MCFF's History of Donors

Donors are the heart of the McCook Community Foundation Fund (MCFF), playing a vital role in building a stronger, more vibrant McCook.

Through their generous contributions over the past two decades, MCFF is able to provide grants, scholarships, and support for local projects that enrich the quality of life in the community. Donors help MCFF support everything from youth development and education to arts, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Every gift, whether large or small, creates positive change in McCook and Southwest Nebraska.

Contributions have grown the unrestricted endowment, allowing the fund to respond to evolving community needs with flexibility and vision. Because of donor generosity, MCFF has supported transformational projects like the Southwest Nebraska Big Give, the YMCA capital campaign and Bison Days.

As the community and the Fund Advisory Committee evolves and continues to change, MCFF has gathered the stories directly from just a few of the donors or from those who remember them fondly. Hopefully this will help all of us remember where we came from as move forward to make McCook an even better place to call home.


Sehnert Challenge

In 2018, Susan Sehnert Stuart challenged the McCook Community to raise $200,000 with a $100,00 matching grant in honor of her parents, Walt and Jean Sehnert, and the arts and culture in her hometown. The support came so fast, that she provided another $100,000 match. Ultimately, $600,000 was raised for the Sehnert Challenge to support and fund the arts in McCook and Southwest Nebraska.