July Foundation Update

First, I would like to thank Deanna Drake, Joan Jagt, and Sharon Jacobsen for making sure that we had the Tyler Area Community Foundation pamphlets available to be handed out during Aebleskiver Days here in Tyler. I would also like to thank Becky Clipper for making sure that the inserts were completed on time to get into the pamphlets. Thank you, Becky!

On July 28, the Tyler Area Community Foundation (TACF) design team held its monthly meeting and we continue to work on getting to a point of seating a permanent board. This month we worked on the operating procedures for the foundation. The design team decided the board would be made up of between 5 and 9 members, meet monthly and hold its annual meeting in January each year. We expect that the first board would have 9 members and we will be looking at recruiting community members to help fill out the first board. Board members will have the ability to serve two consecutive 3 year terms before a replacement will be needed. If you are interested in serving on the permanent board or would like additional information about the role of the permanent board, I will be listing the design team members at the bottom of the blog for you to contact or you can just email me at oleary@mnns.com and I can try to answer your question.

The design team continued to talk about marketing efforts to get people informed about the Foundation and what a great asset it can turn into for the Tyler Area. The team also talked about the remaining $15,000 that needs to be raised for the TACF endowment fund, so that we can receive the matching dollars from the Southwest Initiative Foundation. I guess that is a small hint that we are taking donations at this time and if you or someone that you know would like to make an investment in Tyler, please let us know.

TACF Design Team includes: Tim O’Leary, Deanna Drake, Sharon Jacobsen, Gary Manson, Joan Jagt, Trent Hess, April Thomas, Margo Snow, Steph Ekema and our newest member Dan Tolsma.

June Update

I would like to thank Mark for helping the Tyler Area Community Foundation (TACF) get out the news about its revival and how everyone can help the Foundation meet its $25,000 match challenge from the Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF). The match challenge from SWIF has SWIF matching $1 for $1 every dollar given to our endowment, up to $25,000. I should probably start with a little background on the TACF. The TACF was started back in 2001 and has been used for the golf course expansion project and the new rod and gun club. In each of these situations, the TACF was used to accept donations for these projects in a tax deductible manner and both were very successful. At the end of 2008, the current board decided to refocus their efforts around building a permanent endowment and securing the SWIF challenge grant that was offered when the group was started in 2001. The current board held two community information sessions about the TACF and how community members of Tyler could make a difference in the community of Tyler through a tax deductible donation to the TACF Endowment Fund. We also recruited new members to “re-design” the efforts of the group. This re-design team has been meeting over the last six months and visiting about how to get the community more involved and to get the information out about the TACF. In June, we continued the process by creating and adopting a new mission statement which reads: “The mission of the Tyler Area Community Foundation is to enhance the social, cultural, educational and economic growth of the area through the creation of endowments and other charitable giving.” This message is the first effort in getting information out about the TACF and we thank Mark for helping us. We will be identifying ways to reach the $25,000 match challenge and asking for the community’s help in reaching this goal as to not lose out on the $1 for $1 match from SWIF. If you are interested in contacting anyone on the re-design team, the following community members are: Tim O’Leary, Deanna Drake, Sharon Jacobsen, Gary Manson, Joan Jagt, Trent Hess, April Thomas, Margo Snow and Steph Ekema.