Community Foundations "History and Vision"
Since that time, more than 700 community foundations have been established across the country. Why is the model such a popular one and why should people care about them? There are many reasons. They build and strengthen the communities where people live and work; they facilitate personalized, flexible and inexpensive giving options; and, community foundations provide in-depth community expertise and leadership. Understanding these qualities, the Founding Directors Kern Community Foundation has honored had a vision to put a community foundation in place in Kern County.
In the community foundation sector, “storytelling” is a common way to communicate the complex entity a community foundation really is. Here is a story about our foundation that is really a philanthropic vision for Kern County. It is 2024, and the Kern Community Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a sumptuous gala. Assembled in the audience are the Foundation’s staff, directors and fund holders, local business leaders and dignitaries, and numerous nonprofit partners from across kern County. With his address to the audience, the CEO paints a picture of community impact, facilitated by the Kern Community Foundation.
Educational attainment in our region has long been a concern to the community, reports the Foundation’s CEO. For years, educators and business leaders alike have championed not just the quality of life value, but also the dollar-impact to kern, of a better-educated populace. The Kern Community Foundation’s initiative to promote learning opportunities for at-risk youth has struck a cord. The Foundation has convened public and private agencies and local enterprise to work in concert, crafting a multi-layered approach to raise the level of educational attainment in our region. The effort has drawn donors to the community foundation, hungry to support a cause so fundamental to Kern County’s success. Many have established donor advised funds to address favorite educational causes. Others have built a large community scholarship fund. Many support the Community Ready Project Fund. And still others have built a large field of interest fund to address Kern County’s changing educational needs over time.
In 2024, the arts thrive in Kern County. Thanks to an arts initiative begun by the Kern Community Foundation in 2010, and initially supported by the James Irvine Foundation, small arts and culture groups have developed their operating capacities and resources. They are better equipped to market their exhibits and performances. They have developed audience participation so their earned income supports operations. They are fundraising miracle-workers. Small organizations now have endowments providing annual payments to them, because their patrons better understand the po9wer of endowment. Some donors at the Kern Community Foundation have opened designated funds to support a myriad of cultural groups. Still others with a broad cultural vision for Kern County have contributed to a field of interest fund to support Kern’s changing cultural needs over time.
The Women’s & Girls’ Fund of Kern county has become a model for similar start-ups across the nation. In 2024, the Women’s & Girls’ Fund endowment is $2 million, and annual grants to the community are $100,000. The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in Kern County is updated regularly through a successful partnership with CSUB, and it is the leading monitor of the well-being of Kern County’s women and girls. Each year, fund volunteers champion the philanthropic efforts of Kern women. Thanks to these efforts, charitable giving among local women has risen significantly, not just to the Women’s & Girls’ Fund, but to a multitude of Kern county organizations.
Many of Kern’s nonprofit organizations no longer exist on shoestring budgets in 2024. Thanks to the advocacy of visionary board members within some local nonprofits, endowments have been established within the community foundation to support those organizations’ operating costs. Charitable people have established Designated Funds to support the nonprofit agencies they love forever.
In 2024, geographic component funds have taken hold at the Kern Community Foundation. These support smaller regions within our large county, and they draw donors who are particularly loyal to their communities. The Kern River Valley region was the forefront of this phenomenon in 2010 with what began as a vision is now supported by hundreds of Kern River Valley donors with lifetime and legacy gifts. The KRV Strategic Fund enhances educational opportunities in their valley, supports your entrepreneurship, and develops a broad base of community leadership. Thanks to the success of the KRV Strategic Fund, other geographic component funds have begun in Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, and Shafter-Wasco, and these are growing to support those communities.
Finally, a culture of legacy giving thrives among Kern County residents in 2024. Community convenings that began in 2010 partnered the Kern Community Foundation with CSUB, Bakersfield College, Memorial and other hospitals, the Bakersfield Museum of Art, and key nonprofits. These convenings underscored how generous people could support their favorite causes and organizations in perpetuity, with thoughtful estate planning. More than ever before, local citizens now work with their professional advisors to provide for organizations and causes important to them. The Kern Community Foundation is a haven for many of these donors. Because the Foundation accepts a range of gifts, including land, stock, retirement and life insurance funds, and charitable trusts, generous people can transform their complicated assets into philanthropic dreams. Whether they support local issues, east coast alma maters, or international faith-based causes, these donors see their charitable wishes fulfilled with the help of the Kern Community Foundation.
We are brought back to 2009. Only the first brushstrokes of this vibrant 2024 vision exist on our canvas today, but many of us can fulfill the vision.
Most of us could choose to live anywhere, but we live here in Kern County. Let’s work together to create the highest quality of life we can. Let’s build a legacy of good that takes us to 2024 and beyond.
Kern Community Foundation’s committed Board of Directors, dedicated staff and the trust given this Foundation by individuals and organizations in our community who are part of giving back to the community.
Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Kern Community Foundation and honoring Noel Daniells for his dedication, a Noel Daniells Endowment Fund was established. This fund will be a key factor for the Foundation to build on over the next few years to ensure the sustainability of the Foundation.
The success of Kern Community Foundation will ultimately depend on touching those who believe in our community, are philanthropic-minded and want to be part of the future growth and accomplishments of the Kern Community Foundation.
