Agencies Look to Donate Day to Increase Endowment Funds
The Community Foundation of Dickinson County’s sixth annual Donate Day is March 15. In the five years the Community Foundation of Dickinson County has hosted Donate Day, residents and people who care about the nonprofits in the county have contributed more than $1.2 million to those agencies' endowed funds.
“We continue to add funds every year,” said Director Elizabeth Weese. “People are understanding the importance of sustainability for their agencies.”
While each of the 34 participating nonprofit organizations does independent fundraising for their special projects and operating expenses, Donate Day is to help them add to their endowed funds. The community foundation will match up to $5,000 for each per agency until the funds are exhausted.
Any nonprofit that is not registered yet has until March 14 to start its endowed fund with $5,000.
In addition to non-profits that benefit children, the art, history and social needs, are several earmarked to help communities in Dickinson County. Abilene, Chapman, Herington, Navarre, Solomon, Talmage and Woodbine all have community foundations.
“As those funds continue to grow, think about all that those communities can do,” Weese said.
Solomon, for example, has a $2 million endowed fund. The interest on that can support any number of projects.
“We're trying to grow the sustainability of these agencies and the communities as they grow,” she said.
She applauds the generosity of Dickinson County residents as well as people from all over the world who send donations.
“The organizations have reached out to their donors to say, ‘Hey, this is important. Help us double our money on this day,’” she said.
She used the Talmage Library and Event Center as an example of a success story. The unincorporated community with a population of 78, has, in just a few years, brought its endowed fund up to $80,000 through Donate Day contributions, Weese said.
She gave its board president Shawni Sheets credit for getting the word out throughout Talmage and anyone who may have had a connection to the community regardless of where they now live.
Sheets said the endowment fund does more than just provide crucial financial assistance to the organization.
“It has given confidence to all of our donors that this is going to last forever,” Sheets said. “A lot of people probably wouldn't want to donate if they thought it wasn’t going to last. We're really appreciative of the community foundation because it's really bolstered people's confidence in our organization.”
That community’s confidence has helped the organization grow as people from outside of Talmage contact them to use the event center.
People interested in donating March 15 can bring their donation to the community foundation office or drop it off at the drive-thru at 418 NW Third St. in Abilene from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
