Door County Community Foundation
Sept 2015
Inspiring People to
Give Back to
Sustain and Advance the
Community We Love
DCCF LogoThe first few weeks of August are traditionally when more families with children visit Door County than any other time of year. The weather is usually beautiful in early August. The water is warm. The season of activities is in full swing on our peninsula, and we still have a few weeks before school shopping begins and folks have to get ready for the new school year. This is the perfect time for families with children to visit our beloved Door County.

Thank goodness for charity in Door County!

Consider that for many of our visitors, a trip to Door County begins with an exploration of our incredible natural treasures. Peninsula State Park is arguably the crown jewel of the Wisconsin State Park system. From its 20 miles of hiking trails, 12 miles of off-road biking paths, eight miles of shoreline, a championship golf course, and nearly 500 campsites, Peninsula State Park offers something for everyone in the family.

Yet as grand as Peninsula State Park is, Door County has several other incredible parks that would be the preeminent natural areas in virtually any other community. From the 2,400 acres of wilderness in Newport State Park, to the hiking trails and breathtaking view from the observation tower at Potawatomi State Park, to the magnificent beaches at Whitefish Dunes, to countless others - Door County is a dream come true for families that enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer.

If your kids prefer a little education with their outdoor activities, there are two truly outstanding environmental education centers on our peninsula. The Ridges Sanctuary is one of the most biologically diverse settings in the State of Wisconsin. On its campus you'll find the newly opened Cook-Albert Fuller Nature Center and have the opportunity to visit the historic Range Lights that were originally constructed in 1869 as an important navigational tool.

Crossroads at Big Creek welcomes learners of all ages to experience science, history, and the environment. Here you'll experience the Collins Learning Center, the Stonecipher Astronomy Center, the Leif Everson Observatory, and the Historical Village at Big Creek. There's always something exciting going on the Crossroads at Big Creek campus.

Read the rest of "The Source of Family Fun in Door County" in the Peninsula Pulse.

I'm sure you're as excited as I am for our annual explosion of color as fall comes upon us!
  Bret Bicoy   
Bret N. Bicoy, President & CEO
In This Issue
Lobby Gallery Opening Reception on Sept 12
An ARTrageous Benefit for the Women's Fund
Endowments in Action: East Shore Industries
2015 Guide to Endowment Now Available in DC Living
Give Door County Publications Available for Download

Board of Directors

Dave Eliot, Chair
Polly Alberts, Vice Chair
Dick Egan, Secretary
Richard Hauser, Treasurer
John Herlache, Past Chair
Bill Boettcher
Jacinda Duffin
Mike Felhofer 
Mark Jinkins
Linda Laarman
Frank Maxwell
Kaaren Northrop
Sally O'Brien
Jeff Ottum
Nancy Sargent 
Marcia Smith
Jane Stevenson

Upcoming Deadlines

Next Deadline: Thursday, 10/1

Next Deadline: Thursday, 10/1
 
Next Deadline: Thursday, 10/1

Donate Today!

Make an instant donation using a credit card to any of the Funds of the Door County Community Foundation. Give back online today!
 
Or contact us to talk about creating a Fund in your family's name - either today or in your estate plans.

Follow Us Online

For the latest news on charity in Door County, read our publications and previous issues of our Newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
Lobby Gallery Fall Opening Reception on September 12
The community is invited to attend a reception on Saturday, September 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Door County Community Foundation to open its Fall Exhibition featuring works by artist Kristi Roenning.

Kristi Roenning is a Door County artist and art educator. She was born, raised and educated in Milwaukee.  A Door County resident for the past 18 years, she makes her art in her rural Sturgeon Bay studio. Kristi's paintings have been in local, state and national juried exhibits and invitationals and are part of private and public collections. Kristi's work can currently be seen at the Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor. She has shown her work there for the past 9 years and has been twice honored as a featured artist.

Kristi taught in Wisconsin Schools for eighteen years and in 1992 was named Wisconsin Art Educator of the Year. She also served as Instructor of Art Education at Lawrence University from 2000-2004. Since moving to Door County, Kristi continues to teach through retreats, workshops and lectures designed to reunite participants with their creative selves.

