“Public Spirit Fund”
The City of Eau Claire
recently created a “Public Spirit Fund”, a separate fund managed and
administered through the Eau Claire Community Foundation. The “Public Spirit Fund” was created to build
a revenue source for public projects, which are needed or desired, but not
fully funded through the City’s budgeting process. The fund also creates a voluntary and
permanent mechanism to support people’s natural tendency to improve our city. The
first projects of the Public Spirit Fund are proposed to be a handicap
accessible fishing dock on Half Moon Lake south of the Carson Park causeway and
the construction of the first boat launch on the west bank of the Chippewa
River near Domer Park.
The mission of
the Eau Claire Public Spirit Fund is to encourage the expression of a community
spirit through monetary donations to projects that benefit people in the
community. The Fund will support projects that benefit
everyone, but are not adequately funded by other sources. Many public projects are put off for years
while waiting for sufficient funding. Every year the City identifies many
needed capital projects. The City plans carefully to bring these projects to
completion through long-term planning, careful consideration of the project’s
public benefits and a fair distribution of funds across many department needs;
but many worthy projects are put off for years, awaiting funding.
It is not realistic to use the Public Spirit
Fund to advance all the identified public projects at once, so the Fund will
concentrate on the priorities of the Waterways Plan. The City just finished a rigorous civic
engagement process to complete a brand new Waterways Plan adopted by the City
Council in July 2012. More than 40
citizens, City staff and members of City commissions spent over a year working
on the plan. The completed document
charges the City - with some urgency - to reinvest in its waterways. The Eau Claire Waterways Plan
identifies “Priorities for Action” that are projects to enhance the natural
beauty of Eau Claire and increase the enjoyment of the waterways. Because grants and other City funding for the
waterways improvements may take several years to materialize, by giving to the
Public Spirit Fund, individuals can support and advance these projects.
Residents of
Eau Claire have always had an abiding sense of philanthropy that supports
countless worthy causes in the area. In
addition to the many religious, charitable, and social welfare endeavors, the
community has provided funding for public projects that serve the entire city,
including recent public improvements funded through donations of the new
pavilion at the Forest Street Community Gardens and the acquisition of Domer
Park. The Eau Claire Public Spirit Fund will provide an opportunity for community
members to express pride in Eau Claire and to support and foster a spirit of
community giving for public improvements.
Donations to the fund can be made on
line at www.eauclairewi.gov/publicspiritfund or by mail to the Eau Claire
Community Foundation at 306 South Barstow Street, Suite 104, Eau Claire,
Wisconsin 54701.
