Author: ckcfadmin
Newton Area Women of the Year
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The Newton Area Women of the Year board hosts 2020-2021 Newton Reception
Sky’s the Limit – Online Auction Date Announced
Building Stronger Communities Through Charitable Giving is the mission of Central Kansas Community Foundation, host to 19 affiliate foundations within our service region. Our Board of Directors and staff along with our generous donorship are dedicated to serving our communities for needs today and tomorrow.
The possibilities for our communities are boundless!
We believe possibilities are limitless when we come together.
The Sky’s the Limit!
Please join us in marking your calendars for our Sky’s the Limit: CKCF’s Online Charity Auction. We are so excited to offer a vast array of desirable items up for bid in order to secure the funds needed for CKCF to continue Building Stronger Communities for and with all of their affiliates.
WHEN: July 21-27
WHERE: Online (We will announce when the link has been released)
SAVE THE DATE!
North Newton Community Foundation Honors Founding Member
Jim Goering, founding member of the North Newton Community Foundation, retires.
I am honored by your request for some reflections from me on the NNCF.
The NNCF had its origins in discussions in the office of John Torline, then North Newton City Administrator, during the summer of 2011. It was noted that several surrounding communities–Hesston, Hillsboro, Hutchinson and others, had created community foundations with seemingly positive experiences! John, based on his extensive experience with the Central Kansas Community Foundation (CKCF) emphasized the flexibility of the CF concept to accommodate diverse philanthropic interests of community members. The NNCF was legally established on December 11, 2011 and I became Board Chair shortly thereafter.
The first donation to the NNCF was a very thought and exceedingly generous gift in 2011 of $5,000 from Sher Klaassen Neufeld, then the North Newton City Clerk and now deceased. That donation was the financial base of the Sher Klassen Neufeld Endowment, now with a value in excess of $25,000!
The mission statement of the NNCF emerged from thoughtful deliberation by the first Board of Directors; It stated The NNCF supports efforts that enhance community well being through the expansion of educational opportunities, cultural enrichment and the improvement of human health and the physical environment!
Our first Board was also strongly influenced by the thinking of Andrew Carnegie, creator of the world’s largest foundation which bears his name, who noted that a foundation should have the goal of “…doing real and permanent good in the world” and that it should “…create ladders on which the aspiring can rise”!
My own thinking about my role as Board Chair derived from several sources, including one from the Good Book, viz. Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much will be required”! That bit of wisdom describes to a considerable degree my circumstances: I was given an opportunity to get a good education– from grade school through a PhD! I had a profoundly thoughtful father who once remarked to me, “Jim, I hope one of your objectives in life is to leave this world a bit better than when you found it!”
Over time I have been attracted to several quotes of wisdom, from the Good Book and elsewhere, which provided useful guideposts along life’s way! There was a quote from Helen Keller that true happiness in life does not result from the abundance of one’s material possessions; but rather, the extent to which one uses those blessings to assist those less fortunate. The words of Andrew Carnegie continue to resonate strongly, viz. “A foundation should do those things which are of real and permanent good and which create ladders on which the aspiring can rise!” Those are certainly worthy future guidelines for the NNCF!
In closing, permit me to share two more “wisdom phrases” that come out of the experiences Shirley and I have had in teaching English in Southeast Asia during the partial summers of 16 years! The first relates to our teaching in Vientiane, Laos in the summer of 2015. On this occasion I was saying good-bye on the last day of class of Laotian university students. It was a bittersweet occasion for me because I almost certainly would never see these courteous and committed students again! In these circumstances I was seeking some final words of guidance and encouragement, The phrase which came to mind, and which I shared with them, was, “The greatest fear of life should not be fear of failure; but, rather, of succeeding at things that don’t really matter!”
Now I fast forward to the summer of 2017. Shirley and I were teaching English to middle school teachers in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, in the far northeast of Asia. (A report of that summer’s experiences is attached.) During that unforgettable 5-week period of teaching the “aspiring teachers of the grasslands” we were housed in the temporarily vacant apartment of an American missionary on home leave!
