Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nonprofit Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Colfax council debates creating community foundation to manage city donations
Summary
Councilmember Trinity proposed a separate 501(c)(3) community foundation and public trust accounts to handle city donations and leverage matching funds; other councilmembers pushed for an advisory committee or stricter public controls. Council directed staff to schedule a workshop and circulate Trinity’s proposed bylaws for further review.
Colfax City Council spent the bulk of its Oct. 8 meeting debating how the city should distribute discretionary funds to local nonprofits.
Councilmember Trinity proposed forming a community foundation — a 501(c)(3) with a board that would include two council representatives and nonprofit members — to administer donations, expand matching opportunities and reduce the appearance of favoritism. "We established a 5 0 1 c 3 nonprofit organization that we would work in partnership with in order to have the decisions on nonprofit funding go to a board that is unique from the city," Trinity said, arguing a separate board would allow the city to accept private philanthropy and leverage grant matches.
Other councilmembers raised legal and accountability concerns, including whether taxpayer dollars should be handed to a third-party board and how to define eligible recipients. Councilmember Larry (speaker 8) criticized provisions he called overly broad, and several members said the draft language on clawback provisions, audit frequency and donor reporting needs to be tightened before any policy is adopted.
Several nonprofit representatives urged rules that recognize "sweat equity" — the volunteer effort smaller organizations often contribute — and warned that rigid matching requirements could disadvantage fledgling groups. Erin Newington of the Historic Colfax Downtown Association said the city’s seed funding had helped the group launch events that now draw thousands of visitors and argued guidelines should preserve support for smaller organizations.
Rather than adopt a policy, council directed staff to schedule a workshop to examine three options — a municipal advisory committee, targeted public trust funds, or a community foundation — and to circulate written bylaws and a draft resolution for review before the next council meeting. Councilmembers emphasized the need for clear eligibility rules, financial controls and a public process for awarding funds.
Next steps: staff will circulate Trinity’s draft materials, schedule a dedicated workshop and return with options and draft language for formal action.
