A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News July 29, 2004 - Funds to help communities build dreams By Antoinette Rahn, Daily Tribune Staff The Community Progress Initiative isn't only about developing leaders and stimulating economic growth. It's also about planting seeds of money to serve communities, organizers say. A group of 17 residents representing Rudolph, Vesper, Pittsville, Port Edwards, Nekoosa, the town of Rome and Wisconsin Rapids gathered at Hotel Mead on Wednesday to learn about the individual community progress endowment fund program. "Each of the seven communities are going to get a $20,000 matching opportunity to build an endowment for the community, and additionally, $5,000 in initial grant money to support identified opportunities that are unique to (each) community," said Kelly Lucas, chief executive officer and president of the Community Foundation of South Wood County. The matching grants are made possible through the Barker Mead Fund of the Community Foundation. The fund was established by Ruth and Hartley Barker of Arizona and Ephraim, WI, and Jaylee and Gilbert Mead, of Washington, D.C. "Say, in (each) community if there is someone who would like to give $5, the Community Foundation will administer, invest and put that into that community's progress fund," Lucas said. "And it will be matched 100 percent by the Barker Mead Fund, up to $20,000 per community." After a Progress Initiative meeting in Port Edwards on Monday, village resident Jim Custer said the endowment fund is an exciting idea. "I think this is an absolutely good place to begin," Custer said. "I think we came out of this week's Port Edwards meeting with some big ideas to go on. Some ideas we can follow through on as we build these assets. "This is a start." The Community Foundation and the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance are the partners in the three-year Progress Initiative, intended to establish a business friendly environment, encourage entrepreneurs, develop new leaders and build endowed funds to support community development. "I think this is a proactive and resourceful way of thinking ahead to ensure the success of our communities in the long-term," said Jackie Bredl-Dietrich of Wisconsin Rapids, after Wednesday's meeting in Wisconsin Rapids. Bredl-Dietrich, a business owner, also is a member of the initiative's downtown industry cluster. The group that gathered Wednesday was comprised of people who attended earlier rallies and expressed interest in helping set the direction for their community's future. The people were asked to help form a committee of peers to oversee each community's progress fund. "You, as a group of people have the opportunity to be the catalysts in the community you come from, as a group that are going to end up with some resources to work with," said David Beurle, Australian rural leadership expert. "To be the kind of people that rally the community together and start talk about a new future. You can't leave it to elected officials. "It's got to be a bunch of champions at a local level who are saying, 'Wow. What are we going to create, how do we do that, how do we get people involved?'" Giving people the power to shape their community's destiny helps in creating a long-term base to build on, said Suzanne Feurt, managing director of community foundation services at the Council on Foundations, Washington, D.C. "By their very name, community foundations are of the community, by the community and for the communities they serve," Feurt said. "The concept of really looking at methods and strategies for getting money into the hands of the people, in the best position to determine the needs of their local community, is really important for community foundations to embrace. "I think this effort in that area of Wisconsin is a wonderful philanthropic effort. I take my hat off to those folks." Find out more: * To learn more about the concept of individual community progress funds, call the Community Foundation of South Wood County at 423-3863. * For more information about the Community Progress Initiative and dates of upcoming programs, go online at progressinitiative.com. You can reach Antoinette Rahn at 422-6726 or arahn@wisconsinrapidstribune.com.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome