felt that there was little closer to heaven on earth than an “all you can eat” buffet.  And of course, he felt it was his personal responsibility to make sure he had gotten his money’s worth.  Somehow he had a nose for finding those buffets that had the broadest variety, the best quality, and the most value for the dollar. 

He would have been especially proud of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.  As a potential donor, he would have been able to choose to make a contribution of any size to one or several of over 200 different funds with different charitable purposes – or for as little as $2,500 (for a nonpermanent fund) or $5,000 (for an endowment), he could have started a new fund to address a need representing his own passion. 

Isn’t it amazing that if a person loves Jasper County, they can contribute to the Jasper Community Fund, or if they are passionate about unmet needs in Bluffton, they can support the Greater Bluffton Community Endowment?  If they love the arts, for example, they can support the Public Art Fund, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina Endowment Fund, the Junior Jazz Foundation Fund, or the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Endowment Fund.

If they believe in the power of education, they can support the Beaufort County School District Foundation for Educational Excellence Fund, the Friends of the Library Endowment Fund, the Literacy Volunteers Endowment Fund, or a number of scholarship funds.

So, what makes your taste buds tingle?  Healthcare, the environment, youth?  There are a variety of funds that support them all.  And if you don’t have time to do the research needed to make the best decision about community needs or the most impactful and effective organizations in the area, you can support the competitive grantmaking programs of the Community Foundation—the largest of these is the Hilton Head Island Foundation Endowment Fund (supporting Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands along with greater Bluffton), but we’re working hard to grow the Touch Tomorrow Endowment Fund so that more grant dollars are available for all of Beaufort, Colleton, Jasper and Hampton Counties. 

And what about value for the dollar?  Dollars contributed by the one are leveraged by the contributions of many others—creating a permanent pool of resources invested for growth and dedicated to the future of the Lowcountry.  A professional staff and committed community leaders assure that the resources are protected and nurtured, and spent as wisely as possible. 

My father would have felt the love and, in his words, he would have been “filled to the eyebrows.”   What about you?  Have you discovered the best smorgasbord in the Lowcountry?  You are invited to the table.  Today.  Remember, every day matters.

Denise K. Spencer

With all of the concerns about the H1N1 virus this season, we have certainly developed some new habits.  My hands have never been washed so much in my life.  I’m still in training to remember the “sneeze into my elbow” technique.  There are fist bumps and elbow bumps instead of handshakes and hugs.  I take my life in my hands and risk falling down the stairs in deference to using the hand railing.  And even at church, before taking the bread and wine, I take the hand sanitizer.  

The apparent ease of spreading viruses has caused me to wonder if we could create a Philanthropy Virus to be purposefully spread among the masses.  It is my belief that if everyone were infected, the world would be a much better place.  In my vision, symptoms include an almost uncontrollable desire to be helpful to others, a serious craving to make a difference in our communities, a rash of increased personal giving, an unquenchable thirst to share our gratitude for all we have, and a fever-induced madness that causes one to believe that everyone else must catch this flu.

In my mind’s eye, the virus is spread by smiling at others, by sharing our joy at having caught the disease, by taking our children by the hand and insisting that they volunteer with us, and by spreading our dollars into the nonprofit sector.  We meet friends at barn-raisings (or the modern-day equivalent—serving on nonprofit boards, feeding or housing the needy, teaching people to read or paint, caring for orphaned pets) instead of on the Internet.  And we make sure that others are so taken with our diseased life that they want to make sure to become diseased as well.  Instead of developing habits to prevent the spread of the virus, our habits take us in the reverse direction.

Friends, I hate to tell you, but I’ve long been contaminated.  And I’ve no desire to get over it.  My life is full (not my sinuses), my heart pounds (with hope), and my chills result from the positive impact of the work.  If you aren’t already infected with the Philanthropy Flu, call me or stop in for a visit.  You’ll be glad you did.  And don’t put it off, because every day matters.

Denise K. Spencer

Some of the buzz on the street has always been about where can you get a good return on your investments?  Who has the best interest rates?  Who provides the strongest dividends?   How can you get your money to work harder?

What if I told you that there are several current opportunities through the Community Foundation for you to receive a return on investment of over 100%?!? 

Jasper Community Fund – A committed group of Jasper County leaders have developed an endowment fund, under the auspices of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, which will provide a permanent source of grantmaking dollars to support charitable efforts in Jasper County.  They have also created a membership model, wherein an annual gift of $100 to the fund makes the donor a “member” and puts you on the inside of a very exciting effort to improve the quality of life in Jasper County.  But what is even more exciting is that for every dollar raised for this fund between now and December 31, 2010 (to a maximum of $30,000), an additional dollar will be contributed to the fund by the Community Foundation.  In addition, of course, these dollars are all invested for growth with the Community Foundation’s pooled investments, and will continue to raise additional resources.  So…invest $100 in Jasper County…this raises another $100 for Jasper County…these dollars are all invested to raise MORE dollars for Jasper County…and then over time, grantmaking to invest in Jasper County nonprofits will occur.  Even I can see that we’re talking about a return on investment of more than 100%!

