Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Jan Sears, left, president of the Kimball Area Foundation, presents a $500 grant to Susie Abramson with the Kimball Concert Association during Friday night's annual benefit dinner and auction.
Jan Sears, left, president of the Kimball Area Foundation, presents a $500 grant to Norma Szobody with the Village of Bushnell during Friday's event. The money will go toward street and traffic signs.
Local musician Jake McIntosh, left provided the entertainment for Friday's event, with the help of Wilson Bowling, right, the Director of Economic Development for the City of Kimball.
The evening also included both a live and silent auction, which raised funds for the foundation. Complete totals were not available as of Tuesday afternoon. Jan Sears, Kimball Area Foundation president, said she appreciated everyone who bid on items and those who donated them.
The Kimball Area Foundation is looking for a big project that it can sink its teeth into, said President Jan Sears. Friday's annual benefit dinner and auction will contribute to that goal.
Although final totals for funds raised were not available as of Tuesday, Sears said that Friday's event was a successful one.
"We feel it was a success," she said. "We've had several compliments since that day. People said they enjoyed it and it was very nice. It sounds like they want to do it again. The rest of the board, the couple I talked to after, said it was very nice."
Funds raised from Friday's event will be invested through the Nebraska Community Foundation, of which the Kimball Area Foundation is a member. The KAF uses interest from the funds it raises to distribute to area non-profit organizations. Sears said the KAF usually budgets to spend between $2,400 and $3,000 per year.
Two organizations received grants Friday night. The Kimball Concert Association and the Village of Bushnell each received $500. The Village of Bushnell applied to help replace its street and stop signs, which must be replaced to comply with federal laws.
Sears said that any non-profit group that wishes to apply for a grant must do so for a project that benefits a substantial number of people. Grants must also fit one of four areas: economic development, youth engagement strategies and programs to attract young families, leadership skills development for existing and future local leaders, and donor education efforts to create awareness of the need for additional contributions.
One area where the foundation would like to see an increased amount of grants is in leadership development, Sears said.
"What we'd like to start doing is leadership development, things like entrepreneurial stuff," she said. "We need a big project."
Sears encouraged anyone with such a project to apply for a KAF grant if it qualifies for the guidelines. She said the only two organizations to apply for a grant this year were the Village of Bushnell and the Kimball Concert Association. Since the organization's fiscal year runs from June to June, Sears added that there is still plenty of time to apply.
Anyone who wishes to donate or get involved with the foundation may contact Sears at the Kimball Public Library at 308-235-4523. She also encourages any non-profit organization to apply for a grant.