The Mid-Shore Community Foundation reached a major milestone at the end of the first quarter of this year when it exceeded $50 million in assets. These assets benefit the five counties served by the Foundation – Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties — through grants and scholarships awarded each year.
The Foundation was established in 1992 through a generous bequest of $230,000 from Colonel Edgar and Catherine Linthicum. Through the vision of the five founders who led the community effort to establish a community foundation for the Mid-Shore, that initial gift has grown into a significant permanent asset that will benefit the region in
perpetuity.
One of those founders and the current chair of the Board of Directors, W. Moorhead Vermilye, noted the significance of this achievement: “I don’t think anyone anticipated that we would reach this milestone in a little over 20 years and grow into the fourth largest community foundation in Maryland. It is a testament to the extraordinary generosity of this community and the exceptional commitment of the Board of Directors and the many volunteers who have supported the Foundation over the years.”
Investment Committee L-R, Joe Anthony, chairman, Buck Duncan President (standing), David Nagel, Art Cecil
The permanent assets of the Foundation are managed by a six member Investment Committee chaired by Joseph Anthony, a partner in Anthony Walter Duncan LLP in Easton. “We have been very fortunate to have exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced members on our Investment Committee who take very seriously their responsibility to be good stewards of these critical community assets”, explained Anthony. The Committee meets quarterly to monitor the investment performance of the professional asset managers and to reevaluate investment policy to ensure that these assets will be available to benefit the community in perpetuity.
MSCF President, Buck Duncan
W. W. “Buck” Duncan, President of the Foundation noted, “Bequests such as the Linthicum gift that led to the establishment of the Foundation are the Foundation’s primary source of assets. Our most recent bequest was a generous unrestricted gift of $200,000 from the Helen Frank Trust which was placed in endowments to support grant making in each of our counties. We are also fortunate that a number of individuals within the community have established significant funds at the Foundation to support grant making during their lifetime.”
The community foundation also benefits from ongoing community support of its annual Circle of Friends campaign, and from specific events such as those sponsored by the St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance, the Chesapeake Classic Car Club, and the Mid-Shore and Bay Area boards of realtors this year. Duncan explained, “The support of our community is important not only because it provides additional assets to benefit the community but because it also engages the community in the important work of the Foundation.”
In the current fiscal year, the Mid-Shore Community Foundation expects to exceed $2 million in grants and scholarships through the application of both permanent and current assets. The Foundation is the largest provider of scholarships in the region, including a new initiative to support tuition and book expenses for high students from Caroline and Dorchester counties enrolled at Chesapeake College.
Duncan also emphasized the significant investment in the nonprofit infrastructure made possible by the Foundation’s assets: “This past year we have been able to make significant grants for community infrastructure to the Dorchester Center for the Arts, the Chesapeake Grove Project of Delmarva Community Services, the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center, and the new building for Wye River Upper School.”
One final area highlighted by Duncan was the use of the assets to help strengthen area nonprofits. The community foundation provides access to the Foundation Center, a major resource for nonprofits seeking grant funding, and it funds training and development seminars in partnership with Maryland Nonprofits. “This year,” explained Duncan “through a grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, the Foundation is launching a major initiative with Maryland Nonprofits to make its Standards of Excellence program available to local nonprofits.
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