The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation has announced that they have opened a fund to accept donations to support childcare services throughout Hamilton County. The Hamilton County Childcare Initiative Fund will initially support the recruitment and retainment bonus program being established by the Hamilton County Childcare Coalition along with Building Families to assist child care centers with attracting and retaining employees. An Advisory Committee has been established to review the area of opportunities and to make recommendations to the Foundation Board for distribution of monies to support the childcare centers through this fund.

The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation is focused on promoting charitable giving to benefit the communities throughout Hamilton County. The Foundation has been affiliated with the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines since 2005 and works with charitable donors to support the causes they care about while utilizing the resources available through the affiliation.

In addition to cash donations the Foundation facilitates a variety of other types of assets that can be used for charitable giving to maximize tax benefits. These include gifts of stock, real estate, life insurance policies, closely held assets, gifts of tangible personal property and more.

“The Foundation recognizes that the stewardship of the assets entrusted to us is one of our most important responsibilities,” said Darcy Swon, Enhance Hamilton County Foundation Director. “At the end of 2020, we had managed assets just shy of $4 million with a total of 38 funds.”

“The Foundation has a wide variety of funds that support numerous causes throughout Hamilton County,” said Swon. “Whether a donor wants to contribute to one of the existing funds or they want to create a fund that supports a cause they care about, we can assist them in doing so. We also have several funds that have been created to assist an individual, family or business with their charitable giving by providing them a simplified process for donating to multiple causes while providing tax benefits.”

The following is a list of the funds managed by the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation that are available for residents to utilize to support local causes:

Animal Advocacy – Hamilton County Animal AdvoCATes

Childcare – Hamilton County Childcare Initiative Fund

Community Betterment – Briggs Woods Conference Center Construction Fund, Briggs Woods Conference Center Endow Iowa Fund (support ongoing maintenance and site enhancements), Enhance Hamilton County Foundation Endowment Fund, Enhance Hamilton County Operating Fund

Conservation – Doug “Jake” Jacobson Wildlife Fund (supports youth hunter education through the Izaak Walton League in Hamilton County), Hamilton County Conservation (supports conservation programs and services)

Education/Scholarships/Youth Programs – Career Ag Academy Fund (hands on agriculture/animal husbandry educational program in Hamilton County), Career Ag Academy Endowment Fund (sustainability of the Career Ag Academy program and facilities), Charlene Fox Memorial Scholarship Fund (must be attending a college/university majoring in Family and Consumer Science, Agriculture, Health Services, or Education), Deborah Witte Memorial Scholarship Fund (South Hamilton graduate attending or graduated from any post-secondary school within one year before/after receiving bachelor’s degree in elementary or secondary education), Max & Carolyn Whitlock Instrumental Music Education Fund (benefits instrumental music education at South Hamilton School District), South Hamilton Schools Endow Iowa Fund, South Hamilton School District Foundation Fund, Wahrenbrock-Vavroch Family Scholarship Fund (female planning to attend Iowa State University who demonstrates financial need), Webster City Community Theatre Endowed Scholarship Fund (Hamilton County seniors or graduates who have been actively involved in high school/community theatre arts), Webster City High School Band Boosters Fund

Literacy – Kendall Young Library Community Endowment Fund, Kendall Young Library General Fund, Mary Jo & Marvin D. Johnson Family Charitable Fund (support youth resources at the Stratford Public Library (City of Stratford) and Stanhope Public Library (City of Stanhope)

Religious Services – Homewood Cemetery Endowment Fund (support specific projects to maintain/improve the amenities of the cemetery), Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

Nonprofits – Hamilton County Fair Foundation Endow Iowa Fund, LIFT WC Fund

Parks and Recreation – Friends of WC Parks & Recreation, Wilson Brewer Park Fund, Wilson Brewer Park/Depot Foundation Endowment Fund, Wilson Brewer Park/Depot Foundation – Mulberry Center Church Fund

“One hundred percent (100%) of all charitable donations are directly deposited into the fund indicated by the donor,” said Swon. “Donor intent is extremely important to us and we take great strides to ensure that their wishes are carried through. We get quite a few requests from donors that want to remain anonymous and I work closely with them to ensure that it is kept that way.”

Donations to any of the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation managed funds can be made by check or online through the Foundation’s website at enhancehamiltoncounty.org. If a donor wants to mail a check, they can send it to Enhance Hamilton County Foundation, 501 Bank Street, Webster City, IA 50595, or contact Swon to discuss other types of donation options. If mailing a check, it should be made out to the fund name or to the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation with the fund name in the memo.

Donors making contributions online are asked to add the credit card processing fee to their charitable gift to allow 100% of their donation to benefit the cause they are supporting.

For more questions on one of the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation’s existing funds or to discuss creating a new fund, contact Swon by calling 515-835-0437 or via email at dswon@enhancehamiltoncounty.org.