This week, my travels took me beyond our borders. I was in Wichita, Kansas to share the success of our Keep it Growing℠ farmland giving program with rural community foundations from across the Midwest. There is a lot of discussion in the field of philanthropy right now about the transfer of wealth taking place. Assets are passing from one generation to the next, and increasingly in our rural communities, those assets leave the community forever because heirs now live on the east or west coasts.
Keep it Growing℠ represents an innovative way for some of those assets to stay local and continue to benefit our rural communities. Farmers can gift a portion of their farmland to the Southwest Initiative Foundation and we will agree to keep it, have a local tenant farm it, and use the rental income to support the community causes that are near and dear to the donor. It’s different because we keep the land in production and in local hands rather than selling it right away.
The reaction by our colleagues in Kansas was overwhelmingly positive! The practice in the charitable world is to sell gifts of real estate and use the cash to carry out the good work. Keep it Growing℠ gives donors the peace of mind in knowing that their land will not be sold, but rather managed and farmed locally and the rental income will carry out the good work.
Community foundations in 10 rural states are looking at starting similar programs. It’s very exciting to think that many rural communities beyond our 18 counties may benefit from the generosity of farmers who want the wealth generated by their land to stay local long after they are gone.
