Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
2024 - 2025 GMCF Past Board Chair Matt Crocker - Philanthropy Today Episode - 213
Matt reflects on his journey with the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, sharing insights from his time as Board Chair and the innovative initiatives that have positioned the foundation for future success.
• Joined GMCF after moving to Manhattan in 2005, serving first on the grants committee before joining the Executive Board
• Spearheaded an innovative childcare solution that functions as a business incubator for childcare entrepreneurs
• Led the foundation through a strategic planning process that established three pillars for future growth
• Shared the legacy of Jack Goldstein and how his donation of company stock has helped grow foundation assets to $412 billion
• Expanded the affiliate program to 20 communities, representing about $60 million in assets
• Envisions the foundation evolving from a conduit for charitable giving to a proactive community problem-solver
• Advocates for growing unrestricted assets to address unforeseen future community challenges
• Celebrates the foundation's status as the largest in Kansas and 87th largest in the United States
Learn more about the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation at mcfks.org. Subscribe to Philanthropy Today on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Philanthropy Today. Our goal is to inspire giving by educating listeners on ways to give and how to connect with charitable causes. My name is Dave Lewis. I'm your host of Philanthropy Today.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining the show we're here today again with one of our past chairs of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Executive Committee. One of our past chairs of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Executive Committee, but not only as a past chair. Matt served two, three year terms prior to this term, and so he has a lot of experience with the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. So welcome Matt. How are you doing today? I'm great, vern. How are you Good? So you've been involved with the community foundation for a long time. Obviously the history and the building and the relationship with the Goldstein family partners I should say the Steel and Pipe Supply Company and all the trust that we've had. So how did you get involved in that process?
Speaker 3:Well, so I moved back to Manhattan in 2005 and came to work for Steel and Pipe and, as you mentioned, steel and Pipe been very involved with the community and that was one of the attractions to me to come back, and I'm not sure if it was in 2005, but shortly thereafter I got engaged with the community foundation as a trustee and served on the grants committee, which was a great way for me to get introduced to what the community foundation does, and I served on that for several years, and then Fiscal Sponsorship Committee as well, and then had the opportunity, as you mentioned, to come on the Executive Board.
Speaker 2:Well, you've been a great member of the Board many ways. You're also somebody that's very eager to be involved in the community You've served as the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Board, or the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Board or the president of the Chamber of Commerce Board and you're attuned to things that are happening around here. So it's great for us to have your knowledge, as well as your leadership, around here, and we appreciate that and, as a part of that, the connections. One of the issues that came up in the community was child care, and that was big on our plate the year you were the board chairman.
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah, it absolutely was.
Speaker 3:You know, I in some ways I guess I kind of instigated the challenge to myself, but you know, that came about the chamber and through my involvement in the chamber I'd done a business needs assessment and we were already working on a couple of the top priorities that came out of that.
Speaker 3:But the one we weren't working on as a community was childcare. And of course everybody knew that was a challenge in the community for both families and businesses, and so I kind of took it upon myself to just start asking around and get some people engaged and hey, let's see if we can get together and find a solution. And we're very fortunate. Obviously, I got teamed up with the Community Foundation in that process and we found some individuals that really knew a lot about child care and had some great ideas and just able to take that and provide the resources and the commitment to get the idea into reality. And it's pretty neat. So if you haven't seen it already, you can drive down and buy a Via Christi there and see the modern looking building next to the non-modern hospital. But I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 2:Well, let's take that a little longer, a little further out there. So the issue of child care came up in the community. You're serving and had served with the chamber board president. You're now the president of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. What made sense for the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation to get involved in that project?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'd say, you know, beyond it just being a community need, the real impetus for that was there were some federal grants that were granted through the state but that became available and we needed an organization to be the applicant for these grants. And you know, looking through it and learning a little bit more about it, it just made sense that the community foundation was the right party that was available at the time because there were some time crunches related to it to make the application for these grants, and so we were successful in getting some money for this purpose and not having to go to local people and, you know, certainly there's a lot of local support for it today, but at the time we're gonna be able to build this facility and two thirds of the money required to build it is coming from these federal grants. So that's really what drove it. And then again, just a community need.
Speaker 3:The community foundation really fits in terms of trying to help solve some of these community problems and bringing multiple parties together. So, um, but yeah, now, uh, I, you know, I think the, the board, uh, the community foundation, um, you know, took a little bit of time to get comfortable with it because it was the first time the community foundation really stepped out and put their name on a grant and so required a few extra things on the community foundation's part. But I really think it's not only the first step in us hopefully getting a longer term solution for child care, but maybe the first step in the community foundation being able to fill that role in the future when it's appropriate.
