Helping make charitable giving as easy as possible and assuring that donations have the maximum possible positive impact is the mission of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way. This important philanthropic clearinghouse links people who want to assist worthy endeavors with appropriate projects and causes.

In most communities, charitable efforts are handled by multiple entities. That’s true in Fort Dodge as well, but a more consolidated approach also has been in place for the last dozen years.

The Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, 24 N. Ninth St., Suite B, was created in July 2007. It merged the functions of United Way of Greater Fort Dodge and the Community Foundation of Fort Dodge and North Central Iowa. (Initially named United Way and Community Foundation of Northwest Iowa, it was subsequently renamed the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way.)

This consolidated arrangement has proven very beneficial to the community according to Randy Kuhlman, who is chief executive officer of the enterprise.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Meals On Wheels volunteers Andrea DeJong, at left, along with Kim Mason, check their address list before heading out with the day’s lunches from the Fort Dodge Hy-Vee where the meals are prepared.

“There is no question that by combining the two and merging into one organization has really helped us efficiently leverage our administrative and overhead resources effectively as well as making sure we are not duplicating services and grants and that sort of thing,” Kuhlman said.

He stressed that the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way helps make sure dollars intended for beneficial undertakings have the impact donors intend with as little bureaucratic waste as possible.

The two components of this enterprise perform complementary, but somewhat distinct functions. There is, however, common purpose that unites the diverse projects it backs – encouraging people to give back to their community. Showing potential donors the multiple ways that can be accomplished and facilitating their philanthropy is at the heart of what the organization does, according to Kuhlman.

United Way

The United Way component of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way addresses the immediate and ongoing requirements of people in need.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Meals On Wheels volunteer James Rogers, of Fort Dodge, knocks on the door at one of his stops delivering meals during the summer of 2019.

“Those dollars are focused on organizations, projects and programs that impact people,” Kuhlman said. “We are focusing our resources and targeting our resources on helping low-income youth. When you help the youth you are also going to be impacting and helping their families.”

According to Kuhlman, about 16 percent of the households in Fort Dodge are at or below the poverty level. The situation for youngsters is even more dire.

“Recent statistics on poverty in the state of Iowa and Webster County and Fort Dodge in particular, about 24 percent of our youth are living in households that are at the poverty level or even below the poverty level,” Kuhlman said. “There are a lot of kids and their families that are really struggling.”

Each year there is a United Way fundraising drive to generate money to support programs that meet people’s needs. The target for 2019-2020 is $370,000. The current campaign is chaired by David Ostheimer, who is electrical operations manager for MidAmerican Energy in Fort Dodge.

To accomplish its mission of combating local poverty, United Way makes grants to other Fort Dodge organizations and operates some programs directly.

“We typically provide grant support from United Way to about 25 different agencies,” Kuhlman said. “Probably about 75 percent of our United Way dollars are directly granted out to what we often refer to as our partner agencies. The other 25 percent support direct services that we provide to youths and their families.”

The projects United Way handles itself are an eclectic mix. Here are some of the highlights.

Meals on Wheels is a program United Way of Greater Fort Dodge has been in charge of since 2017. Barb Michaels, directs this project. It uses volunteers to deliver meals to people – mostly senior citizens – who are homebound and need help getting nutritious, hot meals. Currently, about 100 volunteers handle delivery of the meals.

“It’s more than just a meal, it’s a wellness check,” Kuhlman said, explaining that the volunteers hand the meal directly to the beneficiary. That allows the quick summoning of assistance if the client is in distress due to a health issue, such as a fall or some other unexpected occurrence.

Bridging the Gap is a furniture dissemination project that United Way also administers using its own staff. Donated items are made available to families in need.

Wheels for Work is overseen directly by United Way personnel. That project gets donated used vehicles to people who lack the transportation they need to get to work or address other family needs. Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota is a key partner in this undertaking. Its personnel make sure the vehicles are in good working order.

Additionally, United Way has used some of the money it raises to respond to family and individual emergency situations that arise throughout the year.

“We have a humanitarian fund that assists families that are in emergency crisis situations,” Kuhlman said. “We have a Homelessness Fund that provides emergency support to help families that are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless.”

Community Foundation

The Community Foundation component of the enterprise involves developing charitable funds that support a broad range of community betterment projects including those to enhance the quality of life for all Fort Dodgers, Kuhlman said.

The organization oversees a growing number of funds set up by various donors to provide support for a diverse assortment of worthwhile causes.

“We currently manage 110 funds,” Kuhlman said. “Our assets under management just topped $15 million. It’s been growing. When I came on board in 2009, assets under management were about $1 million.”

The Community Foundation plays a role in the community that differs significantly from United Way’s emphasis.

“The Community Foundation has a much broader perspective,” Kuhlman said. “The Community Foundation grants and donations and the funds that we manage really impact a wider spectrum of community projects, programs, issues and opportunities. Some of it is focused on people, but other times it might be focused on recreation or parks or trails or other types of quality of life amenities and even community betterment and community development type projects.”

The basic mission of the Community Foundation is to support a range of projects that make Fort Dodge a better place to live. In doing so, these endeavors also contribute to economic development efforts because they make the town a more attractive place for corporate investment, Kuhlman said.

“We want to continue to grow our endowment funds and grow the number of funds we have so we can have a greater impact in the community,” he said.

The strategy is to provide a flexible assortment of vehicles for philanthropic giving.

“Grants from the Community Foundation can support any type of organization, project or program that is considered charitable or has a public purpose,” Kuhlman said.

He stressed that one of his key goals is to increase public awareness about the ways the Community Foundation can facilitate philanthropy.

“On the foundation side our goal is to continue to grow the number of funds as well as the volume of dollars under management so that the … the grants going out can really be invested back in our community in a number of projects – quality of life, community betterment type projects – to make Fort Dodge an even better place to live, work and play. We want to have the kind of projects and amenities in our community that help Fort Dodge remain a robust, growing community – a place where people will want to live.”

The Community Foundation in Fort Dodge has the distinction of being nationally accredited.

About the organization

The Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way is governed by a 17-member board of directors. Lisa Wilson is president of the board.

There are two full-time and three part-time staff members. Kuhlman is the chief executive officer. Joe Kuhlman is the operations manager. Amy Bruno is program coordinator. Chris Hayek is the finance coordinator. Megan Patrick is the receptionist.

Kuhlman is enthused about the work the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way undertakes and said being at its management helm is a role he finds fulfilling both personally and professionally.

“I really enjoy the work,” he said. “There are so many really wonderful people that care about people. They care about the community. They donate to us or they set of funds with us because they want to make a difference. That’s very rewarding.”

Kuhlman estimated that between young folks and their families the organization has a direct impact on “well over 3,000” Fort Dodgers.

As 2019 was drawing to a close, Kuhlman took a reflective look back on the year. He said the organization’s accomplishments had proved to be highly significant.

“When 2019 ends, we will have granted out somewhere between $1.4 million and $1.6 million,” he said late last year.

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