Community Foundation seeks regional revival
The Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri, a non-profit organization whose goal is to preserve wealth across 18 northwest Missouri counties in order to promote charitable giving and community betterment, will host a series of six informational sessions over the next few weeks.
According to a release issued by foundation marketing committee chair Beth Carmichael, the meetings will include information about regional assets and opportunities relating to business, entrepreneurship, workforce development, quality of life, and education.
All northwest Missouri residents are invited to participate.
The sessions are being described as part of a Regional Vitality Initiative intended to assist “citizens and leaders in creating sustainable systems supporting regional collaboration that drives regional prosperity and in turn philanthropy.”
All of the sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. A complimentary lunch will be served, and reservations are required. To reserve a spot, email [email protected], call 816.232.2022, or go to the Community Foundation website at www.cfnwmo.org.
Northwest Missouri State University will host the first session, which will take place at the J.W. Jones Student Union on Wednesday Sept. 16.
Subsequent meetings are set for Sept. 30 at the Days Inn in Chillicothe; Oct. 13 at 50 Ridgeland Road in Country Club Village north of St. Joseph; Oct. 14 at the Albany Community Center; Oct. 14 at Brookfield High School; and Oct. 15 at the First Baptist Church in Trenton.
According to foundation members Mike Thomson and Jim Blackford, who recently spoke about the organization before the Maryville City Council, one of the foundation’s main goals is to preserve a portion of the estimated $134 billion in private wealth across the 18-county region that will transfer to a new generation of citizens over the next 10 years.
Thomson and Blackford said there is a danger that much of this wealth, along with corresponding opportunities for investment and growth, will be lost as the region’s population continues to decline, a trend fueled by young people leaving rural areas in search of greater opportunities in large cities.
The stated goal of the foundation, Thomson and Blackford said, is to keep as much private wealth in northwest Missouri as possible, and, through planned giving and philanthropy, to strengthen the fiscal resources available for investment in education, economic development, charities, faith-based initiatives, social services, and cultural enrichment.
Thomson and Blackford said such investment is needed during a time in which rural Missouri faces increasing competition throughout an expanding global marketplace.
By banding together as a region, they said, rural communities across northwest Missouri can better create the conditions that allow companies, farms, schools, and cities to succeed while attracting and retaining young people through a higher standard of living.
