in the CATSKILLS region 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 1

in the CATSKILLS region 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 1

You are a already Do you. So do 55% of all households 89% of households gave on average $1620 or $308 billion in 2008 Between now and 2055 over $40 trillion will be transferred between generations and some of that could be set aside for the future of the Catskills. 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 2

Besides individuals,? 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 3

Rural America share of foundation grants? Although 17% of the population and 28% of the poverty of the U. S. is rural only 6.8% of foundation giving goes to rural activities 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 4

The Catskills region is not unique Institutional giving in the Catskills usually means few local funders small grants nonprofits are 1/3 smaller than urban counterparts mostly funds education & health care And no large national foundations are targeting the Catskills for major funding 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 5

So what s the good news? Homegrown Philanthropy Based on good local and regional data Invite new voices to sustain community Study and focus on aiding capture and growing transfer of collaborate local ordinary across town entrepreneurs wealth lines 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 6

Shared staff for development Community-owned businesses Buy Local Campaigns Government procurement co-ops to buy local Cash-flow campaigns Transfer-ofwealth studies 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 7

Two rural fundraising mantras on the street Traditional i Homegrown approach Look for a patron Compete for grant dollars Asking is a relational, grey-hair business Start with a give back/come back approach Get over the street fight: collaborate for foundation money and share knowledge Rethink youthful input as funders as well as fundraisers 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 8

Calling All Foundations What advice do you have for rural villages in the Catskills re: fundraising? Nebraska Community Foundation Northwest Areas Foundation Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Foundation for the Mid- South Minnesota Community Foundations 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 9

foundation advice Rethink Rural Philanthropy Reorganize fundraising: Community-owned stores, training for entrepreneurs from-within Network to be part of national and international trends (and attract new funders) Be inclusive: youth and new immigrant input change outcomes Capture wealth: take the long(ish) view TOW analysis Collaborate: towns and villages share professionals and equipment 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 10

for example Homegrown ow philanthropy on Main Street Small shop saves town When chain stores shunned tiny Powell, Wyoming, the town's residents took a DIY approach and built the Powell Mercantile themselves - and, in the process, revitalized their dying downtown. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/0807/gallery.community_store.fsb/index.html 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 11

for example Homegrown ow philanthropy on Main Street Powell, Wyoming raised $500,000 in community shares to own the The Merc a department store on Main Street is an alternative to KMART in Billings Shop the Trilakes.com and the Buy Local Passport encourage residents and visitors to buy what they need around three lakes in the Adirondacks; run by volunteers 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 12

for example Is your behavior killing gyour community? 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 13

for example Is your behavior killing gyour community? High school students in Miner, S.D. studied residents spending habits Launched door todoor campaign to spend 10% more in community Local spending increased dby 41.1% 1% 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 14

for example Collaborate for philanthropy pyfrom within HomeTown Competitiveness Initiative 16 Nebraska towns rekindle residents belief in the future of their hometown 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 15

for example Collaborate for philanthropy pyfrom within HomeTown Competitiveness Initiative 16 Nebraska towns rekindle residents belief in the future of their hometown Compete with the global economy, not each other Use transferof-wealth campaign to encourage 5% for hometowns Encourage leadership among youth Training programs for entrepreneurs 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 16

for example Public sector version More municipalities are finding benefits in shared staff and buying systems that save money and capture cash flow for the region Elbow Lake, Minnesota (pop. 1200) shared economic development professional in nearby Barret (pop. 300) to help new business move to its Main Street Western Montana towns own procurement co-op op to share equipment and buy local 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 17

Lessons learned Critical mass matters: think regional to act local Grow-from-within is better than chasing outsiders to come here Act based on good data analysis (e.g. TOW) Cooperate across sectors Be inclusive, leadership comes in different forms Knowledge sharing is a critical tool 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 18

Get networked & share knowledge Rural Resources Smallwonder.com ReimagineRural.org Dailyyounder.com Philanthropy Foundationcenter.org Rurallisc.org Orton.org Transitiontowns.com Htccommunity.orgorg Ruraleship.org 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 19

Next Step? What would it take to think regional to act local on our Main Streets? study the intergeneration transfer of wealth in the Catskills? create a fund for the future of the Catskills Main Streets? encourage townships to share services with each other? link our Main Streets for residents and visitors alike? get input from youth and newcomers? 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 20

Your philanthropy Imagine Aunt Tilly left you $5,000 to to fix up our Main Street as you think best. What would you do? Imagine she left you $50,000 for what s best to revitalize the Catskills Imagine 100 people each left $5,000 to every town in the Catksills 12/2/2010 Homegrown Philanthropy in the Catskills 21