Only a few weeks ago I was sitting at a City Council meeting in which a Veteran’s Day service to support a Marine Battalion had to be postponed because there wasn’t enough money to cover the costs of the buses to ship the Marines from Camp Pendleton to Lake Forest. I was so ashamed of the situation that I did some research and found out that many cities support military groups, so I began an investigation of how this is being done. I discovered that almost every city in Orange County has a nonprofit foundation and through these foundations they raise funds to support worthy causes such as supporting military groups, scholarships for teens, food for people in need, home repairs for seniors, support for Boys and Girls Clubs, buying equipment for a marching band, etc.
These foundations do this in a variety of ways, including obtaining grants as well as fund raising with charity poker tournaments, fitness 5K runs, beauty pageants, classic car and truck shows, etc.
Some cities raise as much as $200,000 or more on an annual basis, and on a collective basis, literally millions of dollars flow through these foundations every year to help those people who are in need.
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In the course of my investigation I decided that Lake Forest needed such a foundation. After all, we had just embarrassed ourselves by failing to support the Marine Battalion we just adopted, a bunch of good people are struggling to get a Boys and Girls Club off the ground in Lake Forest, and I know for sure that we have hungry people that can use some help, seniors whose homes need a little repair, etc.
In regards to the Marine Battalion, the Mayor, two council members, and I each pledged $200 for the effort to support bringing the Marines to Lake Forest. However, there was no place to put these donations, so the good intentions were wasted. Had a Lake Forest Foundation been operating, this money could have been immediately used for its intended purposes.
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The good news is that in my search I found out that the City of Lake Forest set up a "Lake Forest Community Foundation" in 2007. The bad news is I found out that the paperwork has been sitting on a shelf in Gary Magill’s office where it has been gathering dust for 5 years. Gary is the City employee who heads up the Department of Community Services, and the foundation was set up under his auspices for the City.
How much have they raised? Nothing! After 5 years, how many people has it helped? 1 person. The guy who received thousands of dollars for setting it up (Ironically, he didn’t live in Lake Forest, another sad example of Lake Forest money being spent outside the city).
So while dozens of cities have programs raising millions of dollars to support their citizens, the Lake Forest Community Foundation sits on someone’s shelf collecting dust.
I raised the issue with the City Council and I thought there was general agreement about the desirability of dusting off the paperwork and getting this thing moving. In particular I spoke with Col. Tom Cagley, one of the men responsible for coordinating the efforts with the Marine Battalion, and I suggested that his project might be a good starting point for the nascent foundation. Col. Cagley had a meeting the other day at the City Hall along with other members of the Military Support Committee, and he brought up the topic of the Foundation. He was told later, in no uncertain terms, that “the City is not interested in reviving the Foundation at this time.”
Hmmm
Who exactly is Gary Magill talking for? Is he “the city”? Perhaps he is speaking for Bob Dunek, the City Manager? Is he “the City”? Gary Magill certainly is not talking for me. Or for Col. Cagley. Or for his committee. Or for the people trying to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club? He isn’t even speaking for the members of the City Council who told me privately that they were supportive of this idea.
If you think the idea of having a nonprofit foundation operating in Lake Forest, you should make a comment here or you should send a note to the City Council. Even better, you can come to a City Council meeting and let the Council know that you support this much needed organization.
(PS - The city is not completely oblivious to the needs of people. For example, the 4th of July Parade provides Kiwanis an opportunity to raise funds through a pancake breakfast, etc. However, the extent of the city's participation in these types of events pales in comparison with the efforts of other cities)
