Kentucky governor signs bill creating endowment fund for community foundations

UPDATE, May 30: The Kentucky state budget, finally passed in a special session over the weekend, includes up to $1 million in tax credits for contributions to permanent endowments in community foundations. Supporters hope to build the support for more credits in better times.

In March we reported the Kentucky legislature had passed Senate Bill 227, establishing the "Endow Kentucky" program that would create an endowment fund for community foundations. On Monday, Gov. Steve Beshear held a ceremonial signing of the bill. "Community-based philanthropy is a critical piece of community and economic development," Beshear said. "Under the current economic conditions, government has a decreasing ability to meet the demand for all services required by the people of Kentucky. We need communities to find ways to be more responsive to Kentucky families for the greater good of the Commonwealth."

"Over the next 10 years, Kentuckians will experience huge wealth transfers from one generation to the next," said Gerry Roll, executive director of the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County. "This legislation creates a way to capture that wealth before it leaves the communities in which it was generated." Mike Hammons, executive director of the Kentucky Philanthropy Initiative, noted, "Most large foundation funds go to urban areas. By encouraging the establishment and capacity of local endowments, this is an important measure for the future of rural Kentucky and the vitality of communities across the state." (Read more)

Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and publisher of The Rural Blog, testified in favor of the bill during its progress through the legislature.