Charitable foundation nearing fundraising goal

The Mitchell Area Charitable Foundation is on pace to raise $200,000 by the end of the year and is optimistic it can land an additional monetary gift from the South Dakota Community Foundation.

Aided by recent donations — including a notable gift from Gene and Lorraine Hamaker of Mitchell — the Mitchell organization has received “positive responses” throughout the community during the drive, said Jean Koehler, the group’s president. At present, it has raised $130,000 — a figure that includes a $40,000 gift from the Hamakers.

If the local organization can raise $200,000, the South Dakota Community Foundation has promised to kick in $50,000. The entire $250,000 will be used as an endowment fund through the South Dakota Community Foundation, and interest earnings from the fund will be distributed in and around Mitchell in the form of charitable grants.

“Board members, businesses and individuals have stepped forward with lead gifts to get our campaign off the ground,” Koehler said.

The Mitchell Area Charitable Foundation will host a Chamber Business after Hours event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at First National Bank and has invited the public to attend.

Koehler hopes the event, at which large donors will be recognized, will help raise awareness for the organization, which she calls “the best-kept secret in town.”

“We have had great support from the community … and part of our goal here is to have the community at large support us and be aware of what we do,” she said.

Among the large donors to be honored today will be the Hamakers, whose $40,000 gift has been the top donation to the campaign, titled Moving Mitchell Forward. Gene Hamaker was a Mitchell Area Charitable Foundation board member for nine years and offered a match challenge with their donation.

“We thought a match challenge would be a great way to make people aware of the MACF and also raise awareness of the South Dakota Community Foundation,” Gene Hamaker said. “Having a fund with the South Dakota Community Foundation offers greater exposure for the MACF and may open doors to future donations from people in this part of the state who are making plans with their estate with the South Dakota Community Foundation.”

Formed in the late 1980s, the Mitchell Area Charitable Foundation gives to various entities throughout town.

Recent donations from the 10-member board have included gifts to the Mitchell animal rescue shelter; Project Linus, which provides blankets to children; the Abbott House, for help in purchasing a new security system; the Red Cross, for a new computer; the Mitchell Area Historical Society, for work done on its Carnegie Resource Center; the Love Feast, which furnishes meals and school supplies for the needy; Junior Achievement; and Big Brothers Big Sisters, a national organization that is forming from scratch in Davison County.

“We really think we fill a gap here in Mitchell,” Koehler said. “There are many agencies that have limited dollars and who rely upon the government for funding, which have seen a decrease. We feel we are an important step to fill in some of those gaps in funding and help numerous groups with various programs.”

Moving Mitchell Forward has been under way for approximately a year. It is hoped, according to board member Geri Beck, that the fundraising goal will be reached by the end of 2009.

Tags: mitchell area charitable foundation, news, local