Welcome
PHI-LAN-THRO-PY: a desire to improve the material, social and spiritual welfare of humanity, especially through charitable activities
The mission of the Friends of Oakley Community Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the City of Oakley now and for future generations through efforts that inspire donor philanthropy to address community needs.
"At the center of the universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person. Anything we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particluar vision must continue againts all odds. Life is for service" - Fred Rogers 1928-2003
The inspiration for the Friends of Oakley was a new city ordinance, the Property Maintenance Ordinance, which requires certain standards of appearance of residential properties. Councilmember Jim Frazier approached me with a concern. How do we help those people who, for whatever reason, are unable to comply with the new ordinance? We kicked around a number of ideas and asked for some advice. It was mentioned to us that a Community Foundation would provide us with a great deal of flexibility in meeting the needs of Oakley. We jumped right in and acquired help from Councilmember Pat Anderson, Shirley Darling and Mike Painter. Our first project was a Christmas basket giveaway.
So what is a Community Foundation? A community foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3), nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, philanthropic institution composed primarily of permanent funds established by many separate donors for the long-term diverse , charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area as opposed to a specific cause. It is broad and flexible in its approach to addressing all of the community’s needs. Community foundations do this by helping individuals, families, and businesses establish charitable funds to which they may contribute a variety of assets. Grants are then made from these funds to nonprofit groups in order to meet the charitable goals of the donor. Donors and their families may be actively involved in the selection of the nonprofit groups and, in some cases, the individuals who receive grants from their funds. The grants can be made in the donor’s name or anonymously.
The first community foundation was established in 1914 by a Cleveland banker. Today, there are nearly 700 community foundations nationwide, with aggregate assets approaching $32 billion. Community foundations are the fastest growing form of philanthropy in America. Donors appreciate a community foundation's ability to respond to changing societal needs.
Essentially, a community foundation does three things: 1) receives money 2) manages and invests money and 3) gives money.
