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Home of The Community Foundation
Serving Boulder County

Community Foundation Hits $25 Million Goal Early.
Next Milestone Will Be To Build More Substantial Community Trust
Contact: Josie Heath, President
The Community Foundation
303-442-0436


Boulder, Colo. (June 2004) –

The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County is delighted to announce that it has reached a major milestone in becoming a permanent resource to the Boulder County Community. With the liquidation in May of a restricted year-end gift, the foundation now has over $25 million in assets under management.

The mission of the foundation is to strengthen philanthropy and improve the quality of life for Boulder County residents, now and forever.

"We set this goal for assets because it would mean that we could be absolutely assured of giving away at least one million dollars every year in grant money to nonprofit groups," said foundation President Josie Heath. The foundation pays out approximately 5 percent each year on the value of its endowed funds.

The goal was set by the foundation’s trustees during a strategic planning session in 2000. At that time, the foundation’s asset size was just over $10 million, and the goal was to grow to $25 million by the end of 2005. Several large year-end gifts in 2003 helped the foundation arrive at its goal early.

"We are obviously delighted about reaching this major milestone, and reaching it early. The majority of assets are in donor-advised funds, looking ahead, our next focus will be to grow the Community Trust," Heath said.

The Community Trust is the foundation’s most flexible fund, allowing the foundation to meet and respond to the community’s greatest needs, now and in the future. The foundation is comprised of over 100 funds, the majority of which are donor-advised funds, meaning that they are established by families, individuals and corporations who take an active role in recommending gifts from those funds each year. Like many other emerging community foundations, The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County has only a very small percentage of its assets in responsive funds such as the Community Trust.

The Community Trust is important for several reasons. It functions like a savings account, with resources available to the community in lean times as well as good times. It provides the foundation with the ability to be responsive quickly on projects to which timing may be crucial. It also allows the foundation to address emerging needs.

"Our track record with grants from the Community Foundation has been impressive," Heath said. "We have been the first dollars in where we’ve seen emerging needs in our community, and recognized their impact. We have supported a broad range of groups whose entrepreneurial spirit really reflects that of the larger community we live in. Our goal is to continue and increase this kind of grant making."

The unrestricted funds comprising the Community Trust make up about five percent of The Community Foundation’s funds right now. The foundation’s goal is to grow it to at least 25 percent in the next few years.

Donors can make a gift to the Community Trust, and help The Community Foundation grow this key resource. Gifts can be made in a variety of ways, including cash, publicly traded or privately-held securities, real estate, retirement plan assets, life insurance or a bequest in your will or revocable trust. For more information about The Community Foundation or The Community Trust, contact Josie Heath at 303-442-0436 or .

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