When Olathe city leadership discussed starting a community charitable fund in 2018, they had big ideas about how it could offer dollars for things beyond the municipal government’s typical focus.
About six years later, the fund — called the Olathe Community Fund — has grown some but has also sat largely untouched without a clear mission and no governing bylaws. Today, roughly $136,000 sits in the fund.
That money has amassed from compulsory $3,000 minimum contributions from developers that receive local economic development incentives, like industrial revenue bonds. Additionally, one private donor gave $75,000 to it.
A discussion this month held at the prompting of a city councilmember could be the impetus to refine the purpose of the community fund, though it’s unclear exactly what comes next.
Ultimately, the fate of the fund will be left to the Olathe City Council, which acts as the board that oversees it, though until recently some councilmembers did not know of its existence.
How has the Olathe Community Fund been used?
- According to the city’s code, the fund is intended to “promote cultural, educational, recreational, artistic, charitable, and environmental activities that enrich the lives of the residents of the City.”
- Money has been spent from the Olathe Community Fund just once.
- That was a $6,000 purchase of a memorial bust of the late Mayor Mike Copeland, who Councilmember Marge Vogt says was the real visionary behind the fund at its inception.
- The bust sits in Michael E. Copeland Civic Center Park in front of the downtown branch of the Olathe Public Library.
Olathe Community Fund is at “a fork in the road”
Tim Danneberg, the director of external affairs and issues management for Olathe, told the city council earlier this month that the Olathe Community Fund has reached a sort of “fork in the road” that will require the current city leadership to decide what it should be going forward.
“Assuming that the council does feel that this vision is still valid, and this is the direction that we still want to go, we need to answer those questions before taking the next step,” he said. “Turning one direction takes us one path, turning another takes us down another path, and we don’t have a map to know which way to turn.”
He recommended that first, the city consult with a third party to gauge whether there’s even appetite to have a general community charity fund such as this at all with the existence of other fundraising organizations affiliated with different city activities, like Friends of Mahaffie and the Olathe Mayor’s Children’s Fund.
“I think we need to do a reality check and make sure that vision is real and that vision will be successful and will be sustainable and meaningful,” Danneberg said.
Additionally, he recommended the city council set bylaws to set standards and policies for appropriate uses of the fund and decide if they’d like to establish a board of directors separate from themselves to oversee it. Those steps would likely follow a decision about the fund’s intent going forward so there’s a clearer framework on which to base those steps.
What are the options for the fund?
- One option is to dissolve the Olathe Community Fund entirely.
- Another would be to keep it mostly as is, but still establish bylaws for better governance of it.
- A third option would be to turn the Olathe Community Fund into what Danneberg called an “umbrella fund” under which other city-associated charities would fall.
- Olathe could also make the community fund completely independent from the direct governance of the city with a clear mission to actively raise funds.
- Those aren’t the only options on the table for the fund, but they are the primary ones discussed.
Councilmembers unsure about how to proceed
Though there was general concern about community donors getting fatigued about giving with so many options connected to the city, the majority of the city council wasn’t ready to close the door on the Olathe Community Fund, at least not yet.
“I don’t want to throw it away. I think we need to be thoughtful about what we do, but I think that it could be utilized for good and not compete,” said Vogt, who is the Mayor Pro Tem.
Mayor John Bacon was also eager to see something done with the fund, though he didn’t express a preference for any particular option.
“I just don’t think we should just let it sit here and do nothing,” he said.
Vogt and Bacon are the only two sitting councilmembers who were on the city council at the time the fund was formed in 2018.
Ultimately, at this point, it seems there is little consensus about what the Olathe Community Fund should ultimately be and how it would be structured.
Next steps for the Olathe Community Fund:
- After the conversation about the fund this month, councilmembers generally showed broad support for working with a consultant to help define the fund’s future.
- Such a process would likely cost under $20,000 and could be paid for with money in the Olathe Community Fund, Danneberg said.
- He expected the city could have all of that wrapped up by early 2025, and as such, Mayor Bacon has requested a follow-up presentation on the matter around that time.
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