HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992/09/23 - Minutes - Adjourned Joint (Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation) September 23, 1992
CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Adjourned Joint Meeting of the city Council
and the Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation
A. CALL TO ORDER
An adjourned joint meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council and the Rancho Cucamonga Community
Foundation was held on Wednesday, September 23, 1992, in the Rains Conference Room of the Civic Center,
located at 10500 Civic Center Ddve, Rancho Cucamonga, Califomia. The meeting was called to order at 7:00
p.m. by Mayor Dennis L. Stout.
Present were Councilmembers: William J. Alexander, Chades J. Buquet II, Diane Williams, Pamela J. Wdght,
and Mayor Dennis L. Stout.
Present were Boardmembers: Robert Dutton, Frances Howdyshell, Jeanne Lochart, John Mannedno, Paula
Zadick, and Chairman Guy Beyersdorf.
Absent was Boardmember: Betty McNay.
Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Linda D. Daniels, Deputy City Manager; Jerry B. Fulwood,
Deputy City Manager; Diane O'Neal, Management Analyst II; and Jan Sutton, Deputy City Clerk.
B. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION
B1. DISCUSSION OF THE FOUNDATION REDEFINING ITS MISSION AND GOALS IN LIGHT OF THE
PRESENT ECONOMY (0701-01 FOUNDATION) (0205-01 GOALS)
B2. DISCUSSION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FOUNDATION AND THE CITY (0701-01
FOUNDATION)
B3. DISCUSSION OF MARKETING AND FUND-RAISING OPPORTUNITIES WHICH MIGHT BE MADE
AVAILABLE TO THE FOUNDATION THROUGH ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY (0701-01
FOUNDATION)
Councilmember Wright stated the Subcommittee had met with officers of the Foundation and had discussions
on the intent of the Foundation when it was first formed, which brought up questions as to its purpose and
whether it should be a fundraiser or a conduit, and the effect the present economy is having on them. She
stated they were looking for reaffirmation from the Council as to how they would like the Foundation to
proceed.
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City Council/Community
Foundation Minutes
September 23, 1992
Page 2
Boardmember Lochart stated part of the concern was that when the Foundation was formed, the economy
and business climate were completely different and they were getting a large portion of their contributions from
developers. She stated that given today's financial climate and the deterioration of available funds, she felt
they needed to redefine the Foundation and come up with other ways that would make it possible to provide
the community with the best service without looking at the Board as strictly a fundraising mechanism. She
outlined what they have done for the current fundraiser, and explained that even though they have lowered
the pdce of this fundraiser, they still have a low response, and felt the Boardmembers could not continue to
spend so much time with so little return.
Chair Beyersdorf stated he had concerns about the City seeking contributions directly for community programs
instead of utilizing the Foundation as a source of donations.
Councilmember Wright stated there is a fine line they have to be careful of, but there may be some areas
where it might be beneficial to go through the Foundation, such as the Masi project where they were asking
them for an historical contribution. She stated if it was legally possible to have those contributions go through
the Foundation, it would benefit both parties.
Councilmember Buquet sated he did not want there to be the perception that there was any type of
competition between the City and the Foundation, that both groups were working for the benefit of the City.
Boardmember Howdyshell stated that when there were situations like Lewis Homes sponsoring the Movies
in the Park, possibly they did it directly to increase their own visibility within the community.
Councilmember Wright felt that it would not be a detriment to work through the Foundation for people like that,
that the Foundation could help to promote their contribution.
Boardmember Lochart stated she would like to know from the Council if the Foundation's current Mission
Statement still met the expectations set forth when the Foundation was formed.
Boardmember Mannerino felt the Mission Statement was not an issue. He felt the problem was that the
Foundation, since its inception, has essentially been funded by the Mayor's Ball, which was primarily funded
by the development community. He stated that development no longer exists as they have known it, and that
the Foundation could not supplant that income by putting on numerous small fundraising events. He felt what
they needed was to create a vehicle by transitioning the Foundation to a membership non-profit organization
and creating a product to sell that would replace the money raised in previous years.
Mayor Stout stated when the Foundation was originally established, the City Council purposefully kept their
direction slight because they hoped the Foundation would take on its own life and set its own goals and
priorities based on what the community wanted, not on what the City Council was directing it to do. He stated
the idea behind the Mayor's Ball was to start a fundraising vehicle that would allow the Foundation some
victories and have something to present to the community. He stated every successful foundation he has
seen has a cause of some sort that people are interested in, something tangible to show people at the end
of the fund drive. He agreed that it has been easy in the past to raise money from the development
community, but his thought was that now the business community needed to mature and start showing some
interest in the community. He felt the Foundation needed to focus on a couple of items and promote them so
that people know what the Foundation does. He felt if they identified something they wanted to work on, then
it would fall into place on how to fund it.
City Council/Community
Foundation Minutes
September 23, 1992
Page 3
Councilmember Buquet stated what was needed was an overall marketing plan, that the Foundation needed
to determine what it was they would like to do, and then they could work together with the City to accomplish
it.
Boardmember Mannerino felt the difference between other successful foundations in the area and the
Community Foundation was that the others had staff available to do the fundraising, or they had a certain level
of people they could approach that had a large sum of money to contribute. He stated the Foundation did not
have the staff available to be successful at fundraising.
