Community Foundation to hold new event

WASHINGTON — The Community Foundation of Washington County plans to hold a new fundraising event Sept. 8, offering food, a cash bar and live music for guests asked to bring $100 each, benefiting a pair of local nonprofits.

It’s a new approach for the group that typically distributes annual batches of grants and scholarships to a variety of community organizations and individuals. The upcoming event, titled “100 for the kids” takes a different tack: attendees are asked to make a donation at the door — ideally $100 — and funds will be split between beneficiaries at the end of the night.

Community Foundation Executive Director Millie Youngquist called the model a “giving circle,” saying the Monday-night event would offer people an approachable way to donate to a cause with one-time contributions. It’s a far cry from the collections of grants and five-digit endowment funds that cover annual community foundation giving.

“Our idea is to bring 100 people together, and if each of them give $100, we will have $10,000 to distribute between these two organizations,” she said. “$100 is a chunk of change, but for many people, they’re in a position to support important causes like this … and a smaller donation can make a big difference, especially with the multiplying effect of many people doing the same thing.”

The money will support Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Creative Sprouts, two local nonprofits that build beds for children and support child care operations, respectively.

Youngquist said representatives from those nonprofits were on the community foundation’s board, making them perfect test subjects for the first crack at a new fundraising model.

If the event goes well, she said the foundation may hold similar ones in the future.

“It might be something we repeat supporting different causes,” she said. “These funds will go right to work, nothing is coming back to the community foundation.”

One-hundred For The Kids will be held at KC Hall Monday, Sept. 8 from 5-7 p.m., according to a flyer from the community foundation. Organizers said they’d accept the recommended $100 door donation in the form of a check, cash or Venmo transaction.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com