It was 100 years ago that community foundations began. It was in Ohio.
"It was actually a banker from Cleveland who thought,there's all these charitable trusts being formed. If we consolidated these it could be more efficient for philanthropy," said John Stremsterfer, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.
Based in Springfield, it serves Sangamon, Cass, Christian, Logan, Menard, Morgan, and Montgomery counties. The organization helps match donors with specific causes.
"Much of our work is creating permanent endowment funds," he added. "The notion there is that these funds will be there forever."
You don't need to be wealthy to become involved in philanthropy. Giving circles allow for nominal annual fees to be pooled into a larger grant that's given out.
The origins of the local group go back to the 1920's when the Sangamon County Foundation was formed. It was private and administered by various bank trust departments through the years. In 2002, it converted to a community foundation. In the past 12 years, the organization has grown from one charitable fund to nearly 140, with nearly $21 million in assets.