Councilmember Buquet stated it was fine to have the Foundation as a conduit for money that happens to find
its way to the City, but felt they should have some type of concrete goal, like the building of the Central Park
Library or the Performing Arts Center. He stated they did not have to achieve their goal in one year but they
would have something they were shooting for, and then they could do the other things they have always done
as an off-shoot of that goal, like the Concerts in the Park series, etc. He stated that way if companies were
to contribute and wanted to make their mark, it could be acknowledged when the building was completed.
Councilmember Wright asked Boardmember Dutton how the YMCA went about raising funds for their building
project.
Boardmember Dutton explained the various ways to fund a building project. He felt the first thing the
Foundation needed to establish was a track record, which they have now done. He also felt they needed to
stop dwelling on the past and how things used to be done, and focus on the business community and how
to refocus their direction and to get prepared for when things improve.
Boardmember Howdyshell agreed that they needed to refocus and review their standing in light of the present
economy and needs of the community.
Boardmember Dutton stated there were two things the Foundation could work on right now, and that would
be the Library and Performing Arts Center. That way they would have something tangible people could donate
whatever amount they felt comfortable with and the Foundation did not have to set a price. They also could
continue to work with the other groups in the City as they have in the past, because programs were just as
important as buildings.
Councilmember Williams stated she has worked with several non-profit groups that were set up as
receiverships, which is what she saw the Foundation as being when it was first established, to act as a
receiver for funds for groups that did not have their own non-profit status. She felt they should still be
functioning in that manner, and did not like the idea of the group being reduced to constant fundraising.
Councilmember Buquet agreed the Foundation should not rest on their past laurels. He stated the City has
used this economic downturn to streamline some of their processes and to re-evaluate some of their goals.
This has given them time to regroup and prepare for when things improve, and felt the Foundation could do
something similar. He stated they could still work towards their goals but they should not be disappointed if
they do not reach it in only one year's time.
Boardmember Zadick asked if the Foundation was limited to raising money strictly from within the City's
boundaries.
Councilmember Buquet stated they were not, and that they did need to expand their donation base.
City Council/Community
Foundation Minutes
September 23, 1992
Page 4
Boardmember Dutton stated he thought the Foundation should be supported by the other Commissions of
the City, and felt they have received very little participation from the other Commissions in the past. He
thought possibly the Council could talk to the other Commissioners to see if they could increase their support
of the Foundation,
Councilmember Buquet stated maybe the Boardmembers should try to find out why the Commissioners did
not participate. He stated what the Foundation does benefits a lot of people and people should want to get
involved, so they should try to find out why they have not shown an interest in the past. He stated many of
them might not fully understand what it is the Foundation does.
Boardmember Howdyshell agreed that they needed to have an educational component they could present
that would increase awareness of what the Foundation is and does for people.
Councilmember Alexander stated possibly they could work out something with the new baseball team to
sponsor a couple of fundraising nights for the Foundation.
Chair Beyersdorf asked if the Council were aware of anyone in town that they might want the Foundation to
approach for contributions, to please let them know and they would follow-up on that,
Mayor Stout stated maybe the Foundation would want to consider setting themselves up as a membership
organization that all the citizens could join, this way they would feel more involved.
Councilmember Wdght felt the membership should be offered on a more selective basis. She felt they should
only approach businesses, large corporations, etc.
Boardmember Mannerino stated he disagreed, that it should be available to every citizen in Rancho
Cucamonga to buy into the community through the Foundation. He thought it was a good idea to become a
membership organization.
Councilmember Buquet felt ideas like that were good, and wanted to encourage the Board to keep coming
up with and acting on new ways of raising support for the Foundation. He encouraged them to work with their
Subcommittee on new ideas and how they might interface with the City.
Councilmember Alexander asked if they wanted to discuss what the attorney has advised regarding the City
providing financial support to the Foundation through staff time.
Councilmember Wright felt that had already been discussed and was a cut and dry legal issue. She felt it had
to do more with would the Foundation eventually become autonomous or was it their intention that it would
have a continuous relationship with the City.
Councilmember Williams asked how the Foundation felt about continuing a relationship with the City, or would
they benefit more by being separate.
Boardmember Dutton felt being connected to the City lent credibility to the organization.
Boardmember Mannedno stated the situation with the Brea foundation is what has precipitated this concern,
but he felt there was greater involvement in that situation than they had here in Rancho Cucamonga. He felt
if the Foundation were to survive, they would have to continue receiving some sort of assistance from the City,
but they could change some procedures to lessen their legal liability. He also felt they needed some
assistance in the marketing aspect as they did not have enough manpower to accomplish it by themselves.
City Council/Community
Foundation Minutes
September 23, 1992
Page 5
Councilmember Buquet stated after the Foundation has worked out some of the ideas they would like to
accomplish, they should have another meeting with their Subcommittee, and then the Subcommittee could
report to the full Council.
B4. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS OF MUTUAL CONCERN (0701-01 FOUNDATION)
No items were discussed.
C. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
No communications were made from the public.
D. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Stout adjourned the meeting at 8:27 p.m.
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Respectfully submitted,
Deputy City Clerk
Approved by the Community Foundation: October 20, 1992
Approved by the City Council: September 1, 1993