By Robert Barron Staff Writer
During a time when the economy is shaky in many places, Enid Community Foundation still managed to give more than $500,000 to area agencies.
Mary Stallings, ex-ecutive director, said the money managers have done a good job, and foundation investments have done well compared to the trend nationally. While they have lost a percentage of their wealth, the loss is significantly less than the national numbers.
“We’ve lost between 14 percent and 20 percent on investments, but 30 percent is the standard now,” Stallings said.
Helping keep the foundation in good shape is a $1 million donation from Enid businessman Walter Scheffe. Scheffe wanted to create an opportunity for local nonprofits to participate in building endowments so the agencies could benefit the community forever, Stallings said.
Earnings from the fund can be used to match permanent endowments established for the benefit of local nonprofit agencies, which will help the nonprofits to address community needs quicker by compounding the value of the funds through the matching opportunity. The gift is a permanent source of community capital.
Three $5,000 matching grants were distributed from the Scheffe Fund in the first year.
Agencies receiving matching funds are: John and Amy Garrison for Enid Public School Foundation; Richard and Suellen Singer for Leonardo’s Discovery Ware-house; and Advance Food Co. for Leonardo’s.
More than $15,000 was distributed to five donor-advised funds. Those funds, which allow donors to suggest which charitable causes to support were:
• Jeannine and John Bower Jr. Family Com-munity Fund, $5,000 to create a new fund for Leo-nardo’s.
• Susan and John Bowers III Family Community Fund, $5,000 to create the new fund for Leonardo’s.
• Independent Insurance Agents of Enid, $1,000, with $500 to Salvation Army and $500 to AMBUCS AmTryke program.
• John W. Bowers IV Family Community Fund, $497.35 to Cimarron Council Boy Scouts Friends of Scouting program.
• Linda and Don Wiens Charitable Fund, $3,835.20, with $1,278.20 each going to Make A Wish Foundation, YWCA Crisis Center and Hope Outreach.
Annual distributions ranging from $582 to $52,152.78 were allocated to local nonprofits from endowments along with the grants totaling $304,382.57.
Nonprofits receiving designated annual distributions from endowments were: Enid High School student council, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, David Allen Memorial Ballpark, Denny Price Family YMCA, Enid Arts and Science Foundation (Leonardo’s), Enid Beautiful Inc., Enid Commun-ity Theatre (Gaslight Theatre), Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Cimarron Council Boy Scouts, Salvation Army, Enid Symphony Orchestra, YWCA of Enid, Northwest Osteopathic Associ-ation, Humphrey Heritage Village, Irv Honigsberg Scho-larship award for Enid High School, Junior Welfare League of Enid and St. Gregory’s food pantry.
Also, St. Joseph’s School (St. Gregory’s Church fund), United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma, Our Daily Bread (St. Francis Xavier), Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, Hospice Circle of Love, St. Francis Xavier (Mack Religious Fund), Kraig Curtright Memorial Scholarship, Northwest Rural Health Projects, Youth and Family Services of North Central Oklahoma and Enid Com-munity Foundation.
Grants approved in 2008 were:
• Enid Beautiful Inc. (Friends of Government Springs Park), $4,000 to help fund brick entrance sign to Government Springs.
• American Red Cross, $3,000, to assist expenses of updating and installing secure storage cabinets in classrooms.
• Kiwanis Club of Enid, $5,000 to support refurbishment of carousel horses.
• Enid Arts and Science Foundation (Leonardo’s), $5,000 to help provide matching funds for cost of security cameras.
• Main Street Enid, $2,200 to purchase a laptop computer.
• PEGASYS, $1,500 to fund cost of TelePrompTer for use in schools and community.
• Rural Health Projects Inc., $1,400 to help fund digital copier system.
• YWCA of Enid, $2,000 to fund purchase of new furniture for halfway house.
• Enid Amateur Radio Club, $2,000 to fund purchase and installation for two amateur band transmitter-receiver units.
• Focus Founda-tion Inc., $3,000 to provide funds to make low-interest emergency loans to individuals and families participating in credit management and personal financial coaching programs.
• Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma, $3,000 to purchase new tents for Enid program.
• Hedges Regional Speech and Hearing Center, $5,000 to help purchase new tympanometer and tests, programs and screens for evaluating newborns for low-income and developmentally disabled clients.
• Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Enid, $5,000 to purchase benches and trash cans and lighting trail for bridge project between Northern Oklahoma College Enid and NWOSU-Enid.
• RSVP, $200 assistance in cost of software and furniture.
• Youth and Family Services of North Central Oklahoma, $6,000 to help purchase outdoor playground and materials for a “fall safe” zone.
• Denny Price Family YMCA, $2,500 to purchase soccer goals and folding bleacher units.
• Sandbox Learning Ce-nter, $2,200 to purchase appropriate developmental curriculum for infants and toddlers.
