KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — On a 5-2 vote, Kalamazoo city commissioners have approved the framework and the bylaws for the Foundation for Excellence.
Commissioner Dave Anderson said the Monday decision will be remembered for two things: The eclipse and the vote setting up what he hopes will be a change in direction for the city, from decline to growth for all.
Mayor Bobby Hopewell said he is satisfied that the documents they have produced will ensure that any money raised will be spent as they intend.
Not everyone agrees.
Commissioners Shannon Sykes and Matt Milcarek took issue with whether contributors to the fund can designate how the money is spent and voted “no,” despite being reassured that it would be the commission and not the foundation that decides how the money is spent.
Now that the city has the required documentation, the city attorney will apply to the IRS for non-profit status and once that is approved the real work of raising the half-billion dollars necessary to make the foundation sustainable can begin.
The two donors who helped launch the foundation were in the chambers last night. It will take many more donors to build the foundation trust fund to the size it needs to be to become a perpetual source of funding for the city.
