Chief Executive Officer, Alan Robertson stands in front of The Winners Club in Calhoun. Our Foundation helped The Winners Club establish an endowment that will allow the organization to serve the youth and families of Gordon County for years to come.

You have probably heard the term “endowment” used, but have you ever stopped and thought about what the word actually means and how endowments can benefit your favorite charity?

An endowment is a special type of fund that generates investment income — year after year — which make annual distributions to the organization that help them fulfill a mission. The distributions can also be reinvested in the fund to grow over time. Having an endowment fund can provide a stable annual funding stream for the organization and demonstrates its long-range financial strength to potential donors. They provide a financial stability not contingent on the success of current or future fundraising campaigns.

Our Foundation feels strongly about helping regional nonprofits and churches build and manage their endowments so that quality programs and services can continue well into the future. Today, we present twenty regional organizations with endowments at the Community Foundation. We’ve also included their missions. Is your favorite organization on our list?

1.      The Winners Club — to provide children of Gordon County with the love, mentoring and self-esteem so they have the opportunity to develop into the best people they can be.

2.      Family Support Council — to work to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting and building strong, nurturing families in and around Dalton.

3.      Bartow Education Foundation — to support the Bartow County School System in providing world-class educational opportunities for its students and teaching community.

4.      St. Mark’s Episcopal Church — to gather in worship and fellowship, to learn, to teach, to nurture, to give thanks for God’s blessings, and be of service to the community.

5.      Harris Arts Center — to bring the arts to the entire community (in and around Calhoun) and to honor the legacy of Roland Hayes, a world renown African American tenor and composer who was born in the small Gordon County community of Curryville.

6.      Bartow Rotary Club — putting service before self, Rotary Clubs exist to help both local and global communities.

7.      Blunt House — to preserve and document the history of the Blunt House in Whitfield County.

8.      Habitat for Humanity of Gordon County — to bring people together to build safe, affordable homes, communities, and hope in Gordon County.

9.      Salvation Army — to meet human needs without discrimination.

10.  GateKey Program — to establish two-year scholarships for eligible Cartersville High School students and give them the opportunity to work toward an attainable goal of a college education.

11.  Looper Speech and Hearing — to meet the speech, language and hearing needs of children and adults living in and around Dalton.

12.  Boy Scouts Northwest Georgia Council — to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

13.  Dalton Education Foundation — to develop, support, and promote excellence in the nationally acclaimed Dalton Public School system by recognizing exceptional teachers, awarding classroom grants, and providing scholarships to students.

14.  Dalton Organization of Churches (DOC-UP) — To provide responsible short-term financial assistance to people in temporary crisis who are living one or two lost paychecks from financial disaster and prevent families in Dalton from entering the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

15.  Advocates for Children — to advocate for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in and around Bartow County and create a world where all children are respected, loved, happy and thriving.

16.  RossWoods — to provide safety, nursing care, personal care services and therapeutic activity programs during the day in a homelike setting for participants living in Northwest Georgia.

17.  United Way of Gordon County — to accurately assess the needs of Gordon County and to mobilize available resources to meet the needs.

18.  Boys & Girls Club of Gordon, Murray, and Whitfield — to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

19.  Alzheimer’s Fund — to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease throughout the Northwest Georgia region through the advancement of research; provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

20.  Creative Arts Guild — to cultivate and sustain the arts in Dalton and its surrounding counties.

Thank you for being part of our Foundation’s history. Please help us share our story by sharing our posts with others. And as always, if we can be of service to you, your family, or your company, please contact us at (706) 275-9117.

by DAVID AFT

You have probably heard that 50 percent of the nation’s nonprofit organizations receive a majority of their annual donations in the weeks between October and December. It’s true. Most of us haven’t really thought about this pattern of giving, but I have, and I encourage you to think about it, as well, because it isn’t ideal for many organizations.

Every December, there’s a big push to send end-of-year donations, as charities near and far vie for our attention and our wallets.

The holiday season adds its own demands, with countless groups working to make the holidays a little better for our less fortunate friends and neighbors. Many also “time” their giving to maximize the tax advantages of their charitable donations. 

But then January comes and the “goodwill toward man” spirit in our souls is shaded by the exhaustion that follows the holiday rush. It takes a few weeks to get back into the groove of regular, day-to-day operations. It also takes a little while for our pocketbooks to recover from this very special, but sometimes expensive season. Our focus shifts and donating to charities is the last thing on our minds. After all, we wrote all those checks in December, right?

In the meantime, many nonprofit organizations are starving for funds in January. Their needs didn’t go away just because we turned a page on the calendar. For example, extra donations in December to a food bank mean they can feed more food-insecure individuals and families, and that’s usually what happens. Not every organization is in a position to save those extra donations, like squirrels stowing away acorns for the winter. For many charities, the transition from December to January moves them from a feast to a famine scenario.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are four ways to help keep your favorite charities afloat all year round.

1.   AUTOPILOT—Consider setting up your bank account to automatically send your donations to your favorite charities each month. For example, instead of writing one $500 check in December to the Humane Society, consider setting up your bank account to send them $41.67 each month.

2.   A LITTLE PLANNING—Make it a New Year’s Day tradition to sit down with your family and plan out your family’s charitable gifts for the year. This will not only help shape a roadmap for your giving throughout the year and prevent the end-of-year giving frenzy, but it will also teach your children the importance of thoughtful, consistent charitable giving. You will be shaping the next generation of philanthropists with their involvement and participation.

3.   CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS—If you are a member of a club or association that raises money for community causes, consider making a motion to have the gift be delivered at the beginning of the year, as opposed to other times.

4.   THE TIMING OF FUNDRAISERS—If you are a volunteer with a church or nonprofit organization, sit down with the executive director and help them schedule fundraisers throughout the year to help keep a steady stream of donations coming in.

I want to be clear. I am not suggesting you stop or reduce your end-of-year charitable giving practices. I just want to encourage you to be mindful and remember the nonprofits of the world in January, February, and March—when their donations drop.

By changing our giving practices a bit, we can ensure the charities that care for so many, stay healthy all year long.

David Aft is the president of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia. He has worked in the nonprofit field for over twenty-five years and is a recognized resource and noted speaker on charitable enterprise, civics, fundraising strategy and community development.