"I work in series. This is my creative rhythm," says Kristi. "The cohesive quality that brings my
paintings together is the impulse to reach the 'essential-ness' or truth of an object, a space or idea. This body of work represents that exploration."

Refreshments will be served by Morag Hornsby and her team at Serves You Right Catering.  

The Community Foundation's reception is being coordinated with the 40th Annual Juried Exhibit at the Miller Art Museum that same evening. The exhibition will feature works in a wide variety of media from artists living within the Northeast Wisconsin counties of Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Oconto. 

Guests are encouraged to visit Sturgeon Bay and drop by both the Miller Art Museum and the Community Foundation Lobby Gallery opening receptions.

Each quarter, different Door County artists will be invited to exhibit their work. The Gallery is normally open to the public during the Community Foundation's regular hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Grants Awarded to We Are HOPE & BUG Fire Department
The Door County Community Foundation recently awarded We Are Helping Others Prosper and Excel (HOPE), Inc. a Sustainability Grant from the Education Fund. This grant provides one to one job coaching, training and education to assist individuals with disabilities in finding long term employment.

The Job Development Division of We Are HOPE works in collaboration with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) to provide this essential education. In 2013, this program resulted in a 70% employment rate of participants which far surpassed the DVR rehabilitation and employment rate goal of 55.8%. In 2014, program successes resulted in We Are HOPE being invited to the Governor's mansion to be recognized on a statewide level.
 
 "The impact of this program is substantial. Door County residents who have participated in this process not only gain job skills, but also grow in self-confidence as they experience an increased sense of accomplishment and independence," said Bret Bicoy, President and CEO of the Door County Community Foundation.

We are HOPE, Inc. began in 1978 as the Women's Employment Project with a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to create diverse employment opportunities for women.  Since then, the organization has evolved to meet the needs of our entire community. Today, We Are HOPE, Inc. provides employment and home energy services to individuals, families and businesses throughout Door and Kewaunee counties.

For more information regarding the Job Development Program at We Are HOPE, Inc., please call (920) 743-7273 or visit www.wearehopeinc.org.

The Community Foundation also recently awarded The Brussels -  Union - Gardner (BUG) Fire Department a Sustainability Grant from the Health and Human Needs Fund. This grant will support the necessary land acquisition to make much needed facility updates that will allow BUG to better address the growing needs of the Southern Door Community.

The Fire Department Facility Project is a collaborative effort that brings all components of public safety together. Project partners include Fire, Emergency Medical Responders, Door County Ambulance, Door County Sheriff's Office, and Door County Human Services. This important collaboration will ensure that upgrades to the building and equipment will meet rigorous health and safety standards to better serve residents in their time of need.

"The Fire Department Facility Project will strengthen public safety services today and well into the future," said Bicoy.

Fire Department serves the Towns of Brussels, Union and Gardner. The primary service area covers 92 square miles of land and 117 square miles of water and a primary population of 3,329. There are 51 volunteers providing services from two stations of which one is located in the Town of Brussels and the second is located in the Town of Gardner. The BUG Fire Department provides fire protection, fire prevention education, search and rescue operations, response to motor vehicle accidents, extrication services and open water and ice rescue operations, just to name a few.

For more information regarding the BUG Fire Department, please call (920) 559-2205.

These are just a few of the grants awarded by the Family of Funds at the Door County Community Foundation. The Community Foundation has several granting programs that offer financial awards to charity from funds such as the Arts Fund, Children & Youth Fund, Green Fund, Health & Human Needs Fund, Education Fund, Historic Preservation Fund, Healthy Water Fund, and the Women's Fund.

For more information about the Community Foundation's services and various grant programs, please visit www.GiveDoorCounty.org.

An ARTrageous Benefit for the Women's Fund
The Women's Fund of Door County presents

An ARTrageous Benefit!

A one day exhibit, celebration and opportunity to purchase art created by sixty-three recognized women artists of Door County to benefit the Women's Fund of Door County.

All art work will be sold at the ARTrageous price of $99

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
View the exhibit from 2 -3 p.m. 
Sale from 3 - 5 p.m.

