Laredo Community Foundation in the works

By Paul de la Peña-Franceschi

Laredo is the second fastest growing city in the United States and currently looking at the possibilities of creating a community-based foundation to address its increasing needs. The Tejas Foundation, which was established in 2000 as a source of philanthropic activities to assist with community-based initiatives, recently joined with Texas A&M International University's Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development to determine the feasibility of creating a community-based foundation for Laredo and the surrounding area.
An incorporated, non-profit organization that manages an income-earning endowment fund, a community foundation is governed by a board of directors and is comprised of community and civic leaders. Recipients of the funds are members of the local community.
Dr. J. Michael Patrick, director of the Texas Center for Border and Economic Development at TAMIU, was given the challenge of conducting the study to see if the Laredo community would welcome such a foundation. Richard Perez, currently an adjunct instructor at Laredo Community College, and involved in assisting with special projects at TAMIU, was asked to make presentations about the foundation.around the Gateway City. The Tejas Foundation and TAMIU created a survey to record the interests and needs of Laredoans. The goal was initially to have 50 surveys recorded for the study. By mid-December, the goal had been exceeded.
After reviewing the surveys, the next step is preparing a computer-generated report that will present the views of those who participated along with the views of the proposed foundation. After a feasibility study is completed, a white paper will be produced to determine how the board members, committee, and staff will be put into place.
Perez recently made the last of a series of presentations at the Laredo Daybreak Rotary Club. A former Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow, Perez gave an eloquent and succinct presentation at the meeting outlining the goals of the proposed foundation to enhance the quality of life in Laredo, Webb County, and the surrounding communities.
A community foundation can receive funding from a variety of sources which include individuals, other foundations, private estates, charitable trusts, and charitable foundations. The community foundation would also be broad-based, assisting with the care and respite of those in need, saving animals, endangered species, improving the environment, supporting religious and civic organizations, cultural events, fine and performing arts associations, addressing the needs of poverty, and all forms of educational assistance.
The San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) was one of the area foundations Perez mentioned, which was established in 1964. The SAAF began with only $21,000 and has grown to over $106 million over the past 40 years. Its charitable giving in 2001 exceeded $65 million in the San Antonio area. The key to this growth, Perez said, is that the money that is donated to a community foundation is an investment in the future of that community because the only funds that are dispersed are the growth from the investments of the foundation.
The Laredo Community Foundation is seeking to model itself on the SAAF, which has several primary funding sources -- advised funds, designated funding, discretionary funds, community-based funds, educational/scholarship funds, and organization endowment funds.
The parallels raised by Perez were insightful and offered a new perspective to address the Laredo area's growing needs. The San Antonio model offers great insight and is a good starting point for the Laredo Community Foundation. The project has been well received across town, and it is important to note that this community foundation would not be in competition with any other foundation or charitable trust here. For more information about the proposed foundation, contact project coordinator Richard Perez at (956) 744-7237.