Taped on the refrigerator door of the apartment, along with numerous Bible verses, was the quote of great profundity to me and perhaps others: “The purpose of life is not to arrive at one’s grave in a perfectly-preserved body! Rather, it is to slide in sideways, totally exhausted, and shout, “Holy Cow! What a ride!’ What a wonderful philosophy to guide us in our sunset years!
The North Newton Community Foundation will remain in my mind, my prayers and my plans! Thanks again for this privilege of sharing a meaningful segment of my professional career,
With admiration and respect,
Jim Goering“In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action!” -Dag Hammarskjold, UN Secretary General; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Foundation Director in the News
Bridgeman ta
kes on dual role leading Halstead, Hesston community foundations
By Jared Janzen
HESSTON—Ashley Bridgeman says she’s found her dream job now that she’s the new director of both the Halstead Community Foundation and the Hesston Community Foundation. The Hesston resident took on the joint role March 22.
“This is the position that I told myself, if it ever came available, that is the job I really want,” she said. “I want to build relationships with people in these communities. I want to make a difference right where we live and I can’t think of a better way or a better cause than through the community foundation because of the lasting impact.”
She noted that the decisions and programs started now have the potential to impact Halstead and Hesston forever.
It’s felt like a natural transition for her, so far, she said, and she’s been hitting the ground running in her new roles.
“I have quite a bit of foundation experience, so there wasn’t as much of a learning curve there to just jump in and get started,” she said.
In 2009, Bridgeman served as administrative assistant for the Central Kansas Community Foundation—the umbrella organization for the Halstead and Hesston foundations—when it had $6 million in assets. During her time there, under the direction of Sandra Fruit, the foundation grew to $18 million.
Bridgeman spent a few years away from CKCF after moving away from the area, but then upon returning to Newton, she became the marketing director for CKCF for the past six years. She said she’s still offering her marketing services to CKCF on a limited basis, but is focusing primarily on her new responsibilities in Halstead and Hesston.
She’s offered her marketing services to CKCF through her marketing business, Bridgeman Group LLC Creative Communications. She’s been doing this off and on for about nine years, but only made it an official LLC in 2018. She believes this experience will help her communicate past the roadblock of helping people understand what a community foundation is, so they’ll be encouraged to give.
“I have a lot of messaging tactics in my back pocket to educate folks and also bring them into our giving family,” she said. “Not only that, but just being in community foundations gives me a huge advantage when it comes to raising money and making our communities stronger.”
She and her husband Jeremy have lived in either Hesston or Newton for most of their married life. They’ve been in Hesston since March 2020. They have three children, a son who’s almost 12, a daughter who’s almost 10 and a son who just turned 8.
“I love the small-town feel,” she said. “There are so many people that are willing to jump in and make this community a great place to live. For the foundation to be a part of that and to be in this role, we have such an opportunity to really make some of the dreams of these small towns come true.”
She noted she’s familiar with the Halstead community, due to its close proximity to Hesston and Newton, and she looks forward to getting to know it more intimately.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunity to get to know more people, to find opportunities in the community to partner and really make a difference,” Bridgeman said.
Marci Carr, chair of the Halstead Community Foundation board, said she thought Bridgeman could help them with their main goals of growing funds to give back to the community in a larger capacity and telling their story, so patrons understand what the foundation does within the community and will be more apt to donate.
“Ashley’s skillset and eagerness to serve a non-profit will assist us in achieving these goals,” Carr said. “We unanimously voted to make her part of our team and are excited and eager to begin working with Ashley.”
Rick Toews, chair of the Hesston Community Foundation board, noted that Bridgeman is a good fit for the director position in Hesston because of her familiarity with CKCF and marketing.
“Ashley is also very personable, relates well to everyone and makes people feel comfortable,” he said. “Since Ashley lives in Hesston, she is familiar with the community. I have worked with Ashley before on other projects and really appreciate her vision and knowledge.”
Carr and Toews explained that the joint position had come about since both foundations had found themselves in need of a new director at the same time.
“Since each position is part-time, there was discussion of combining the roles in order to attract applicants that found additional hours more appealing,” Carr said.
“I would think that having one director for both communities would have a cost-savings for both foundations because there is one phone, one computer, one printer, etc.,” Toews added.
Both foundations made the decision to hire Bridgeman, individually.