Greater Bluffton Community Endowment Fund – There are many talented, mission-driven folks in the Lowcountry, and Bluffton is no exception.  In an effort similar to the one that has begun in Jasper County, the Community Foundation along with Bluffton leaders have created an endowment with a purpose of creating a grantmaking source specific to the Greater Bluffton area.  And once again, to help them with their effort, the Community Foundation has provided up to $30,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching money through June 30, 2011 (they got a later start than Jasper).  So if you have a particular interest in the Bluffton area, invest and multiply your returns by over 100%!

PEARLS of Hampton County Endowment Fund – The PEARLS (Philanthropic Empowerment Among Rural Lowcountry Sisters) is a women’s giving circle started by the Community Foundation that is raising an endowment to support grantmaking in Hampton County.  Hampton County is obviously rural and has a significant poverty level; resources to support area nonprofits are few but critically needed.  Hampton County women are welcome to join PEARLS (annual dues are $200), but anyone interested in supporting this effort can make a contribution of any size.  And, surprise, surprise, the Community Foundation is again matching up to $30,000 in new contributions—whether from dues or unrestricted contributions.

Women in Philanthropy – The Community Foundation established Women in Philanthropy in 2003.  Since its founding, this fund, led by a group of very talented women, has contributed more than $40,000 into the Beaufort County community. They are currently undertaking a major membership campaign, with membership dues being a minimum of $250 annually.  So, the Community Foundation has agreed to match membership dues of $250 for each new member up to 80 members (through June 30, 2011)!  So, if you are a woman living in Beaufort County who would like to join a group of movers and shakers and more than double your investment in the charitable needs of the area, consider joining Women in Philanthropy.

Each of these efforts is described in detail on the Community Foundation’s Web site under “LEARN” and contributions can be made through the “Donate Online” section of the site.  And remember:  each of these efforts is further enhanced through the support and expertise of the Community Foundation staff, board, and volunteers—further expanding the return on investment. 

Time is marching on, and there is a time limit on each of these matching opportunities.  So, since every day matters, consider how quickly you might be able to choose your favorite option and take advantage of these superior investment returns!

Denise K. Spencer

Ten years from now, what will you regret not having done today?

If you are a board or staff member for a nonprofit organization, here’s a partial list:

1)      You might regret not having developed a strong branding and marketing campaign.  What makes your organization unique?  What makes it a truly needed part of the community?  And what are you doing to communicate this to the audiences you need to attract?  A strong campaign with a consistent focus and investment over ten years can mean a significant difference in your visibility, your contribution level, and your service to your constituents.

2)      You might regret not having developed a Web-based and social media presence.  Your current donors may not feel comfortable out there in the ether.  But the next generation LIVES out there.  By the time you catch up, you may have lost a decade of new donors.  Can you afford that?

3)      You might regret not having started an endowment fund/campaign.  An endowment fund provides an additional form of diversification of the revenue stream of a nonprofit, and therefore can be a welcome addition in difficult economic years.  Between annual contributions, investment returns, and possible bequests, a lot of growth can happen in ten years.  And of course, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry would appreciate being your partner in getting your fund structured and created.

These are just a few of the things that constitute the everyday matters of the nonprofit sector and planning strategically for a preferred future.  In order to make EVERY DAY MATTER ten years from now, you need to make EVERY DAY MATTER now!

Denise K. Spencer

The life of the leader of a nonprofit organization is generally one of doing more with less—stretching dollars, recruiting volunteers, finding resources under rocks. By and large, people enter the nonprofit sector knowing this, but they are driven by the mission of the organization and the joy of accomplishment that comes from the work.

Lately, however, whenever I speak to nonprofit directors, there seems to be a common theme that I’ve not seen before. People are tired. In fact, one director commented that she was “tired to the bone.” And the joy of accomplishment that once invigorated them has been replaced with a feeling of despair — the number of people who need assistance has grown significantly, while the resources to serve them have shrunk – progress that has been hard won during recent years has suffered from having to retreat and retrench – and the long hours somehow feel longer than before. So, for all of you who have friends who work in the sector, consider this:

• Send them a note or call them just to say “thank you” for the effort they put forth and the work their organization does.
• Ask them to join you for a movie or a walk or a game of tennis or golf. They need to have mini-escapes that take their mind off the work.
• Volunteer to do something to assist – even if all you can handle is something small and short-term. Folding brochures, stuffing envelopes, running errands—these are things that just might take enough pressure off a single day to make a difference.
• Make a contribution in their honor. The size doesn’t matter. The thought matters enormously.