Speaker 2:so, since this recording is kind of memorializing and there will be a future we don't know what that future exists We'll be talking about it at some point in time. But this is truly kind of a one-of-a-kind facility. I mean, this hasn't been tried before. What's unique about it?
Speaker 3:Well, I'll tell you the thing I really liked about the idea, which, again, wasn't a community foundation idea and wasn't my idea, but it's not just providing more slots for child care, it's providing a mechanism that helps continually to grow those slots, so it really fit the chamber from a standpoint of I kind of think of it as a small business development. So what we really need in terms of solving this problem is to create more entrepreneurs and more businesses in this community that are focused on childcare, and that's what this does. I mean you talk about business incubators, and we quickly learned that the term incubator with childcare wasn't necessarily the most appropriate combination. But that's really what it is, and so I'm excited about. Not only can it hopefully solve or not solve, but remedy some of the challenges we have with the child care needs, but also start new businesses in town, and you know that's pretty exciting aspect of it.
Speaker 2:Well, I would agree. I mean, this is the idea for our listeners. It's really going to be eight individual business units or individuals that are learning to be child care professionals that will, once they they feel confident, will be able to move out into their own space, whether it be a home or a center itself, and new people will come in and go through that training process again. So, instead of taking care of 80, 90 kids at one time for a long time, we're hopefully going to be multiplying that 80, 90 every year for several years so that so the process is taken care of.
Speaker 3:So, yep, that's the idea.
Speaker 2:Well, and that's the beauty of having you on the board, because you brought that business perspective to a basic community need in child care and you've kind of married them together.
Speaker 3:So yeah, it's pretty exciting and again, I hope, I'm confident that we'll have the commitment from the community to make it successful. But you know, it's just we've already my understanding is we've already got a list of people that are interested in moving in and starting their business. So it's really a cool concept and to my knowledge it's really one of the first of the kind in the country, and so I think it's also a model that we can show. Success here can be replicated across the country and, for sure, across the state.
Speaker 2:Indeed. So let's move to another one of your initiatives, maybe not started by you, but certainly led and a lot of teeth put into it, and that's our efforts of strategic planning for the Community Foundation. So tell us how that went for your years.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I guess one aspect I have, or trait, is I like to solve things and get get completion on things Right. Um, so maybe it's impatience, I don't know, but um so, uh, as you mentioned, this started, uh, before my time but uh, you know, I took it upon myself. I really wanted to. I knew there was a need and desire because of the amount of time that we've spent as a, as a foundation, talking about it. Um so I wanted to make sure that I could at least create a deliverable for Beth when she took over and get us on the right path. And, um, it was a interesting process. I will say that one of the big learnings I took away from it was there are a lot of people, so we went and got some resources from outside parties to help. And there are a lot of people, so we went and got some resources from outside parties to help, and there are a lot of people that help with nonprofits.
Speaker 3:And so when you think of the community foundation, people sometimes instantly think it's a nonprofit. Well, your comment about business and my experience with business, I think what we found is those people that are working in the nonprofit world really can't relate to what we do. We are really more of a business at the community foundation than a true nonprofit, and so we went through a few trials of finding somebody, but we're successful and thank you to you for an acquaintance you had to bring somebody in to help kind of provide some ideas and perspective on a national basis. This EAC consultants, you know, works with a lot of people, um, but I'm really excited about what we developed and um, we took a lot of the recommendations, but there were several that really didn't fit our community, and so we did a great job, I feel like, of listening to these outside parties and looking at best practices but also reflecting on we have a unique community in manhattan and making sure it fits that, because ultimately our success is driven by the success of our community.
Speaker 3:And so we, you know I rolled out the, the three pillars at the annual meeting and we have a lot of work to do. So I'd say we're kind of beyond the visioning. So I think we've successful in getting the board to have a and staff to have an understanding of our vision, and now it's really trying to get the more of the tactical details in place, and so I'm I've committed to Beth to help continue that, as I'm past chair this year and she can focus on you know her chair role, so yeah, so Beth Smoller will be the chair for our 25-26 year and she will bring her talents to this process too.
