Philanthropic Foundation Forms in Fayetteville

The Fayetteville Community Foundation was formed July 22 in an organizational meeting at The Bank of Fayetteville.

Billie Jo Starr, John Lewis, Clark McClinton, Harry Vandergriff, Cherry Brooks Pearson, Willard Gatewood, Curtis Shipley, Hayden McIlroy and Carolyn Walton formed the foundation in an effort to support local philanthropies.

Hugh Kincaid, who is helping organize the entity, said a board will be formed in the coming weeks that will set goals and establish specifics on how the foundation will function. The Bank of Fayetteville will house the foundation and provide support services until it can exist on its own.

“We anticipate it will be independent, freestanding,” Kincaid said. “It won’t be tied to Bank of Fayetteville.”

The foundation doesn’t have any funds yet, he said, because none have been solicited.

Businesses and families may want to establish charitable funds within the foundation, benefiting from tax savings and overhead cost reductions, he said.

There are more than 20 community foundations in Arkansas, including the Northwest Community Foundation in Springdale and the Arkansas Community Foundation in Little Rock, both of which recently met the National Standards for Community Foundations established by the Council on Foundations in 2000 to standardize such philanthropic entities nationwide.