Committee participates in impact planning

The Fund Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Perkins County Community Foundation Fund (PCCFF) participated in “Impact Planning” in three sessions earlier in 2022. The events were led by staff of the Nebraska Community Foundation. The objective of the sessions was to gain a better understanding of Perkins County to provide for increased impact in funding and community development.
The Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF), with the help of staff at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, have assisted numerous communities in studying potential impact of local Fund activities. The first step in gaining a better understanding of the community was to consider data from the 2020 census and recent surveys. The following are some highlights from the data analysis.
Perhaps one of the key elements of the data was the consideration of the fastest growing age group for the decade of 2010 to 2020. That age group with greatest growth was 35-44 years of age, which was very similar to the data of 2010. This suggests that young people are staying in their hometowns or returning to the county. Following closely as the next fastest growing age group is the group aged over 65. It is noted that for the group of 55 years and older age group, the number of those “retiring soon” is higher than the national average for this size of population. This may be an opportunity for business succession to the growing younger group, which was also the case in 2010.
Although the population decline continues to exist for Perkins County, the recent decade’s data indicates the decline is lower than for population losses in earlier decades. This suggests that the “curve is flattening” for population declines, as noted by KC Belitz of NCF.  Other features of the census data are positive.
Perkins County ranks very high in two parent households compared to other counties in Nebraska. Violent and property crime is about 40 percent of the national average. Good schools and safety in the community are the highest-ranking attributes desired by young people in their communities, surpassing the next preferred interests of entertainment, recreation and even proximity to family.
Adequate and affordable housing seems always to be a universal consideration of rural communities and was one concern of the Perkins County Planning Commission after the 2010 census.
Considering the 2020 numbers, Perkins County has a relatively high income, ranking seventh of Nebraska counties in median household income. However, the number of occupied housing units in the county has remained about the same for several decades. As a result, prices and rental rates have risen rapidly in recent years; positive incomes have placed pressure on costs of limited available housing.
In the coming months, the Fund Advisory Committee will consider the new data as the Fund strives to reach the greatest impact of activities and funding in the local communities.
The author is Chair of the Perkins County Community Foundation Fund. PCCFF has a vision of “promoting vibrant communities and a high quality of life” for the County. Government and nonprofit entities can apply for grant funding from the Fund. The PCCFF is a nonprofit 501c3 affiliate of the Nebraska Community Foundation.