If you are on the board of a nonprofit organization, ask your staff leadership this: “What keeps you awake at night?” Just asking is incredibly meaningful – it lets them know you care, not only when you are at the board table, but all the time—and that you care about them personally. But it also starts a dialog that might just lead to a solution or two. Wouldn’t that be amazing? The everyday matters that are the work of nonprofits can be difficult and stressful. But EVERY DAY MATTERS in supporting those doing the work, and EVERY PERSON can help in some small way. Make it today; make it you.

Denise K. Spencer

In looking back over this past year and a half, and the devastating impact of the “new” economy, in many ways I am just as proud of the things the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry DID NOT DO, as I am proud of the things we DID DO.

• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT suspend grantmaking. While it might have been tempting to do so to preserve the corpus of our major grantmaking funds, we knew that our local nonprofits were also suffering and badly needed the assistance.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT go into fund raising mode to develop new dollars for basic needs. That would have put us in direct competition for dollars with the United Way and other of our sister nonprofits that are already attempting to provide for basic needs.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT reduce the spending rate on our endowments. For the nonprofits supported by some of these endowments, the result would have been painful. Again, to preserve corpus, we suggested that nonprofits not request the full spendable amount if it was unneeded, but we left the option up to them.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT raise administrative fees on funds under management. Our own operating funds took a tremendous hit in this economic environment. The fee revenue is crucial to our existence. But again, keeping the funds under management as whole as possible was a priority. We slashed our own budget, and fastened our seatbelts.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT lay off staff, though we DID NOT replace some that left. The team here is of critical importance, and every person has high value to the operations. Those who remained took on the extra work load, worked longer hours, and worked more efficiently.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT furlough staff or cut wages, though we did freeze them. To ask staff members to take on the additional work of those who were not being replaced, to work longer hours and accomplish more, and also cut their wages would have been a sad state of affairs. I’m proud that we were able to manage operations in such a way that staff wages were preserved.
• Unlike some foundations, we DID NOT dip deeply into our reserves. We felt strongly that we needed to operate with as balanced a budget as possible.

Fortunately, our board of trustees, our staff, and our former trustees stepped up and contributed operating dollars that assisted us through this difficult time. That helped us to accomplish all the DID NOTs on our list. What a caring, generous, and understanding group of people! They believe in the importance of the mission of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and its desire to make every day (of our operations) matter.

Denise K. Spencer

If you’re like me, certain events are the mile markers of your life–birthdays, anniversaries, new fiscal years, new calendar years. Not only do they cause us to look over our shoulders at the path we have travelled, the distance we have come and the accomplishments (and mistakes) we have made, but also to squint a little as we look hard into the future. Oh, if we could only see that more clearly! One attempt to bring clarity to our future is to take some control…to plan how things might be different or improved. Perhaps this is the year you will become more physically fit, more environmentally conscious, or more well-read. The boxes in the garage whose contents have not seen the light of day for years might find their way into the hands of someone who could use them. And Aunt Bessie, whom you’ve not seen in a blue moon, might actually deserve a visit.

Those of us who are a part of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry family would ask you to consider a few additional possibilities as you face 2010. For example:

Be It Resolved…that you will make a point of learning more about the local nonprofit sector, the services it provides, and the needs it addresses. In the same way that your understanding of your community and world is enhanced reading the newspaper or keeping up with the latest movies, you may be amazed at how your life will be enriched as you come to understand the sector and the people it serves. You may also be amazed at the blessings you’ll come to recognize in your own life as a result.

Be It Resolved…that if you aren’t volunteering, either for a nonprofit organization or someone who is in need, you will find a place to share your talents. If you are volunteering, see if you can find time for some additional service. We all have talents we can share—whether it is board service, or reading to young children or doing yard work or…

Be It Resolved…that you will do some planning about where you wish to offer charitable gifts, what mechanisms to use, and how to increase your contributions now and provide for the future. What is your passion? Which nonprofits make the most of their resources? How can you assure that nonprofits that plan on your current support will be able to count on it even after your passing?

For each of these resolutions, your Community Foundation is a ready resource to help you learn, to develop and define your passion(s), to find volunteer opportunities and provide an easy vehicle for your charitable giving. Most importantly, we are here to assist you with the most significant resolution of all:

Be It Resolved…make every DAY matter!

Happy New Year!

Denise K. Spencer