Heartland Match Madness raises over $25,000 for area nonprofits

Submitted

Local nonprofits earned over $25,000 at the Heartland Community Foundation Match Madness event on March 10. Area benefactors donated over $16,000 to endowment funds held at Heartland, those contributions were matched with an additional $9,000 directly from Heartland.

“We’re really pleased with the participation in Match Madness and the support these nonprofits garnered from their donors,” said Heartland President Brandon Prough. “Every dollar donated was matched with an additional 54 cents contributed by our Foundation.”
Over 17 funds grew their endowments while also earning a matching donation from Heartland when donors contributed.

“We started seeing donors at a steady pace in the morning that continued throughout the day,” said Heartland executive director Tammy McClellan. “This was a great opportunity to share the benefits of developing endowments with our partner organizations. It would be great to make Match Madness an annual event in our communities.”

The top four organizations earning contributions include the Damar Community Historical Foundation, Hays Arts Council, Stockton Community Fund and the Hays Area Children’s Center.

Participating organizations were able to choose how to receive their matching funds. The majority of fund holders asked to be given their match for immediate use on projects slated for the current calendar year.

The 17 nonprofit funds participating in Match Madness included: Hays Arts Council Fund, Hays Area Children’s Center Fund, Damar Community Historical Foundation, Hays Recreation Commission Youth Programs Fund, USD 489 Foundation Fund for Educational Excellence Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Leadership Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Youth Fund, Hays Dog Park Fund, Coronado Area Council of Boy Scouts of America Fund, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Ellis County Fund, Leadership Hays Fund, Leadership Hays Children’s Fund, Kansas Next Step Fund, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Development and Civic Engagement Fund, First Care Clinic Fund, Hays Community Theatre Fund, and the Stockton Community Fund.

The Heartland Community Foundation, serving Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties, was established in 2007 and is one of 12 affiliates of the Greater Salina Community Foundation. All endowed contributions made to Heartland in 2015 will qualify for additional matching contributions from the Kansas Health Foundation. For more information contact Tammy McClellan, executive director, at (785) 621-4090.