As of Thursday afternoon, Giving Tuesday donations collected through the Golden Belt Community Foundation included 1,041 gifts totaling $152,595 for the 93 participating nonprofit entities.
“Giving Tuesday is a magical day of generosity for our four-county service area and beyond,” said GBCF Executive Director Christy Tustin. “The Golden Belt Community Foundation and area nonprofit partners bring hundreds of donors from every community together for a single day of fundraising.”
The campaign was open to nonprofit groups in Barton, Pawnee, Rush and Stafford counties. Giving Tuesday donors could choose where they wanted their gifts to go.
Tustin said the contributions are still being tallied. The final results will be announced during a live virtual Great Bend Chamber of Commerce coffee at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, on the chamber’s Facebook page.
“There is a lot of need out there,” she said. This year, due to COVID-19, many of the organizations had to cancel their main fundraisers, making Giving Tuesday even more important.
They weren’t sure what to expect, but “Giving Tuesday has been a huge success and will provide many donations to organizations right here where we call home,” Tustin said. “Thank you for supporting our communities by making a gift through the Golden Belt Community Foundation.”
Donations were accepted online, by mail or in person at the foundation office from Nov. 1 through Tuesday. There were also drive-through “stay safe” drop-offs on Giving Tuesday at a variety of locations.
There was also $10,000 in matching funds awarded in proportion to the total amount raised during the entire month of November, Tustin said. For example, if Fund A raises 10% of all gifts received, then Fund A receives 10% of the matching funds pool. Organizations that have endowment funds with GBCF are eligible to receive matching funds.
In addition to the matching money, all participating organizations are eligible for the additional cash incentive prizes awarded throughout the Giving Tuesday campaign through online drawings.
Giving Tuesday, or #GivingTuesday, refers to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It is a movement to create an international day of giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season (Black Friday and Cyber Monday).
The GBCF office is located at 1307 Williams St., Great Bend. To learn more about this year’s Giving Tuesday, visit the foundation website at www.goldenbeltcf.org. For additional questions contact Mackenzie Mitchell, development and communications coordinator, at 620-792-3000 or mackenzie@goldenbeltcf.org.
Golden Belt Gives 2020 Giving Tuesday participants:
• Almost Home Inc. of Great Bend
• Arts and Culture Endowment of Great Bend
• Barnard Library of LaCrosse
• Barton County 4-H Cottonwood Extension
• Barton County Emergency Aid Endowment
• Barton County Endowment of Great Bend
• Barton County Fair Association
• Barton County Historical Society
• Barton County Master Gardeners Cottonwood Extension
• Barton County Pool Endowment
• Birthright of Great Bend
• Bison Community Library
• Cancer Patient Care and Support Endowment
• Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas
• Center for Counseling and Consultation Endowment
• Central Kansas CASA Inc.
• Central Kansas Christian Academy of Great Bend
• Central Kansas Dream Center Inc. of Great Bend
• Child Abuse Prevention Organization (CAPE)
• City of Hoisington Quality of Life Endowment
• City of Larned Community Center Endowment
• City of Larned EMS Endowment
• City of Larned Youth Program Endowment
• Clara Barton Hospital Foundation
• Community Food Bank of Barton County
• ElderCare Inc.
• Ellinwood Heritage Center
• Ellinwood Hospital Foundation
• Ellinwood Public Education and Library Foundation
• Family Crisis Center Inc.
• First Christian Church Endowment of Great Bend
• Forever Rozel and Burdett Endowment
• Forever Rush County Endowment
• Fort Larned Foundation for Education Endowment
• Friends of Cheyenne Bottoms/Kansas Wildscapes
• Golden Belt Community Concert Association Endowment
• Golden Belt Humane Society
• GPS Kids Club of Hoisington
• Great Bend Beautification Endowment
• Great Bend Children’s Learning Center
• Great Bend Community Theatre
• Great Bend Public Library
• Great Bend Zoological Society
• Habitat for Humanity of Barton County
• Heartland Center for Spirituality of Great Bend
• Heartland Farm - Dominican Sisters of Peace of Rural Pawnee Rock
• Holy Family School Endowment
• Hope Lutheran Church of Rush Center
• Housing Opportunities Inc. of Great Bend
• Hudson Community Improvement Endowment
• Kans for Kids Fighting Cancer Foundation
• Kansas Barbed Wire Collectors Association Endowment
• Kansas Children’s Service League - Healthy Families of Great Bend
• Kansas Oil and Gas Museum Foundation
• Kansas Wetlands Education Center/Fort Hays State University
• KyMel Inc. (Camp Hope)
• Larned State Hospital Endowment Association
• Lasting Life Ministries Inc. Endowment
• Leadership Golden Belt Endowment
• Live Like Jesus Today Ministries of Ellinwood
• Locust Grove Village Endowment of LaCrosse
• Macksville Christian Church Food Bank
• Macksville City Library
• McCracken Public Library
• Meals On Wheels of Barton County
• Otis Community Library
• Oxford House - Great Bend/Friends of Recovery Association
• Pawnee County Endowment
• Pawnee County Extension - Summer Food Buddies
• Pawnee County Health Department
• Pawnee County Humane Society Inc.
• Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Foundation
• Pilot Club of Great Bend
• Prairie Godmother Fund of Great Bend
• Prince of Peace Catholic Church Endowment of Great Bend
• Rozel Pride Inc.
• RSVP and Volunteers In Action of Central Kansas of Great Bend
• Rush County Historical Society Inc. Endowment
• Rush County Memorial Hospital Foundation Endowment
• St. Joseph Catholic School of Ellinwood
• Stafford County Historical and Genealogical Society
• Stafford Community Improvement Endowment of Stafford
• Stafford County 4-H Council Endowment
• Stafford County Endowment
• Stafford County Health Care Foundation
• Sunflower Diversified Services Incredible Years Preschool Endowment of Great Bend
• Sunflower Diversified Services Inc. of Great Bend
• The Salvation Army of Great Bend
• Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church UAC Endowment of Great Bend
• United Way Central Kansas of Great Bend
• USD 428 Education Foundation of Great Bend
• Welcome Inn Leisure Center of Larned