Speaker 2:And yeah, we're to that point now of going now one more layer down and setting those goals and how we actually evaluate those goals, if and when achieved at that point in time. So exciting times, and I've always enjoyed these kinds of things in a leadership role because I think it brings your team together. It gives you an opportunity, not only at the board and the staff, but even board staff together, to kind of talk and visioning, because we are the community's foundation and so we're here to serve the community. And that's where the board provides such a unique perspective and our trustee groups is to get input from them. And not everybody's on the same page, we understand that, but it's certainly the ultimate goal is all to make Manhattan in our area a better place for sure. So what is it meant to serve as the chair of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation to you?
Speaker 3:Well, it's been an honor for sure foundation to you. Well, it's been an honor for sure, I mean what this foundation does and the impact it has in the community. It's quite an honor to have the opportunity to lead the board. Great individuals, I mean the commitment from the volunteers, I mean the trustees, and the board are all volunteers and um, um has been rewarding.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, and again I think I feel like I wanted to try to help, um, you know, get a foundation and kind of set the next chapter for the community foundation, and the strategic plan is part of that. I mean, I, you know people ask why are we doing it? Um, I think every organization at some point it's necessary to kind of revisit what you know, what you're focused on, and the growth and the change in the position in this community of the community foundation over the last five to 10 years has been phenomenal and we really needed to make a shift. And so I feel good about the fact that we've. Again, there's a lot of work left to do, but I guess, coming out of my term, I think we have a path forward and we have a vision. And your comment about not everybody agreeing Everybody, I think got a little something through this process and everybody gave up a little something through this process. So from that, I think that really shows that it's probably the right thing.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, we're excited about that, but I would say that's been my most proud moment of serving as chair is to help the organization and others. Of serving as chair is to help the organization and others.
Speaker 2:Well, we ended the 2024 year with an asset base of $412 billion, and a lot of that is obviously supported by the Goldstein stock that we own, the Jack Goldstein left. I mean that's been a significant growth, of which you've been certainly a part of that. And take a step back a little bit there and even bring a little perspective of maybe Jack's motivation just to donating that stock and how we've been able to use that for the university and community as a whole.
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah. So I mean Jack was an incredibly generous man and in maybe more ways or different ways than most people reflect. I mean the building that we're in, for example, here at Colony Square, this was built as a match for the community being able to get money for the mall for our grant, the community being able to get money for the mall for our grant. So there had to be private investment to go along with the public investment in the mall, and that's an example of not just giving money but building an ability to grow the community, and I think that's always what Jack's done. I mean, he certainly has given money too, but was really more interested in that, you know, continuing his entrepreneurial spirit of helping others develop and build. And so then you know, in terms of why Jack wanted to do that, one of the simple is that he didn't have any children to pass the business along to, wanted to see steel and pipe continue. That was, I mean, he had spent his blood, sweat and tears making the company what it was after his father passed away, um, and he wanted to make sure his legacy continued on, and so, as part of that, um, he wanted to had to gift a major portion of the ownership of the company, uh, to charity Um, and so he's. He's done that with the gold sign foundation, um, interestingly enough, obviously he was doing that, so there wasn't a tax. He died in the one year. There wasn't any estate tax, but he didn't know that at the time, obviously, and so it's just been.
Speaker 3:I think one of the things about coming to work at Steel and Pipe is you get to work hard and see the reward, and the employees are wonderful people. We have great, great team. But then, in terms of management, one of the ancillary benefits is being able to see the impact in the community that Jack left us the opportunity to have, and it's a lot of fun to work hard and to see success as a business. And then it's a lot of fun to give money away. So I think we've got a lot of fun to give money away. So, um, you know, I think we've got a pretty unique place to work. Um and uh want to continue that, so I want to pass that along, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've. I knew Jack uh uh for a few years, uh, as when I moved back to Manhattan and uh certainly got to know him well and his generosity and his desire to just give him. This community has had lots of Jacks, certainly not at Jack's level that we know today, but we've been blessed from that standpoint and I think that confidence and really decision to start a supporting organization back then has spurred us now to have five supporting organizations and individuals in this community doing things similar and so excited about that. The other growth that we had during your period of time is we saw our 20th affiliate join the organization and that has been substantial growth. Those 20 affiliates comprise about 60 of our 400 million in the asset group, and so what would you say about the affiliate program?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it's been interesting. I think it's also a little bit unique, especially for a foundation of our size, but I think it's a testament to what people think or feel about what we're doing as a community foundation. I mean several of those, as you know. I mean you. You really lead the discussions with them but, um, they come to us because they feel like they're not getting the service or the attention that they deserve from uh, or want and need from other foundations, many of which are larger than us and um, so I think it's it's just a market related, um example of the how good of a job we're doing as a foundation. And then, from our benefit perspective, it provides some additional revenues to, you know, spread out the overhead cost. I mean, as we've grown as an organization, you know you have to continue to add resources to be able to support that.
