By Mandy McFarland Staff Writer
BREMEN — The economic situation of the last year and a half may have proven too much for many organizations, but for the Marshall County Community Foundation, it has been a hurdle that they have successfully, though not painlessly, cleared.

The foundation gathered at the Bremen Conservation Club’s building at Lake of the Woods Thursday, Oct. 1 for their annual meeting. Reports from President John Zeglis, Chair Louise Mason and others revealed that the organization continues strong, despite financial setbacks.
Zeglis opened with a few words, while Rev. Jim Morse, pastor of Horizon Ministries in Bremen, delivered the invocation. After the approval of the minutes, Zeglis, Sarah Smith and Executive Director Jennifer Maddox reflected on the last year. Zeglis reported that as of last summer, the foundation's assets were at nearly $25 million and were in the midst of a generations initiative that would add $1.5 million from donors. They were also in the process of giving out nearly three quarters of a million to local not-for-profits countywide.
Then the recession hit.
Zeglis said that when the stock market declined a year ago, it forced the foundation to take measures like cutting the budget, which in turn meant cutting employee hours in half and even cutting Founation payout from 5 to 3 percent. This they did not do without first consulting the donors. As the market recovers, Zeglis said, they hope to be able to someday bring this back up to five percent.
While these cuts were painful, Zeglis said, things are looking up for the next year. For example, they were able to secure a Lily match grant for $250,000 over the next three years.
“Just when it was the darkest, things turned around for us,” Zeglis said.
Smith expressed further optimism by highlighting what the foundation plans to do with the funds in the future. They held a town hall meeting July 1 to go over the Strategic Resource Development (SRD) plan. A few changes they have made have included reclassifying their funds into what she called fields of interest in order to help potential donors better determine what areas they wish to support.
Another step they have taken has been to implement a generations initiative for not-for-profit groups, meaning if a group builds a fund in its own name, the foundation will match 25 cents on the dollar for up to $25,000.
Further changes have included re-writing their grant application and updating their application guidelines. They then hosted training for not-for-profits to show them how to go through the grant application process.
“We're really trying to reach out hand in hand with not for profits to help them build and help them add solidarity to their future,” she said.
Maddox picked up from there, highlighting what the foundation plans to do with their SRD over the next year. This will include forming a stewardship committee to meet with current fundholders. Other plans include getting the word out through the local media, increasing the number of funds they have and establishing an origins fund, which will allow anyone in the community interested in starting a fund to do so starting at $5,000, which they will have up to five years to acquire.
“We want to make sure Marshall County knows we are not just scholarships,” Maddox said. “We have many scholarships, and that is clearly some of the things that are important to us, but we have many, many other funds and we have fundholders here that their funds are very different from scholarship funds.”
Aside from that, board members will continue to learn more about funds and kinds of funds, look for further grant opportunities and continue to build relationships with local organizations. Other improvements they hope to see include outdoor signage at their building, an updated Web site and the establishment of an annual fundholders-only meeting.
BEAM
BEAM is a countywide organization comprised of high school students. President Nathaniel O'Dell briefly presented some of the communtiy service activities BEAM has accomplished over the last year. Some of these have included planting a vegetable garden at The Whitlock, hosting a cleanup day along the Yellow River and presenting a $307 check to United Way. The group, he said, has grown and now includes students from all high school grade levels, whereas before it consisted only of juniors and seniors. O'Dell hopes to see local teens continue to take an active interest in bettering their community.
“At the end of the day, the youth are the ones that are going to inherit this county,” he said, “and so we should have an active role in helping you to build it.”
Nominations and grants
Nomination Committee Member Patti Kitch listed individuals nominated to fill certain positions in 2009, while Chair Louise Mason gave a report on grants.