Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Friends Of The Trails Fund topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parks board establishes "Friends of the Trails" volunteer program and plans county foundation fund
Summary
The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board approved a loose 'Friends of the Trails' volunteer/support group and agreed to pursue a nonpermanent field-of-interest fund at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to accept donations for trails.
The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board voted to approve an overview for a new volunteers-and-support group called Friends of the Trails and discussed creating a corresponding fund at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to accept donations for trail planning, maintenance and related activities.
Board members said Friends of the Trails should be a supportive, lightly structured group rather than a standalone 501(c)(3). ‘‘...start simple rather than complicated. So start something rather than making it so complicated that nothing moves forward for a long time,’’ one board member said while outlining the proposal.
The board discussed practical items: creating an email account and a social-media presence for the group, having volunteers help with events and maintenance, and potentially directing donations into a named fund at the community foundation. The proposal recommends a fund at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation that would be a nonpermanent field-of-interest fund rather than a donor-advised fund; the draft agreement distributed to the board lays out that the parks board would make recommendations to the community foundation for distributions from the fund.
A board member moved to approve the Friends of the Trails overview; another member seconded the motion and the board voted in favor. "The ayes have it," the chair said.
Board members said the community foundation fund could accept a range of asset types, including publicly traded securities and direct IRA gifts, and that using the foundation would reduce administrative work on county staff. One board member said they would make an initial $50 gift. A community foundation executive (Stephanie) and a board member also reported an anonymous donor has committed a $10,000 unrestricted pledge contingent on the fund's establishment.
Board members agreed to inform county commissioners about the plan at next week’s meeting and to finalize the fund wording before signing the community-foundation agreement. The board did not appropriate any county funds at the meeting; the discussion centered on organization, governance, donor routing, and next steps.
