McCook Community Foundation reaches milestone

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Community Foundation Fund passed its $2 million endowment mark in September 2013. With $2 million in endowments, MCFF will continue to work to inspire investment in the quality of life for the people of southwest Nebraska.

The milestone is the outcome of a year of fundraising focused on the Commitment to Community campaign, which MCFF has undertaken to meet a challenge grant from The Sherwood Foundation. The campaign has a goal of raising $500,000 to maximize the challenge grant. By raising nearly $420,000 so far, MCFF now has more than $2 million in permanent endowments to generate funding for community improvement each year.

Gifts to endowments not only last forever, they increase in size. Each year, MCFF awards a portion of the endowment earnings to local organizations or projects, while keeping the principle intact and growing. A strong endowment assures long-term support for community needs from MCFF.

Major steps in growing MCFF's endowed funds were taken when Lemoine and Geri Anderson, Don and Alice Harpst, Kathryn Wall, and Bernard and Nelda Haag made generous gifts since MCFF's founding in 2001. These endowed funds have enabled MCFF to award more than $170,000 to over 47 different organizations and projects. MCFF's Commitment to Community campaign seeks to nearly double the amount of annual grant awards to over $60,000.

Currently MCFF awards $30,000 annually to a broad range of community projects, including:

* The Backpack for Kids Programs to provide both food and school supplies for students in need.

* The Youth Diversion Program to help struggling teens improve their decision making and redirect their lives after facing legal trouble.

* Scholarships for recent graduates to pursue their educational dreams.

* McCook Community College's Non-Profit Management Program to expand the course's curriculum and provide seed money for students to work with local charitable organizations in developing marketing and fundraising plans.

"All of our grant decisions are made locally and in response to community opportunities and needs," says MCFF Vice Chair Dale Dueland. "When an idea comes, you have to have the capacity to fund it. If we don't seize the opportunity, it will pass us by. That's why we're focused on growing our endowment."

"We want to help make McCook and southwest Nebraska a better place to live and work by showing our children and grandchildren the importance of helping those in need and the opportunity to strengthen our community by working together," MCFF Chair Leigh Ann Miller detailed. "We're determined to meet the goal of the Commitment to Community campaign and to build a community resource that strengthens the McCook area for generations to come. We've hit a milestone, but we aren't finished yet. We're committed to investing in the future of our hometown."

The McCook Community Foundation Fund works to maintain McCook as a vibrant, inclusive community with access to the world for generations to come. McCook's legacy and heritage have endured for 130 years. MCFF helps prepare McCook for the next 130.

If you would like more information about the McCook Community Foundation Fund or would like to invest in the future of McCook, please visit nebcommfound.org/fund/McCook, email foundation@mccookne.org, like it at facebook.com/McCookCommunityFoundationFund or call (308) 344-9363.