CityView Magazine

Left | Azalea Longmire climbs at the Boys and Girls Club while Lucy Jones watches. Jones is a member of the board of directors at the Cumberland Community Foundation. Below | Mary Holmes, center, has served as the foundation’s director for 11 years. Here, Holmes works with two of her board members, Sammy Short and Loleta Foster. When people work together, each con a small amount, a greater good is ach When people work together, each contributing even a small amount, a greater good is achieved. After retiring and returning to Fayetteville, she wanted a similar program for her hometown. Through wise investments, Hutaff’s initial gift of $576,840 is now worth more than $1 million. It has generated $1.6 million in grants in this community. Her gift has been followed by many others, large and small, giving the local foundation assets now of $40 million. Mary Holmes has been executive director of CCF for 11 years. She likens the foundation’s success to the recipe for “stone soup.” The story goes that a weary stranger came into a famine-stricken medieval village and asked for food. The villagers responded that they themselves were starving and had nothing to offer. The stranger said he would make a pot of stone soup to share. He placed a simple stone into a cauldron of boiling water as the townspeople watched in anticipation. As it bubbled, he tasted the broth and proclaimed it good but that it would be much better if he could add an onion. One of the villagers said he could provide an onion. The stranger then said it would be even better if he had a carrot. One by one, the villagers produced vegetables they had stored away, a bit of meat, a little salt, a little pepper and some spices, until there was a delicious pot of soup that was enjoyed by all. The moral of the story: When people work together, each contributing even a small amount, a greater good is achieved. Some people have the idea that you have to have a million dollars to be a contributor to the foundation, Holmes said. The most frequent amount given is $25 with 78 percent of gifts less than $250 each. “Some have hams,” she said, “most have a carrot. “Our job is to improve the community through philanthropy and to act as good stewards of donations. … This is a wonderful resource and a safe harbor for charitable giving.” There are various ways to give to CCF. Donors may contribute to an existing fund or establish a new “named” fund. The foundation manages more than 350 funds that range in size from $5,000 to more than $2 million. A number of the funds have been established in memory of loved ones. But donors may also choose a charity or an area of interest such as children’s health or college scholarships. Each year, the foundation awards more than $1.5 million in grants from restricted funds. “Whatever you care about, you can create an endowment,” Holmes said. “We don’t tell you what you care about, the donor tells us.” Unrestricted gifts may be used as the foundation sees fit for the good of the community. Iris Thornton created the unrestricted James. M. Thornton CityViewNC.com | 55

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