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Colfax council directs staff to form independent Colfax Community Foundation
Summary
Council voted to direct the city manager to work with council members on formation documents for a proposed independent nonprofit, the Colfax Community Foundation, intended to accept donated funds and trust accounts to support local programs and extend aid beyond city limits; no city funding was committed tonight.
The Colfax City Council on Dec. 10 directed the city manager to work with Councilmember Burris and one other council member to prepare formation documents to establish an independent nonprofit, to be called the Colfax Community Foundation.
Burris told the council the foundation would allow the city to accept philanthropic gifts and form trust accounts that could fund public benefits and programs that the city itself is limited from administering. "By forming an independent nonprofit, we would be able to use it as an umbrella organization that would have board members from all of our existing nonprofits," Burris said, adding it would allow recipients outside city limits to receive aid in some circumstances.
Burris said the move would open opportunities for matching programs from large entities such as PG&E as well as pool resources among local nonprofits to pursue larger grants. He emphasized the council was not allocating city funds now: "We are not allocating any form of funding to the nonprofit at this time," he said (SEG 2268–2279, SEG 2376–2380).
Council discussion focused on how to preserve the nonprofit's independence while giving the city an appropriate voice. Burris proposed allowing the city to reserve a small number of seats (for example, two seats) for council appointees while still meeting independence requirements. Councilmember Lohman asked whether bylaws would be developed in coordination with the council; Burris answered the city manager and council members would draft preliminary formation documents and bring them back for council approval before the nonprofit was finalized (SEG 2339–2346).
The motion passed by voice vote with all councilmembers saying "Aye" (SEG 2414–2417). The council did not authorize any immediate city appropriations to the foundation; Burris said he had already donated funds to reserve the name to prevent others from registering it first (SEG 2388–2394). The council also discussed next steps for incorporation, bylaws, and potential board composition and asked staff to return draft documents for a future council decision.
What happens next: staff will work with Burris and a second council member to produce preliminary formation documents and return them to council for approval before the nonprofit is formally created. No funding or binding commitments were made tonight.
