A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News January 20, 2005 - Barker Mead Fund meets its goal: $1 million in new gifts and pledges directed to local nonprofit endowment funds at Community Foundation of South Wood County Wisconsin Rapids, WI . . . Community Foundation of South Wood County (CFSWC) has announced that the Barker Mead Fund’s matching gift challenge has been met. As of December 31, 2004, over $500,000 had been given or pledged to local nonprofit endowment funds at the Community Foundation, and the Barker Mead Fund will match $500,000. Combined, a total of $1 million has been raised or pledged since August 4, 2004, for 33 different endowment funds at CFSWC. Twenty-nine organizations or programs receive support from the 33 funds. The following charitable organizations and programs, with endowment funds administered by CFSWC, will benefit from recent gifts and pledges plus the Barker Mead Fund’s dollar-for-dollar matching contributions: Arts Council of South Wood County Assumption High School Foundation Boy Scouts of America - Samoset Council Boys and Girls Club of the Wisconsin Rapids Area Building Blocks Learning Center, Inc. Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra Child Care Resource and Referral, Inc. Community Christian Academy Family Center, Inc. First English Lutheran Church Nekoosa United Church of Christ Girl Scouts of Woodland Council John E Alexander South Wood County YMCA Lester Library of Rome Lincoln High School Activities Fund Lowell Senior Center Mid-State Technical College Foundation Nekoosa High School Athletics Fund Opportunity Development Centers, Inc. (ODC) Park Place Adult Day Services Port Edwards Education Foundation Rapids Area Soccer, Inc. Riverview Health Care Foundation South Wood County Humane Society United Way of South Wood County, Inc. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater, Inc. Wisconsin Rapids Optimist Club Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools Endowment Fund Wisconsin Rapids Zoo- special exhibits fund The matching gift opportunity was announced in August 2004 at CFSWC’s tenth annual meeting by Ruth Barker of Scottsdale, AZ. At the time of the announcement, she said, “Given our involvement with many nonprofit organizations, we recognize the need to build sustainable funds that will help an organization through good times and bad. We also recognize that endowment funds are difficult to create when annual operating expenses are those most critical to keeping services available in a community. We hope you will take advantage of this offer. We do this with love. This is where Gilbert, Hartley, and I grew up. I’ve lived in Appleton for 19 years and Arizona for over 30 years – but the Wisconsin Rapids area is my ‘Heart Home.’ ” Now, with the matching challenge met in less than five months, Ruth said, “Hartley and I could not be happier! Endowment building is fundamental to long-term sustainability of nonprofits, and we are happy to double the recent donations with matching dollars from the Barker Mead Fund through Community Foundation of South Wood County.” Gilbert Mead of Washington, D.C., who established the Barker Mead Fund with his cousin Ruth Barker, is also a former resident of Wisconsin Rapids. Upon hearing the news that $500,000 had been raised for endowment funds in South Wood County, he said, “This is wonderful! We have seen a remarkable response to the goals of the Community Progress Initiative, including great interest in strengthening local services in health and human services, arts and culture, and education. We thank everyone who has donated. You are providing a valuable resource for ongoing and future community development, and we are proud to match your support.” “This is an achievement the entire community can celebrate,” said Kelly Lucas, President/CEO of the Community Foundation. “We live in a generous community that cares about its citizens, and we are very thankful for this support of endowment funds. When we announced our new campaign, Plant the Seed – Endow Your Community, we anticipated that the Barker Mead Match might take fifteen months to complete. The interest and generosity of donors has been tremendous. Individuals have met the challenge with donations as small as $1 and as large as $10,000. This helps validate that anyone can help plant the seed for a strong community and a strong future with a gift of any size.” One example that Lucas cited was a gift to the ODC Endowment Fund from Lincoln High School teacher, Mari Peterson. “Mari won $500 from a local fundraising event and instead of keeping it, she wanted to donate the money to an organization that helps people with disabilities. Her donation of $500 was matched by the Barker Mead Fund which created a total gift of $1,000 for ODC’s endowment fund. Mari chose to use her winnings as a gift to charity; that’s what we call a real win-win for the community!” Community Foundation of South Wood County, established in 1994, is dedicated to building charitable endowments, providing grants, and serving as a catalyst to strengthen the South Wood County and town of Rome communities – for good, forever. In fiscal year 2004, CFSWC reported assets under administration of $18 million and grants to local nonprofits of over $2.5 million, and the organization created the Community Progress Initiative with Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance. The Progress Initiative is a bold three-year program to create an innovative and entrepreneurial local culture to produce new job growth, build community wealth and endowed assets, and create a vibrant economy. For additional information about CFSWC, visit www.cfswc.org or call 715/423-3863. For additional information about the Community Progress Initiative, visit www.progressinitiative.com. Results/Fact Sheet Barker Mead Fund Matching Gifts Campaign for Nonprofit Agencies Summary - January 19, 2005 33 nonprofit organization funds now have $1 million in endowed gifts at Community Foundation of South Wood County. 17 are new funds, representing $310,883, and 16 are existing funds, representing $189,117 before being matched. Each dollar will double with Barker Mead Fund support and creates a total of $1,000,000 in new endowment dollars. 4 of the nonprofit funds represent arts and culture. 7 of the nonprofit funds represent education. 22 represent health and human services. 270 gifts were received as of January 15, 2005, with the average gift size $1,631, a median gift size of $30, the smallest gift size of $1, and the most frequent gift size of $25.
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