By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As the year winds down, the Barton Community College Foundation is looking at a banner year. At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, the Foundation reported more than $13.9 million in assets, a 20% increase from the previous year. The Foundation was able to award over $1.18 million in enhancement grants to the college for projects and programs.
Barton Foundation Director Lindsey Bogner said along with donations and the clay shoot fundraiser, the Foundation collects funds during the employee giving month. Each November, Bogner and her staff speak to the college’s employees to accept donations.
"Our employees are amazing," said Bogner. "They support this program. They get to choose where they want those dollars to go. Over the month of November, our employees raised $13,955. There were 76 employees that donated and they supported 16 different funds."
The Foundation also awarded scholarships to 155 students, totaling more than $232,000.
Mike Johnson serves on the Barton Board of Trustees and also sits in on the Foundation’s Board to see the good work being done in the department.
"Lindsey has a great board," said Johnson. "They do a great job. The Foundation has always been run very well. Lyndsey has brought a new perspective to that group. I think she continues to do a great job for the Foundation on behalf of the college."
The Foundation awarded 20 mini-grants to faculty totaling nearly $25,000 this past fiscal year. The grants this year provided faculty with a variety of needs including novels for a new literature class, graphing calculators, digital cameras, CPR equipment and more.