McCOOK, Neb. — The Southwest Nebraska non-profit organizations came together on Nov. 6 to make the Southwest Nebraska Big Give one-day of giving the most successful in its 10 year history. 

And individuals and businesses also showed their support for 2025 Big Give and the groups that make McCook and all of Southwest Nebraska thrive. 

With all that enthusiasm behind them, the Big Give reached new records in nearly every category. 

As of Friday morning, the total is just under $290,000. When additional individual donations and sponsorship dollars are added, the total will likely reach $370,000. In 2024, the Big Give raised $335,000. 

Perhaps an even bigger item to note is the number of donors. For the first time in the 10-year history, the number of individual donations passed the 1,000 mark, increasing from 954 last year to at least 1,048 in 2025. 

All of those numbers will likely increase over the next week as mail-in donations arrive or a few stragglers arrive at Big Give headquarters at MNB Bank with a late donation. 

Lisa Felker, co-chair of Community Chest which oversees and organizes the Southwest Nebraska Big Give, said she was really impressed how the 45 non-profits really increased their participation and enthusiasm for the event.

“The organizations worked really hard this year to get the word out about their group, as well as the Big Give,” Felker said, “and it showed leading up Nov. 6 as well as on the day.”

In McCook, 16 organizations provided a soup for a dinner at McCook Christian Church, which also served as a drive-up in-person giving station. While the groups were vying for an extra $100 toward their Big Give total, it was also an opportunity to share information about their group along with just enjoying a meal with friends and neighbors. Fr. Kimmenau’s chili for St. Pat’s took first place, with the YMCA’s dill pickle soup a close second.

Stratton provided their own soup supper to encourage giving while Indianola grilled up hamburgers to create a festive atmosphere.

“All the groups pulled together to make this year a tremendous success,” Felker said. 

She added that the Big Give was made possible because of the volunteer committee, which gathers sponsorship dollars, coordinates the website and organizes the promotion of the one-day of giving. 

The social media team of Tricia Wagner and Amy Stritt at Community Hospital and Stacee Smock at MNB worked with nearly all the organizations to develop posts and information to make them more successful leading up to the Big Give and on the big day. 

Other members of the Community Chest committee are co-chair Melissa Stritt, who finds joy in spreadsheets and entering the donation data all day along with Felker; Gene Weedin, JoHanna Scott, Mark Searcy, Pam Wolford, Ronda Graff and Linda Koetter.

A complete list of the organizations and their totals raised during the Big Give can be found on the Big Give website, swnebiggive.org.

The Southwest Nebraska Big Give continues to grow each year because of many people, businesses and organizations coming together to make it happen. These include the sponsors, which provide the matching funds to make individual donations even more impactful. Those sponsorship dollars are used to provide the matching funds during the power hours throughout the day. Organizations also receive matching funds at the end based on the total dollars raised throughout the day, up to an amount based on the sponsor dollars raised throughout the year.

The 2025 platinum sponsors include the Graff Charitable Foundation and MNB Bank. 

Gold sponsors are Community Hospital and First Interstate Bank.

Silver and bronze sponsors include First Central Bank, First State Bank & Insurance, MNB Insurance, Pinnacle Bank, Waypoint Bank Cambridge, Golden Plains Realty, U-Save Pharmacy, Joyce Anderson, CPA and State Farm Insurance - Linda Maiden.

Friendship sponsors included High Plains Radio, Hometown Agency, Hometown Family Radio, McCook Gazette, W Design Associates, Hoppens & Meier Orthodontics, Samway Floor Covering & Furniture, Casey’s, Ace Hardware, JA Automotive and Repair, Stratton Auto Parts, Richardson Industries, and Farmer’s Coop Grain and Supply - Trenton.

Community Chest organizers will spend the new week wrapping up the 2025 Big Give before taking off a few months before preparation begins on 2026 Big Give on Nov. 5.

The McCook Community Chest is a sub-account of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, an affiliate of the Nebraska Community Foundation.