By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
The Oxford Public Library has teamed up with the Four County Community Foundation (4CCF) to create a new Endowed Fund.
Over the past year the Oxford Public Library has been working behind the scenes to consolidate and to merge its Florence Oberg and its Oxford Public Library Endowment Funds. The library’s goal is to both maximize its potential return on investment and also to secure its longevity and legacy sustainably.
The library moved approximately $45,000 of non-governmental (private endowment) funds to 4CCF, where they have established the new Oxford Public Library Endowment Fund.
“This fund’s sole purpose is to continue to grow, and to benefit the Oxford Public Library,” said Director and CEO of the Oxford Public Library, Bryan Cloutier. “We are very excited to be working with the Four County Community Foundation in order to be able to open up additional avenues, which as a government entity we would not be able to take advantage of otherwise, in supporting the legacy of our public library and the positive impact it has in our community for generations to come.”
4CCF Executive Director Kathy Dickens said, “Four County Community Foundation is proud to strengthen partnerships in the beautiful Oxford area.”
Cloutier described how they came to choose 4CCF, “Our Board of Directors and I spent a great deal of time carefully investigating local foundations and fleshing out a couple of very viable options on where we could have entrusted our investments. Through our due diligence process, the Four County Community Foundation continually came out on top as the best match for our organization—which is why we have voted to secure them with the care and stewardship of our stakeholders’ investments in our future.”
The foundation was created in 1987 and serves the corners of Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair Counties. It enables anyone with philanthropic interests to support the needs of the community by bringing together the resources of individuals, families, and businesses. The foundation currently manages 126 funds.
“Four County creates a permanent source of community capital that can benefit our local region forever,” Dickens said. “The Oxford Public Library is a perfect example of a community partner leveraging the strength of the foundation to invest and grow an endowed fund that will support the library forever.”
Cloutier expressed utmost confidence in the Almont-based organization. “For us it was important that our Endowment Funds be entrusted with an organization that has a strong understanding and sense of community, as well as a high-level of ethical standards,” Cloutier said. “It was equally important that we be more than just another ‘Fund’ in their portfolio, but rather a strategic partner in making a meaningful difference in what we do together. This is only a small part of our reason why partnering with the Four County Community Foundation on this endeavor made the best sense to us. We couldn’t ask for a better, more trusted organization to be working with.”