By Staff
BUCHANAN - The Niles-Buchanan Rotary Club has established an endowed charitable fund with the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation for the purpose of supporting programs and charitable activities of the club in the Niles-Buchanan community.
Michigan Gateway Community Foundation President, Rob Habicht, is pleased to welcome this newest fund. "The Rotary Club has served our community for over 80 years now, and the establishment of their fund signifies their commitment to continuing the ideal of "Service Above Self" forever. The purpose of the new fund is to support the club's goal of serving the community through charitable support of programs important to improving the quality of life of area citizens." Currently, the Rotary Club contributes to a variety of programs, including support of After Prom and After Graduation activities in local schools, giving to the annual United Way drive, youth memberships at the YMCA, and scholarships to graduating seniors at Niles, Brandywine, and Buchanan High Schools.
The concept of endowments is to grow the funds to keep pace with the needs of the beneficiary, in this case the Niles-Buchanan community. A $5,000 gift by the 1st Source Foundation, an affiliate of 1st Source Bank Corporation, a $1,000 gift from LaSalle Federal Savings Bank, and $4,000 from the Niles-Buchanan Rotary Club established the fund.
Additional contributions from individual donors and the Rotary Club, sound investment management, and a spending policy limiting grants to only the earnings of the fund, the new endowment will support programs in our community now and forever.
A fund advisory committee, consisting of the five immediate past presidents of the Rotary Club, along with a representative of the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, will recommend the use of the spendable portion of the fund to the Trustees of Michigan Gateway Community Foundation.
Financial contributions to the Niles-Buchanan Rotary Fund from interested individuals and businesses are also welcomed, and donors may benefit from the Michigan Tax Credit as well as receiving a tax deduction for charitable contributions, due to this new partnership between the Rotary Club and Michigan Gateway Community Foundation. "Contributions to the fund will never be spent, only the earnings from the fund. One hundred years from now, your contribution will still be there, joined by many others, continuing the long and successful history of service to the community by the local Rotary Club," states Pat McCullough, President of the Niles-Buchanan Rotary Club.
MGCF serves south Berrien and Cass counties. The Foundation was established with gifts from many citizens in amounts ranging from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Only the income generated by the investment of these gifts is used in grant making. Thus, a gift to the community funds, such as those from Niles, Buchanan, and Cass County, serve these communities in perpetuity. The Foundation manages over 65 separate endowment funds, with combined assets of more than $5.3 million. In 2004, over $165,000 in grants were made from these funds to provide for the charitable needs of the South Berrien and Cass County communities.
For information on establishing an endowment fund, or contributing to an existing fund, contact Robert N. Habicht at Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, 111 Days Avenue, Buchanan, MI 49107 or call 269-695-3521.