Buffalo Grove considers foundation to fund community programs

Buffalo Grove officials are exploring the creation of a community foundation to serve as a funding mechanism for a variety of charitable and community programs.

Now, the village board seems to have found a vehicle and a possible partner in its endeavor.

Last week, the village board heard from the Lake County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Chicago Community Trust that pools local donations into endowments and offers grants.

Partnering with the foundation would relieve the village of the burden of administering the funds, as well as required tax filings.

The foundation would require a minimum of $10,000 in seed money, and the village also would be assessed an annual fee of 0.6 percent of the fund's net asset value.

"It takes that burden of administration off the individuals who are establishing the fund so that you can focus more on the actual philanthropy and community investment, which is the important part," said Maggie Morales, the foundation's manager of community engagement.

Buffalo Grove trustees were receptive to the idea, but hesitant to move forward without more information.

Village Manager Dane Bragg outlined the advantages, saying that the process of starting a nonprofit can take years and involves administrative costs.

"I see this as a vehicle that allows us to get the structure in place much sooner and easier and a lot more resources behind it than what we probably have internally," Bragg said.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman asked if there were specific activities, such as Buffalo Grove Days, the Arts Commission and the community band, which might be "shifted, for lack of a better term, to the umbrella of the foundation?"

"I think it's too early to tell," Bragg replied. "Each one of those animals is a little different. For example, I look at Buffalo Grove Days, and we have a lot of donors for Buffalo Grove Days, but they're not able to necessarily take a tax deductible write off for their donations."

Trustee David Weidenfeld said the village currently is not capable of applying for grants from nonprofit organizations, including those touching on disability issues.

"This, as I understand it, would put us in a position to apply for some of those sooner," he said. "There are opportunities to get to funding that we otherwise couldn't without pursuing this or a foundation."