NCR Fund Meeting with Doug Faris

NCR Fund Meeting with Doug Faris
February 12, 2001

Meetings were held with Doug Faris, Nancy Brown, Kevin Brandt, and David Kuder to brief NPS-NCR and NPF on a proposal to create a C & O Canal Fund. Attendees included Jay Vestal and Jim Maddy at one meeting, and Joe Lawler and Terry Carlstrom at the other. The meetings included discussion of how the proposed C & O Canal Fund will relate to the NCR fundraising effort. Earlier CHOH provided comments on the NCR fundraising initiative. Please note that Superintendent Faris has not reviewed these notes.

The Superintendent has proposed to organize a Friends of the C & 0 Canal Association and Fund to mobilize local constituency bases to support the CHOH. The effort proposes to work with the local community foundations that operate between Washington, DC and Cumberland, MD. The idea is that this collaboration will target local donors who care about their own community and will have motivation to contribute CHOH projects within their communities.

Although there is a C & O Canal Association, Superintendent Faris believes that there is a need for a community-based organization that will help CHOH raise money to compliment federal funding. The effort will target six community foundations and attempt to encourage each to make the C & O Canal a greater priority for donations.

The motivation for this effort seems to reflect the need to work both at the region-wide scale (i.e. Nation's Capital National Parks Fund) and with a community-based focus.

Doug expressed some concern that the NCR fundraising effort may be perceived as having a DC focus and this approach will provide local supporters with the option of targeting NPS projects within their community. "Community foundations are in the community and not parachuting in to the area to do fundraising. All philanthropy is local", said David Kuder.

Mr. Faris introduced David Kuder, currently employed by Geneva College in PA. David has been working with community foundations since 1986. He will provide assistance to CHOH to coordinate this proposal with the NCR fundraising effort, revise the draft C & O Canal Fund, and develop a case statement.

Mr. Kuder believes that the proposed C & O Canal Fund is a local-based link with community foundations. He believes that it is a way to network into the communities and villages along the Canal and build local support for NPS projects and activities. "Localism is an asset. Local donors care about local projects", said Mr. Kuder.

The discussion of the relationship between the NCR fundraising effort and the C & O Canal Fund focused on the need to coordinate both efforts. Jay Vestal and David Kuder will work to coordinate the two initiatives.

Some discussion centered on the need for a clearinghouse function to coordinate fundraising activities. It was noted that: the role of staff in this coordination is important; the structure for coordination should be collegial rather than formal; and everyone should view the clearinghouse information as essential to strategic thinking.

Conclusions: CHOH's proposal was approved by NPS-NCR and will be developed at the same time as the NCR fund. CHOH and NPF will coordinate the two efforts and Nancy Brown will be involved in each effort. Everyone agreed that the CHOH's effort is intriguing and may offer insights to other parks for their work with community-based foundations.