“This is an unprecedented position,” Bridgeman said. “This is the first time there’s ever been a regional director and so I’m curious to see how it works out. But so far, it hasn’t been a challenge.”
The position is 20 hours a week, but not necessarily split evenly between towns. She noted she’d balance her time between towns based on which foundation has more going on at a given time. She also believes she’ll be able to replicate some of her efforts between the two foundations.
“Halstead and Hesston are very, very similar and I think what would work in one has a high possibility of success of working in the other,” she said. “So, that’ll be neat to see how we can co-op some of these efforts between the two communities.”
Several ideas are in the works already for the foundations. Halstead is planning a charcuterie box fundraiser on May 5, with more information coming soon. Also, in her conversations with outgoing Hesston director Shana Smith, she said some ideas have been discussed that excite her.
Bridgeman added she looks forward to getting to know everyone in Hesston and Halstead and working for them through the community foundations.
Article posted with permission from the author.
Foundations in the Spotlight
Menocause: Ignite Valley Center Fund issued $23,250 in grants to 10 various community projects in Valley Center!
Hillsboro Community Foundation issued $25,400 in grants to 15 various community projects in Hillsboro!
Remington USD 206 was awarded a grant of $75,873.74 to support the Remington Wellness Center!
Keep 5 in Kansas
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Foundation is Hiring
Please see our Job Opening page for details about current openings. Click Here
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PE Department Gets Grant for Monitors
The Sunset Elementary & Northridge Elementary Physical Education Department has received a $2300.00 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation-Newton Fund, funded through the Central Kansas Community Foundation. The funds will be used for individual heart rate monitors for students to use in physical education.
The PE department had previously hosted two events and received grants to assist in their efforts to raise the funds needed to purchase the monitors. With the $7242.85 raised, roughly 250 students will benefit from the use of the heart rate monitors each year, while learning the importance of maintaining a health active lifestyle.
The heart rate monitor is a web based tracking and measurement system that uses a heart rate monitor that students will wear during PE class to help them better understand their own health. The student’s daily effort will be recorded, stored over time, and used to analyze the effectiveness of the activities. The data can also be delivered to both teacher and student as soon as class ends. The software provided will allow the teacher to track and correlate physical activity to academic performance and classroom behavior, develop student portfolios from K-12, document Fitnessgram results and attendance, and email daily heart rate activity directly to students and parent’s smart phones. With the purchase of the heart rate monitors, the district will own twenty-eight individual wrist heart rate monitors, a charging station, a classroom reader (transfer data device), and a three-year software license.
Jen Vogts, a committee member of the Central Kansas Community Foundation said it best. “We are excited to see your vision become a reality to incorporate heart rate monitors and the tracking software in PE classes!” This is truly a vision that our schools and community have rallied together to make this a reality for our students. With countless hours of planning, reaching out to the community, and writing on the part of PE staff, district students will now have to opportunity to start monitoring their heart rate throughout each physical education class.
Newton Schools PE Teacher, Mario Nava receives a check from Angie Tatro with the Central Kansas Community Foundation that will be used to purchase heart rate monitors for PE students in the district.
A Bequest to Further Good Work
Nancy and David were dedicated volunteers. Over the years, they had seen many individuals helped by the good work of their favorite charity. They wanted to create a legacy to provide future resources to continue its mission.
David: The work of our favorite charity was important to us. We regularly made cash gifts but wanted to do more. We received the charity’s newsletter and noted that we could make a gift from our estate and join the legacy society. We saw a picture of smiling people just like us, and we wanted to be part of that group.
Nancy: We met with our lawyer to revise our wills, and we each included a provision for a bequest to charity. Our lawyer put language in the will that allows a percentage of our estate to go to our favorite charity. This was easy to arrange and permits us to still use our assets during our lives if we need them.
David: We told their gift planner about our decision and were excited when we were invited to a special event honoring us. We will continue to make gifts during our lives, but it feels good to know that our support will help in the future.
Is a bequest right for you?
We have resources that will help you learn more about bequests. Click here to review sample bequest language. You will see how easy it is to include a bequest in your will or trust.
You might find it helpful to print this page and the bequest language. Please feel free to give this information to your attorney. If he or she has any questions, please contact us.