(By Leah Orr, Osmond Community Fund) Established in 2019, the Osmond Community Fund was formed to create and inspire a community of giving to make Osmond the best place to live, work, and thrive for generations to come.
The volunteer fund advisory committee actively works to increase charitable giving and award grants to local worthy causes and projects. Osmond Community Fund is an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation.
As 2024 comes to a close, the Osmond Community Fund is reminding current and past residents of the community of their commitment to building a robust, permanent unre- stricted endowment to benefit the community of Osmond, now and for future generations.
What is an unrestricted endowment, you may ask. It’s an important tool that allows our community to meet the ever-changing needs of those living and working within Osmond.
It is a fund where the principal is invested to generate ongoing income, allowing the organization’s fund advisory committee to use the earnings to address the community’s changing needs and priorities over time. Basically, adapting to what our community desires at any given point.
Because of our community’s gen- erosity and support over the last five years, we’ve been able to invest in local nonprofits, youth programs such as assisting with the resurface of the baseball field at the end of fall most recently, and projects that make our town a better place to live and thrive.
“We’ve been looking for ways that enable residents and alumni to give back to their community to help schools, businesses, housing and quality of life in Osmond,” said Clark Gansebom, chair of the Osmond Community Fund Advisory Committee (FAC). “This fund enables anyone to make a tax-deductible contribution that will perpetuate our way of life in Osmond.”
For over 25 years, Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) has been networking communities statewide in providing proven goals for community development through local charitable gift-giving. NCF is a Nebraska based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is an accredited member of the Council on Foundations, meeting the most rigorous standards of philanthropy.
Over the next decade, older generations are expected to transfer nearly $70 million to younger generations, according to NCF’s 2021 Transfer of Wealth Study. If just 5% of that was donated to our community, it would amount to $3.5 million. The Five to Thrive campaign encourages residents – across all generations – to do just that.
“This is a win-win for all of us,” said Roger Tacey. “The funds that are given to the Osmond Community Fund will forever benefit Osmond and can be tax-deductible gifts of cash, grain, land, or other commodities. We’ve never had anything like this locally that embraces the entire community.”
Charitable giving to our local fund can be done at year-end, as a onetime donation any time throughout the year, or as a planned gift. The Osmond Community Fund welcomes contributions of any size to help build the endowment and invest in the future of Osmond.
If you’d like to donate or speak to a member of our advisory committee, members include Clark Gansebom, Linda Krohn, Terrie Kumm, Aaron Gutz, Kelly Hodson, Roger Tacey, Dr. David Johnson Jr. and Leah Orr. Your generosity can be made online or in the form of checks, the latter of which can be made payable to Osmond Community Fund, and sent to P.O. Box 83107 Lincoln, NE 68501.
To learn more about the Osmond Community Fund, the NCF network and to support the work of the local fund advisory committee, visit www. nebcommfound.org/give/osmondcommunity- fund.
