Golden Belt Community Foundation just completed its 10th Giving Tuesday campaign, wrapping up and announcing the results during a Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Coffee Thursday morning.
Giving Tuesday started as a day for anyone, anywhere to give, and it has grown into the biggest giving movement in the world. Giving Tuesday harnesses the generosity of millions of people around the world to support the causes they believe in and the communities in which they live.
Celebrated on the Tuesday following U.S. Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday inspires millions of people across the globe to show up and give back to causes and issues that matter to them.
This year, over 1,000 gifts were made to support 106 local charitable organizations and endowment funds, raising a total of $300,000. The foundation received a $70,000 matching grant from the Patterson Family Foundation. With the total dollars raised and the matching dollars, a grand total of $370,000 will be going straight to organizations or growing the organization’s endowment funds.
“This year marked GBCF’s 10th year to be a Giving Tuesday partner,” stated Mackenzie Mitchell, GBCF's development and communications coordinator, “and again this year we invited all charitable organizations in Barton, Pawnee, Rush, and Stafford counties to participate.”
Mitchell further explained there were four new organizations participating, and that each organization chose whether to get any gifts received as a grant back to their organization – or to use the gifts to build their endowment fund at GBCF. About half of the organizations will be receiving the gifts as grants to be put to immediate use supporting a wide variety of missions and causes.
The 2023 Top Ten Giving Tuesday organizations and funds raised are:
10- $6,620 Meals on Wheels
9 - $7,290 Family Crisis Center
8 - $7,340 Golden Belt Humane Society
7- $ 9,225 Holy Family
6 - $10,465 Community Food Bank of Barton County
5 - $12,000 United Way
4- $13,150 Sunflower Diversified Services
3 - $14,310 Prairie Godmothers
2- $34,760 Stafford County Economic Development
1 - $40,270 Prince of Peace
“Thank you for making this Giving Tuesday a 10 out of 10,” said Mitchell. “Giving Tuesday couldn’t happen without you.”
Year five for the Most Generous City Award, which was calculated with gift totals by zip code per capita. St. John received the 2023 Most Generous City award, and the foundation will make a grant of $1,000 for a program or project in that community.
In 2024 Giving Tuesday will be celebrated on Dec. 3.
For questions about Golden Belt Community Foundation or Giving Tuesday, please contact the foundation at gbcf@goldenbeltcf.org or (620) 792-3000.