YOUNGSTOWN Valley foundation lets donations keep on giving

One official said the new foundation will cooperate with other area charities to see that more needs are met.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Charitable giving that goes on forever.
For some would-be philanthropists, it's a goal worth pursuing, and the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley says it's ready to make it happen.
With its headquarters on Federal Plaza in downtown Youngstown, the foundation is the region's newest fund of its kind -- a tax-exempt public charity.
One of the foundation's primary goals is to help philanthropists, large and small, find worthy causes for their giving.
Like most foundations, it offers donors a lasting legacy. Donated funds will be invested and only the interest income will go to charitable causes the donors approve.
The idea, said executive director Patricia Brozik, is that the original donation goes on giving.
"The good news is, long after I'm gone this fund is still being used to help my favorite charity," she said, "whether it's women and children or the elderly or scientific research."
Career background: Brozik, a Poland native and Youngstown State University graduate, had a 25-year career in banking before she was hired to administer the foundation in November 2001.
But her involvement in the project started long before that when, as a Key Bank executive, she was recruited to serve on the steering committee which set the ground rules and incorporated the charitable fund. "It's been a labor of love for me since 1999," she said.
She insisted that the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is not competing with the Youngstown Foundation, the United Way or other Valley charitable foundations and agencies. "We have very good relationships with all those other organizations, and we complement each other," Brozik explained.
"The advantage is more sets of eyes to find more needs in the community and another funding source to meet those needs. There are needs beyond what any one group can do."
Fast-growing: Community foundations are the fastest growing segment of philanthropy in the United States today, says the Community Foundations of America, a trade organization. Together, the nation's 664 community foundations ended 2001 with assets topping $31 billion.
The Mahoning Valley foundation started accepting donor contributions in 1999, attained its nonprofit status in January 2000, and began giving money last year.
It has assets of $6.5 million and gave out $50,000 in 2001, Brozik said, but officials waited until now to make a public announcement because they wanted to get an infrastructure in place -- an office, telephones, forms, a Web site and an e-mail address.
The foundation has a nine-member board, with the Youngstown Foundation, the Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce each appointing one member.
Representatives from Key PrivateBank, Sky Trust Co., Butler, Wick & amp; Co., BankOne Trust, National City Bank and the Youngstown Foundation make up the steering committee.
Different from others: Brozik said the new charity differs from some other foundations in two major ways: Donations are donor-directed, and the donors can continue to invest the money with their own investment adviser.
Many foundations require that donors move their donated funds to a specified financial institution, and some do not secure donor approval for every contribution.
The minimum donation is $5,000, and the minimum for a fund named after the donor or family is $25,000.
Donors of named funds have the right to specify the type of charity they want to contribute to, and they can name the fund after themselves, their family or as a memorial to someone special. If they want to be anonymous, they can choose a name reflecting the fund's charitable purposes.
Referrals for a need can come from board members, steering committee members or bank officials, and Brozik investigates every need with a personal visit.
The foundation generally funds only nonprofit agencies, not individuals, but makes an effort to find agencies that might be underfunded or little known.
For example, she recently visited a small agency serving people with physical disabilities which is seeking funds to buy new wheelchairs for its clients.
After visiting the site, Brozik said, she felt comfortable recommending the donation to a donor who had indicated a charity interest in helping disabled people.
Donor approval: If that donor gives written approval, she explained, the request will go to the board for a final nod -- but if the donor decides to reject the proposal, it will be dropped.
Once a donor authorizes a donation, the proposal goes to the board of directors for final approval.
Donors pay the foundation a fee to administer the money. Fee proceeds are used to operate the foundation and to establish a fund which the board can also use to make community contributions.
Brozik said the community foundation serves three segments of the community.
It serves its donors by finding deserving recipients, filing tax returns, issuing checks and performing other administrative tasks. It serves nonprofit agencies by providing funding for special projects or when traditional funding sources fall short, and it serves the community at large by identifying needs and funding the agencies that can meet them, she explained.
Brozik acknowledged that a family or individual can legally establish their own private foundation, but there are some advantages to using a community foundation instead.
Tax benefits are greater, there is no required annual payout of funds, and the foundation handles filing taxes, identifying, investigating and making payments to funding sources.
Besides, the donor can remain anonymous when giving through the community foundation. A family foundation would be required to file detailed tax returns, which become public record and are compiled in grant-seeker directories.
"With us, the donor is as anonymous as they want to be," Brozik added.
vinarsky@vindy.com