We’ve reached my favorite time of year when the leaves begin to crunch under our feet, mother nature boasts her showstopping colors, and spooky pumpkins adorn most neighborhood porches. It’s hard not to smile through this season of change.
For our local farmers, the chill in the air indicates a season of harvest. Combines are combing through the country roads, displaying their great responsibility of tending to the thousands of acres of farmland across our county. Farmers dedicate long, strenuous hours in the field, hoping to yield the greatest harvest and do their small part in helping nourish the world.
A commitment of time is just one piece of the puzzle, though. Without passion, no farmer is ever successful. Farming, like many other professions, requires emotional as well a physical and financial commitment. Some years are better than others, requiring patience and vision. Farming is definitely not a one-season job; it is year-round and long-term.
Donors who have established Funds within the Community Foundation understand farming – even if they’ve never walked through a cornfield. They understand that community foundations plant seeds for future harvest within their communities; that charitable giving plans can be designed to create both short-term and long-term benefits; and that charitable passions can be fulfilled long into the future, given vision, thoughtful planning, and patience.
John and Nancy Demerly know first-hand the importance of planting seeds for the future. Carrying on decades of tradition, the family tends to their crops year after year, deeply committed to the soil that has blessed their lives. To extend that commitment and passion further into the community, they established the John & Nancy Demerly Family Endowment.
“Much like farming, we planted our seed money to begin our endowment. We are watching it grow and now harvesting our investment back into our White County communities,” John and Nancy share.
Their endowment is discretionary (unrestricted), meaning that the CFWC Governing Council uses the funds to respond to immediate and ever-changing needs in the community through our community grant cycles. Some recent projects funded through our community grant cycles include the supporting the building of ramps for home-bound residents, purchasing food to support multiple programs across the county addressing food insecurity, preserving historic documents, increasing accessibility in our community parks, plus so much more.
Your Community Foundation of White County believes in careful planning. Our job is to open fields for donors who, together with us, envision even better opportunities for White County in the future. We offer many types of seeds for charitable planting, and like our farmer friends, the yields of our harvest benefit both donor and community.
If you are interested in planting seeds for White County’s future, please contact Community Foundation Director Lucy Dold at (574) 583-6911 or log onto www.cfwhitecounty.org for more information
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