News

 

 

Volume 2. Issue 2.

July 2006

 

 

Volume 2. Issue 3.

November 2006

 

 

Volume 3. Issue 1.

March 2007

 

 

Volume 2. Issue 2.

July 2007

 

With Scott County Fair time upon us and a great looking corn crop, I used my creative license, to changed this story to reflect a Scott County Farmer.- Pat


   There was a Scott County farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon…
   One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbor.
   “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.
   “Why sir,” said the farmer, “don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.
   He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves. So it is in other dimensions. Those who choose to be at peace must help their neighbors to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.


Bryan Center Scholarships
   The Scott Community Foundation is looking for a benefactor(s) for a proposed Bryan Scholarship Fund. This scholarship would be designated for students attending Scott Community High School who are interested in getting college credits early but are not yet eligible for traditional ‘college’ scholarships. There is a need in the Scott community for area students who are falling through the cracks (so to speak) set out by traditional college scholarship criteria. Please contact Pat at (620) 872-3790 or pat@ScottCF.org.

Scott Community Wellness Center
   There is a recurring lament from community members of all ages that we are desperately in need of a community building that could be a multigenerational gathering place, house a multitude of community social services, and address healthy lifestyle changes.
Are you interested in being part of the solution for an even better quality of life here in Scott County? The Scott Community Foundation is looking for additional benefactors who would be interested in partnering their philanthropic resources to develop a Scott Community Wellness Center.
The Scott Community Foundation is interested in partnering with local community and governmental organizations to make this happen as a win-win for the community. Now that the ball is rolling with the Library addition, downtown streetscape, Pamida, and the harvest has been great, this is a phenomenal time to focus on this long awaited, quality of life community building need in Scott City.

A community wide town hall style facilitation meeting is being planned for the fall. Area businesses and organizations like The Scott Recreation Commission, Scott County Partners for Youth, Scott County Wellness Coalition, USD 466, VIP, Scott County Hospital, Chamber of Commerce, Scott Economic Development Committee, Ministerial Alliance, and City Council and County Commission will be invited to be on the developmental end of bringing together the Public-Private funding for the needed strategic planning for the current and coming “wellness” needs of Scott County. If you are interested in being part of this effort please call Pat at 872-3790, or email her at pat@scottcf.org. As we, here at the Scott Community Foundation like to say, “ For Good, For Scott, For Ever!


Make the Gift of a Lifetime, turning Retirement Accounts into Charitable Good

There is good news for community foundation donors over the age of 70, and for the communities they care about. A new law made it possible to give individual retirement account (IRA) assets to charity during 2006 and 2007, free from federal tax. Formerly, all lifetime distributions from IRAs were taxed, even those given to charity. This means that, now, our donors can give far more with less. This may be an attractive giving option for you if you are:

    ~ Over 70½ and now receiving minimum IRA distributions—but do not need the extra income.

   ~Interested in making a significant lifetime gift.

    ~In 2007, the new law allows those age 70½ and older to transfer up to $100,000 from an IRA to charity this year tax-free.

    ~If married, each spouse can transfer $100,000 per year from his or her IRA.

    ~Using IRA assets to make a gift during your life, as opposed to giving via bequest in your will, enables you to experience the joy of making a major gift.

“We’re ready to help our donors take advantage of this legislation and make gifts during their lifetimes. Our personalized service and local expertise helps donors address the issues most important to them,” said Pat Baughman, Scott Community Foundation director.

For more information on the charitable giving legislation and the Charitable IRA opportunity, please contact Pat at (620) 872-3790 or pat@ScottCF.org Visit our website anytime for more information about the Scott Community Foundation at www.ScottCF.org.

 

The Scott Community Foundation is pleased to once again present postsecondary-education scholarships to outstanding local students.

These scholarships serve two purposes. First, they are recognition of the recipients’ past hard work, both in the classroom and in the community. Second, and equally as important, they are a down payment on future success. We want to help these students fulfill all of their dreams and aspirations.

We hope that one day all of our scholarship recipients will be in a position to recycle their scholarships back into the community so that more students are able to pursue their dreams. Click here to view this year’s recipients.

Click here to view this year's recipients.

 

The 2007 application for the Scott Community Foundation Spring round of Community Grants is now available Online.

The Grant funding is designated for charitable or philanthropic purposes that agree with the Foundation’s mission. The recipients must be a non-profit organization or governmental agency. Deadline is May 15, 2007. Grants will be announced in June of ’07.

Click here to view application and eligibility criteria.

 

Applications are now available for the 2007 round of scholarships offered through the Scott Community Foundation. Applications are due March 26, 2007. All winners will be notified the week of April 26, 2007. Click here to view available scholarship opportunities

 

Elmer Cauthon was an active member of the Scott community, but a special place in his heart was reserved for the VIP Center. To honor his memory and further his personal charitable goals, his widow recently endowed the Elmer Cauthon Memorial Fund with SCF. Proceeds from this Designated Fund will support the VIP Center, which provides transportation, meals, recreational/social activities, and other services for area seniors.

 

SCF is please to have helped two local families further the legacies of their loved ones. The families each created a Designated Fund to support local organizations. Proceeds from the John Eli Crist Memorial Fund will be used to maintain and enhance the sanctuary and historic cemetery at Prairie View Church of the Brethren in Friend, Kansas. Mr. Crist helped establish the Church and was a Minister there for 32 years. Proceeds from the Elma Filson Parkinson Fund will be used to help build an addition to Scott County Library. Once construction is complete, fund proceeds will support the Library’s general operations.

 

Former Kansas State Head Football Coach Bill Snyder will be the keynote speaker for the Scott Community Foundation’s Annual Reception November 13, 2006 at the Majestic Theater, Main Street, Scott City. Snyder, who currently chairs the Kansas Mentors Leadership Council, will speak on the importance of giving back to the community. The Reception is open to the public. The event will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. Following the program, Snyder will be available to sign copies of his latest book, They Said It Couldn’t be Done. If you wish to attend, please RSVP by November 3 to 620 872-3790 or foundation@scottcf.org

 

A provision in the new federal Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows individuals to transfer IRA assets directly to charity. By going directly to charity, the money is not included in the IRA owner’s income and—most importantly—is not taxed, preserving the full amount for charitable purposes. In 2006 and 2007, holders of traditional and Roth IRAs who are at least 70 ½ years old can make direct charitable transfers up to $100,000 per year. As a qualified public charity, the SCF can help donors execute the transfers and choose from several charitable fund options for their gift. Donor Advised Funds do not qualify for tax-free IRA transfers. For more information, contact your financial advisor or SCF at (620) 872-3790 or Foundation@scottcf.org

 

A local retiree, who wishes to remain out of the spotlight, recently contributed $400,000 to SCF for the benefit four local charities. The dollars were placed in non-endowed funds to support: construction of an addition to Scott County Library, construction of an art gallery at El Quartelejo Museum, capital improvements to Park Lane Nursing Home, and the Breadbasket Program that distributes groceries to needy families. By giving through SCF, the donor simplified his recordkeeping and has peace-of-mind knowing the dollars will only be used for their intended charitable purposes.