| History
of FCF (return to About
FCF)
In the summer of 1992, Janice Harvey of Waweig, N.B., as a representative of Conservation Council of New Brunswick attended a conference at the Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews sponsored by the Gulf of Maine Council for the Marine Environment. Marion Kane, then Executive Director of the Maine Community Foundation, was one of the guest speakers. Janice shared her experience with her colleague and friend Inka Milewski or St. Andrews, N.B. They were intrigued by the concept of a community foundation for two reasons. Firstly, knowing the non-profit sector as well as they did and the difficultly in raising funds for important projects, the idea of building a local institution (governed by local people) that would increase the pool of charitable funds for the region and keep charitable dollars in the region was exciting; and secondly, Marion Kane described some of the innovative grant-making done by the Maine Community Foundation. She described the Maine Community Foundations as a vehicle for social change as opposed to an agency providing social services. In the Fall of 1992 Janice Harvey, Inka Milewski, Ardeth Holmes, Gerald Ingersoll, Phoebe Anne Magee, and Frank Hogan formed a Steering Committee to investigate the possibility of establishing a Community Foundation to serve the Islands, towns, villages, and unincorporated areas between St. Stephen and the Lepreau Peninsula. They also made contact with Allistair Gamble then voluntary Executive Director of Community Foundations of Canada, a national organization aimed at providing service and support for existing and emerging community foundations. In October 1992 an application was made for $14,500 to the Voluntary Action Program (a program at the time of the then Department of Multiculturalism and Citizenship) to assist in the establishment of a community foundation In the spring and summer 1993, members of the Steering Committee held meetings in each region of Charlotte County to gauge the level of interest in a community foundation for the area. At the time, their thoughts and those of the people they meet through these kitchen table meetings seemed to turn to the issue of community development and social change. Joan Lord from Campobello and one of our first board members put it this way: “Communities across our great county have for many years proven that they alone are the best people to solve their own problems.” Encouraged by the support from people they met, they pushed on with the next stage, applying for Letters Patent and Charitable Tax status. In November 1993, Letters Patent and Charitable Tax Status conferred on the Fundy Community Foundation and the Fundy Community Foundation was incorporated. In December 1993, the first meeting of the Founding members was held. Throughout this period the Fundy Community Foundation continued to develop its relationship with the Maine Community Foundation and the other Foundations in the Collaboration of Community Foundations of the Gulf of Maine (New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Greater Piscataqua Foundation (Portsmouth, NH). Boston Foundation and Community Foundation of Cape Cod. In January 1994, Fundy Community Foundation becomes an official member of the Collaboration of Community Foundations for the Gulf of Maine. That year, the Board had a workshop with representatives from the Maine Community Foundation and the Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) to enlighten the Board about strategic roles of Community Foundations. FCF also becomes a member of Community Foundations of Canada. In March of 1994, the First Annual General Meeting of FCF was held and a Board of Directors was elected. The first directors of FCF were: Janice
Harvey, President - Waweig
In April 1994, CFC held a workshop to describe their Technical and Professional Assistance Program for community foundations. In May 1994, four Directors attended the National Conference of Community Foundations of Canada in Vancouver. In September 1994, the FCF Board of Directors established the Directors' Fund to be used for Operating expenses. In Fall, 1994, The Tecolote Foundation awarded FCF a grant of $5,800 toward the production of promotional material. The Board sets priorities and began brochure development. In November 1994, FCF receives its first Named Fund, the Brian Eric Magee Memorial Fund. By the end of our first full year of operation, the foundation had placed the cornerstones for a new and exciting institution. It had a hardworking board of directors, it had received its first named fund, it had developed a set of policies and procedures and it was ready to make grants. According to founding director Inka Milewski “I think the beliefs and aspirations of everyone associate with building FCF could be summed up the words of another well-known North American community organizer John McKnight: “No community is built with a focus on deficiencies and needs. Every community, forever in the past and forever in the future, will be built on the capacities and gifts of the people who live there”.” In January 1995, FCF had a workshop on asset development sponsored by the Technical Assistance Program of CFC and the foundation’s first grants were made ($19,000) as a result of funds received from the Collaboration of Community Foundation for the GOM In March 1995, an information brochure was printed and the Second Annual General Meeting was held. Grantmaking The enormous benefit of building community assets is seeing those assets work for everyone. For community foundations, assets work through grant-making. Through grantmaking community foundations make themselves visible to the community and good grantmaking attracts new donors. FCF directors were inspired by some of the grant making stories of the Maine Community Foundation. One inspiring grant was the establishment of a “building materials” clearinghouse in Maine. Repair of older homes was expensive particularly for people of limited or fixed financial means. It was known that each construction site often had leftover building material, which was often burned or landfilled. Was there a way to connect the leftover building material with people who needed it? MCF didn’t fund the collection and distribution of building material but rather they funded the process or mechanism by which material would be connected to people who could us them. FCF also took a lot of inspiration from the other members of the Collaboration. The Community Foundation of Cape Cod had developed a small grants program – grants in the range of $10 or $20. As Monica Patten of Community Foundations of Canada said, great grantmaking stories inspire more donors. The founding members of FCF wanted the community foundation to be a vehicle for social change and development. They set that vision down in the following criteria for grant applications. They were seeking grant proposal that:
One of the features of community foundations that distinguish them from other organizations that provide grants in the community such as the Lions or Kiwanis Clubs is that they can be proactive in our grant-making. They can suggest projects. Community foundations view their board members as the eyes and ears of their community. If a board member from Campobello identifies an issue that is similar to an issue identified by a board member in Deer Island or St. Stephen, the Foundation could make that issue the focus of a grant-making program. Community foundations can and do apply for funds from private foundations for special projects. These are called flow-through funds. Funds are sought for a particular project and, once received by the community foundation, are disbursed to fulfill the project goals. In the initial stages of the FCF, these types of funds which were received as a result of our participation in the Collaboration of Community Foundation for the Gulf of Maine helped to raise the profile of FCF as a grantmaking organization. Today, flow-through-funding can be a vehicle for strategic grantmaking to implement the goals of FCF. The youth in philanthropy program is an example of this type of grantmaking. The Fundy Community Foundation established two grantmaking periods - fall and spring. The role of the grant making committee is to review grants and make recommendations for awards to the Board. The Board as a whole votes to accept the recommendations of the committee. The board as a whole must approve all grants made, including those made from designated, donor-advised or agency funds within FCF even though a donor or agency has selected the recipient of the grant. The Board needs to have full knowledge of the grantees to ensure that regulations governing disbursements from public foundations are followed. Through innovative grant-making FCF can tap into the imagination of individuals, their commitment to their communities and each other and their love of place. If this is done, then the goal of strengthening and enhancing community life in the Fundy region will be achieved. The People of FCF The following is a list of directors, advisors and staff who served for the first 10 years of operations for Fundy Community Foundation 1994
1995
1996
1997
Advisors
Executive
Director
1998
Advisors
Staff
1999
Advisors
Staff
2000
Advisors
Staff
2001
Advisors
Staff
2002
Advisors
Staff
2003
Advisors
Staff
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