Editor:
Thanks for your well-expected feedback regarding my 8/28 letter to the editor!! I have the immense respect and appreciation of you all and what Brown County Community Foundation is achieving for our community. However, I would like to let you be reminded that BCCF is NOT the only organization that exists to “aid and support the wide-ranging needs” of our county. We have the urgent needs for the OTHER organization that will and should accomplish the same roles in way more comprehensive ways.
The definition of charity, in my opinion, is lending your hands to your friends who need temporary help. The ultimate goal of any charity is eventually to help the individuals or organizations become self-sustainable. Therefore, maximizing the charity size should never be the glory of a society, justified neither by the size of the money or the number of organizations it gives money away.
The bigger the charity means, the bigger the poverty is indicated there. More often than not, we tend to see our world from our self-centered algorithm. Let’s take a little break away from that. Brown County does not exist for BCCF. Rather, BCCF should exist for the best interests for our community. We do not spend hard-earn, bloody money from our in-keepers taxes, which is the direct outcome or impact from our tourism businesses, to fatten non-profit sections when the Convention and Visitor Bureau is starving as its engine of Brown County tourism.
As Elaine Bedel, a panel speaker from tonight’s CVB forum at the playhouse commented, every dollar invested on CVB, or tourism business, returns 10 times back to the community, whereas, in my opinion, every dollar spent on charity by BCCF goes to the bottom of the jar that has a hole in the bottom, if we have to calculate the numbers in monetary formula.
We do not, of course, underestimate the “impact” BCCF is creating. However, please remember we must bring the food to the table first, for which our county is still struggling. Our county leadership should be effective and efficient in leveraging resources, and in this regard, the money that should have been spent on CVB has been leaking to a wrong direction in my small opinion. And that’s why we are experiencing the current road blocks in Brown County tourism.
Please remember, Brown County Community Foundation had well existed for decades even before Brown County Music Center was born. On top of it, BCCF has the most outstanding and unmatched pool of professional volunteers, and is the last organization that will fail on the earth in my 100 percent confidence.
Our current focus is NOT on BCCF, but rather on CVB as our money engine or profit center quoted by Elaine Bedel. That CVB, unfortunately, has not been properly nourished to grow to its full potential. We must restore its full functions with “maximized” funding to fix the problems. If we are negligent on this, then our whole economy of Brown County may go down, as fully shared and warned by the panelists tonight.
Please do not get me wrong. I have been in non-profit sector and I do know how funding can be challenging. However, if you truly care for our county, and understand what’s truly needed for its growth, it is time to step aside to have its highest priority taken care of first.
Always, my dear friends, let’s think out of the box. We are not taking money away from you. On the contrary, when we are able to make our pie bigger and bigger, then it will help the rest of our county be taken care of.
Please remember again, we need you, BCCF and any other non-profit organizations, as you bring the values to the world. However, we must take care of our first child before we produce the next healthy ones. There is always the order of priority.
Regardless what happens, BCCF will be fine and invincible, which you truly should be proud of. The issue we are dealing with today is not that resilient child, but a very sick child who has NEVER learned how to fully bloom. It surely takes the village to solve this problem.
Our dear Brown County Community Foundation, it’s time for your leadership to shine. It’s time to bring your brilliant brain and manpower to assist CVB to become the most advanced non-profit just like you. I am fully confident you will be outstanding in whatever tasks you are given as you have always been!
Clara Stanley
Brown County resident
