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Stewarding funds to sustain the future
What does it take to be a good steward? In my opinion, good stewardship is being committed to serving others while preserving their wishes and ideas.
Stewardship is conducting, supervising or managing something of interest. Becoming a good steward is answering the call to action selflessly, no matter where you find yourself.
This is usually an individual who has been entrusted to responsibly lead the mission toward a sustainable future.
The Putnam County Community Foundation has three types of stewards.
First, the fund steward, the person or group of people who create an endowment or non-endowment fund through their innovation and desires for a long-term and impactful effect.
Secondly, the stewards of the funds, this is the Foundation family that takes the time to invest donor dollars every day. As gifts come through our door, we do our best to be accurate and quick in responding to those gifts.
Lastly and most importantly, you, the donor, are a steward. You entrust us to invest your hard-earned, sometimes celebratory, and other times sorrow-filled donations.
I have heard it said like this, “It’s amazing what can get accomplished when nobody receives the credit.” It takes all three types of stewards to join forces to make sustainability possible.
At the Putnam County Community Foundation, we believe in sustainability. We believe in meeting the current needs of Putnam County without compromising the ability of future generations to meet upcoming needs.
As we receive donations to build and grow endowment funds, we take pride in the good decisions made by our board, committee and staff members, which empower the Community Foundation to serve our community in perpetuity.
Other parties that we trust are our investment managers, which include several local advisers, along with Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc.
We also have a certified public accountant Barbara Bryan, who joins our team monthly ready to assist in reconciling our financial records, as well as the annual audit.
These various groups meet regularly to ensure the mission and vision of the Community Foundation are continually being met.
Each of our 300-plus funds has a fund steward that receives important updates, monthly contribution reports, and quarterly fund statements to show the growth and financial position of the fund. The Community Foundation holds several types of funds, donor advised, unrestricted, advised organizational purpose, field of interest, fiscal sponsorship, organizational purpose, planned giving and administrative. In fact, the first named administrative fund was opened just last month.
If you would like to invest in Putnam County by starting a fund, we have options to meet your vision. Visit www.pcfoundation.org/list-of-funds/ to view a complete list of funds.
Stewardship and sustainability are more than keeping the reins on spending money. It is about applying time and money to things cared about in our community. It is about using the money entrusted to us with the intent of staying alive and growing. Finally, when a donor makes a gift to a fund, that gift establishes a relationship built on trust, therefore offering sustainability.
The Community Foundation is committed to cultivating good relationships with our fund stewards and donors to ensure that we do not lose sight of your goals and wishes.
Just curious, what sustains you in life?