Speaker 3:That program has given us some funds to maybe get a little ahead of you know and stretch ourselves in terms of bringing on people. And then now we've got the executive director program for those affiliate programs and I think we're getting, you know, it's kind of seems like we're getting ready. Again, I've talked about transitioning with the community foundation. We're kind of getting ready to kick the birds out of the nest, and so that's exciting from a foundation perspective to help other communities grow a community foundation so that they can continue to invest in their communities. So it's a pretty neat program. It's done multiple things for us and it's evolving just like the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. And it's evolving just like the Greater Manhattan.
Speaker 2:Community Foundation. So we've spent all this time talking about the past and now put on your crystal ball and what's?
Speaker 3:the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation look like 10, 20 years from now. So I think the way I would describe and I know you don't talk about past, but just kind of how I'm thinking I would describe that the Community Foundation has been there and been successful in being a conduit for donors to impact areas that they have an interest in and so collect money, hold it for them, invest it and then are able to give it away. In the future and we've already seen a little bit of this I think that the community foundation is going to more and more fill that role of being reached out to, to help be the problem solver or identify the solution, so not just a conduit but being able to, um, being able to solve those problems. Again, the child care was kind of an area that we've seen where it was a very complicated, complex issue that everybody knew was a problem but nobody really could formulate a potential solution. And so, being that organization, you know we've stepped up recently in the nursing challenges we've had in the community and so I think more and more we're going to be seen as that.
Speaker 3:And so what I would like to see and I know you and I've had some conversations about this, and this may be kind of getting out a little ahead of the strategy, but I think the community foundation should strive to grow its unrestricted assets, because the challenges today are going to be very different than the challenges in the future, and I think this community foundation needs to have the financial resources to be able to respond to those in a timely manner. And so I think that's going to be I think that'll probably evolve to what this foundation is is that we're able to not only bring the people together and create the idea, but have some resources to be able to deploy to solve some of the community's greater problems.
Speaker 2:So we found out early in your year that we're the largest community foundation in Kansas, the 87th largest in the United States and the ninth fastest growing community foundation seventh largest in the United States and the ninth fastest growing community foundation. How do you feel about leading an organization like that and how you see the future for this?
Speaker 3:I mean I feel good. I mean, obviously it's not me that drives that right, it's all of the individuals that the success of the foundation kind of you know success breeds success, right I mean, and so having people having the confidence in the organization. But kind of you know success breeds success, right I mean, um, and so having people having the confidence in the organization. But you know, I feel good.
Speaker 3:Again, I I feel like the things I helped try to do, um, during my tenure as chair was to really help create a foundation for the foundation. You know, I guess you know that you gotta, you gotta, make sure you have a solid foundation in the house when you build it, and I think that that was really a lot of my focus is trying to make sure that we are reinforcing that and growing it. And again, I'm excited about what this organization can do. I see a lot of the younger people that are getting involved through the Young Trustees Program and some of them getting on our executive committee. A lot of the younger people that are getting involved through the Young Trustees Program and some of them getting on our executive committee. You know, when I started it seemed like I was the young guy and you know it was just a bunch of real wise individuals that were involved and it's really evolved to be more. It's more of a community's foundation today than it was when I got involved and that's exciting and so I think the future is bright.
Speaker 2:Well, matt, it's only bright because of your leadership. I want to say personally thank you for your services, not only a board member for several years, but as chair last year the visioning process you bring a lot to the table and you throw a lot of things out there. That challenges people's thoughts and I think that's awesome and the Community Foundation will be better for it in the future. So thank you and good luck. Hopefully you're here for many, many more years supporting our causes.
Speaker 3:Oh, absolutely Thank you.
Speaker 2:So we appreciated Matt's year as chair of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation and it's great to again show this to our audience to memorialize his year as chair of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. And it's great to again show this to our audience to memorialize his year as chair, and we look forward to sharing next year's chair with you at the completion of the 2526 year.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us for Philanthropy Today an inside look at the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. You can always learn more about the GMCF at our website, mcfksorg. We also invite you to subscribe to Philanthropy Today on Apple, spotify, amazon or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dave Lewis. I'm proud to host Philanthropy Today. It's hosted and produced in the Ad Astra Cast Studios in downtown Manhattan, kansas.