Paul Thomson, president and CEO of the Truman Heartland Community Foundation, sees his organization as more than a conduit for charitable contributions. The ultimate mission of the Truman Heartland Community Foundation is to connect local donors in Jackson County—specifically Eastern Jackson County—with the local causes that interest them, he says, but beyond that he sees the foundation as an initiator of solutions.

Like the time, for instance, when Marie Coker of California found herself in charge of her brother’s estate, which included the aging Emerson Hotel at 2017 E. Linwood Blvd. The hotel had turned into a drug house, and Thomson believes there may even have been a murder or two there.

Coker and her attorney had been able to dispose of all the assets in the estate except this one, and that’s when they turned to Thomson to see if the foundation would accept the note on the hotel as a gift. He discovered, unbeknownst to them, that the city was taking bids to demolish the structure, and they had a short timeframe before the building would fall to the wrecking ball. He found a buyer on the Thursday before the bids were to be opened, a fair price was negotiated, and the buyer took possession of the property on the city’s Friday deadline. The buyer, a developer who specializes in rehabilitating old properties for low-income residents, got a bargain price of $50,000, and the Truman Heartland Community Foundation got a $50,000 donation.

"We have the wherewithal to handle noncash contributions," Thomson says in something of an understatement. "We make charitable giving easy, flexible and effective."

The foundation provides flexibility through a variety of vehicles: donor-advised funds, designated funds, unrestricted funds, or field of interest/scholarship funds. Charitable gift annuity funds and charitable remainder trusts are ways that patrons can invest for themselves and give to others at the same time.

Although the Truman Heartland Community Foundation saw the value of certain sectors of its investment portfolio drop in 2001, as almost every foundation did, the year was its second highest in the amount of contributions it received. In a year that was tough for charitable giving, Truman saw its assets top $20 million, and it paid out almost $1.4 million in grants—100 times more than what it made in its inaugural year of 1982.

"If you focus on the donor and the community," says Thomson, "the growth takes care of itself."
Often it is the donors who see problems in the community that others don’t. If a solution doesn’t exist for a problem, the foundation can help a donor create one. Such observations led to the creation of the Jackson County Free Health Clinic in Independence for uninsured adults with chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma. The clinic operates out of the Jackson County Health Department facility at night; patients can go there to see a doctor and to get the prescription drugs they need. Thomson says he has no trouble getting contributions for this program.

The foundation and its donors also have developed a transportation program for the disabled and elderly in cooperation with the city of Independence and with contributions from Health Midwest. It has partnered with the Lions Club and negotiated with the LensCrafters Foundation to provide eye exams and glasses for the low price of $39 to those who wouldn’t be able to afford eye care any other way. The list goes on and on.
Thomson says the challenges that face Truman Heartland include staying appraised of the needs of the community, covering all of suburban Jackson County with a three-person staff, and letting people know about the foundation on its limited marketing budget. As for the foundation’s goals, the answer comes to Thomson easily.

"Our goal is to bring donors into philanthropy and to educate them," he says, "until they evolve from people who make contributions to people who make a difference."