Beautiful Rehbergers Hidden Acres Farm and Gardens at 11128 Beach Road, Sister Bay

Music by Jeanne Kuhns and Mary Beth Mattson.

Refreshments. Free Admission.   

Endowments in Action: East Shore Industries
The Community Foundation is honored to administer the Friends of East Shore Industries, Inc. Fund.

East Shore Industries, Inc. is dedicated to the mission of assisting individuals with disabilities in obtaining their personal independence and employment goals. It opened in 1973 to 10 clients. Today, ESI serves over 100 individuals annually through various day service programs, a school to work
East Shore Industries transition program, a community job placement program and in-house subcontract work. 

Circumstances that may have affected an individual include: developmental disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, early-onset Alzheimer's disease, stroke, other neurological disorders, brain trauma, alcoholism, drug dependency and serious and persistent mental illness. It is the goal of ESI to provide diverse employment opportunities and day services which develops life skills and fosters independence, allowing each individual it works with the opportunity to contribute to his or her own well-being and to the community in which they live. ESI relies on grants, community donations, and money raised from its fundraising events to make its work possible.

Please consider incorporating gift to this endowment in your estate plans. Speak with your attorney, accountant or other estate planning professional. Or contact the Community Foundation and we'd be glad to help facilitate your generosity.

Many charities entrust the administration of their endowment funds to the Community Foundation. It's a safe and responsible way to manage endowed gifts, long-term assets or operational reserves.

The non-profit community also counts on the Community Foundation's planned giving expertise to facilitate gifts into their endowments. By aggregating these assets under the umbrella of the Community Foundation, economies of scale allow for a far more diversified investment portfolio and lower investment fees than any of the charities could achieve on their own.

2015 Guide to Endowments Now Available in Door County Living

The Door County Community Foundation's 2015 Guide to Endowments is now available on racks and newstands all across Door County. This year it has been incorporated into nearly 40,000 copies of the 2015 Philanthropy Issue of Door County Living.

 

The mission of the Door County Community Foundation is to inspire people to give back to sustain and advance the community we love. We do that by serving as a conduit for giving. We're a charity whose purpose is to make giving simpler, easier, and more tax efficient so you can be as generous as possible to the charities and causes you care about.

 

The Community Foundation has published the Guide to Endowments as a resource to help you with your giving.

The Guide will also be mailed this Spring to estate planning professionals across the entire State of Wisconsin. 

 

To download your own copy of the 2015 Guide to Endowments, visit GiveDoorCounty.org.

For more information about giving in Door County, or to learn how you can incorporate a gift to any of these Endowment Funds in your estate plans, speak with your estate planning professional or contact us at the Community Foundation. Help us inspire people to give back to sustain and advance the community we love.

 
Give Door County Publications Available for Download
The Community Foundation produces several publications and information sheets to help you craft a strategy to give back in the most effective - and tax efficient - way possible. Those documents are now available for anyone to download from GiveDoorCounty.org. Give Door County

You'll find publications like our our Guide to Endowments which highlights different charities so families have options to consider when giving back - either today or through their estate plans.

You can download an Introductory Brochure that explains the most popular charitable Funds at the Community Foundation - along with information sheets for Donor Advised Funds, Discretionary Funds, Scholarship Funds and more.

If you'd like a hard copy of any of these documents, just contact us and and we'd be glad to send them to you. And if you're an attorney, accountant, investment adviser, or trust officer, we'll send a supply of Guides, Introductory Brochures, or other materials (and display holders) for use in your office. Just contact us at the Community Foundation.

This is just another way the Community Foundation is encouraging people to give back to sustain the community we love!

 

The Door County Community Foundation is a catalyst, building and strengthening community by convening groups of people and organizations that want to make a difference in our world. We make it possible for a wide range of donors to meet present and future needs by creating charitable funds without incurring the costs of starting and administering a private foundation. The Door County Community Foundation was founded in 1999 and is governed by a local volunteer Board of Directors.


Inspiring People to Give Back to Sustain and Advance the Community We Love.
www.GiveDoorCounty.org    (920) 746-1786