The City of Cooperstown has a very unique opportunity to help raise funds for a community endowment fund.  The city is located within the Griggs-Steele Empowerment Zone, which is a federally designated zone designed to help address issues that arise due to outmigration of people.  The EZ receives federal funds to help sustain and grow the communities within the zone.  They have offered to help match funds that are raised by the individual EZ communities to establish a community endowment fund that would be used to help fund local projects for nonprofit organizations. The city of Cooperstown is working with the North Dakota Community Foundation (NDCF) to establish a Cooperstown Endowment Fund, and the NDCF is also willing to help with some matching funds to get the endowment fund started.  The endowment fund needs to have at least $25,000 to get started.

The city of Cooperstown needs to raise an initial $15,000 on their own.  Once this is raised, the Empowerment Zone will provide $20,000 in matching funds, so the endowment fund would be created with an initial $35,000.  Once this has been done, the North Dakota Community Foundation will provide an additional $15,000 to be added to the fund, so the city's initial $15,000 would actually raise a total of $50,000 for an initial endowment fund amount.  An local advisory board made up of representatives from various nonprofit organizations in the community would determine how the yearly funds would be spent.  At this time, 4% each year of the total funds would be given back to the community to nonprofits for acceptable projects.  Each succeeding year, if the community would raise an additional $5000, the NDCF would match that amount, for a total of $10,000 to be put in annually to help raise the amount in the endowment fund. 

As of this date, through generous donations from some alumni and some local residents, the city has raised approximately $3200 toward our minimum $15,000 goal.  If you are willing and interested in helping to support these efforts, you can make a donation of any amount to the Cooperstown-Griggs County Economic Development Corporation, 402 4th Street SW, Unit 2, Cooperstown, ND  58425.  This organization is a 501-c-3 nonprofit and we will be the pass through organization until the initial funds are raised and we can have the endowment fund organized.  If you have any questions, please contact Becky J Meidinger at 701-797-3712 or cooperedc@invisimax.com.

Becky J. Meidinger, Development Specialist
Cooperstown Community Development
402 4th Street SE Unit 2
Cooperstown, ND  58425
701-797-3712
cooperedc@invisimax.com