Photo above: Whitney Meier makes a donation to the Big Give McCook during the "power hour" at MNB Bank.
The gift of grain worth several thousand dollars to a pocket change.
During the 2018 Big Give McCook, donations ranged everywhere from 30 cents to thousands of dollars with every denomination contributed in between. While the final totals are still being tabulated, preliminary results show 650 donations totaling just over $94.000. according to Community Chest organizers Lisa Felker and Melissa Stritt. But with matching funds still to be added, the projected total will be closer to $128,000.
The total includes some of the matching grants and sponsorship funds, along with donations from the seven in-person giving stations around McCook as well as online donations at biggivemccook.org. Big Give McCook again highlighted the generosity of the citizens and businesses of McCook and Southwest Nebraska.
While the final total will likely be less than last year, the same number of donors stepped up to show their support for the 23 local non-profit organizations during the 24 hours of giving.
“Over the past year, McCook has had a lot of fund-raising events and projects vying for community dollars,” Felker said, “but McCook and Southwest Nebraska showed with their donations to the Big Give that these organizations are important.”
“We’ve had tremendous support from the community,” Felker said. “And whatever the final total is, we consider the Big Give a success because we are creating a culture of giving in McCook.” Felker added, “Ultimately, the community benefits from having these successful organizations.”
The non-profits involved in the 2018 Big Give McCook included the Community Chest and its’ agencies: Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services, Ed Thomas YMCA, Family Resource Center, Live Y’ers, Prairie Plains CASA, Salvation Army and TeamMates Mentoring Program.
Other participating organizations were Community Hospital Health Foundation, Fox Theatre, Hillcrest Nursing Home Foundation, Maywood TeamMates Chapter, McCook Arts Council, McCook Art Guild, McCook Bison Booster Club, McCook Community Foundation Fund, McCook Educational Foundation, McCook Humane Society, McCook Legion Baseball Boosters, Overland Trails Council-Boy Scouts of America, 2019 Cattleman’s Ball, Southwest Nebraska Habitat for Humanity and St. Patrick’s School.
Totals for each organization, “power hour” recipients, along with information about their intended use of the funds, is available on the Big Give website., biggivemccook.org .
The one-day philanthropic event included seven in-person giving stations, which were Community Hospital, First Central Bank, Hillcrest Nursing Home, Horizon Bank, MNB Bank, Pinnacle Bank, and the YMCA.
Each of those giving stations also had a “power hour,” where the donations were randomly drawn to be matched 1:1 up to a $1,000 thanks to many generous business donors. There was even a surprise power hour later in the day as an extra incentive for donors.
Big Give McCook non-profits will also receive bonus funds - up to $3,000 each - provided by sponsors including MNB Bank, The Graff Charitable Foundation, and Great Western Bank.
Community Chest is a a sub-account of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, which is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation. MCFF provided the initial grant to develop and maintain the Big Give McCook website.
With a busy 2018 Big Give McCook officially over, the Community Chest committee will spend the next few weeks finalizing totals for all the organizations involved. The committee is very grateful for all the generosity of McCook and the surrounding area and will soon turn its attention to the 2019 Big Give McCook.
