Donation Meant To Empower Nonprofits

A $100,000 donation from one of the county's most prominent landowners to the Community Foundation of Hernando County will give nonprofit groups a powerful funding tool for years to come, a foundation official said.

Bob and Mary Sierra of Brooksville made the donation to start an endowment program that will allow the foundation to provide a 50 percent match of what qualifying nonprofits raise.

That means the Sierras donation could grow to $300,000 in endowments, said Bob Barnett, chairman of the Hernando foundation.

"That's what's so exciting to us," Barnett said.

Here's how it works:

A nonprofit group raises, say, $50,000. Once it does, the foundation will match half of that amount, so $50,000 raised would turn into $75,000.

The foundation holds the entire amount in perpetuity, investing the principal and achieving an average annual return of 5 percent, which is doled out to the nonprofit organization each year, Barnett said.

The foundation plans to serve at least four nonprofits with the Sierras' contribution, Barnett said.

The Sierras couldn't be reached Thursday, but Bob Sierra said in a statement through the foundation that the couple is "pleased to provide this seed money" to the foundation and hoped nonprofits in the county would take advantage of the opportunity.

Barnett said the couple also hopes the donation will inspire other Hernando County philanthropists to act.

Both Sierras were born and raised in Tampa and have owned property in Hernando County for more than 30 years. They made Brooksville their permanent home five years ago and have been strong supporters of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay since its inception in 1990, Barnett said.

The Community Foundation of Hernando County was created in 2006 by Hernando County residents as a division of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, a group named earlier this year as one of the most efficient organizations of its kind. The local foundation received $50,000 from its parent group to dole out to local nonprofit groups.

The foundation offers a spectrum of options for givers from the simple one-time gift to more complex arrangements such as lifetime annuities and bequests through wills. Gifts can take nearly countless forms, from cash to stock to real estate and beyond. Nonprofits and charities also can use the foundation to manage their endowment funds.

To find out more about the Community Foundation of Hernando County and the matching endowment offered by the Sierras, call Barnett at 797-9843.