ECF Announces Nurnberg's Retirement
The Emporia Community Foundation (ECF) Board of Directors accepted a letter of retirement from Becky Nurnberg, Executive Director, effective the end of March 2024. Nurnberg has been Executive Director since 2017.
Originally growing up on a dairy farm in Michigan, Nurnberg was living in Illinois when she had a chance meeting with Kay Lauer at the Symphony in the Flint Hills in 2015. During their conversation, Lauer learned that Nurnberg was interested in moving to the Emporia area. Lauer told her about the ECF and said when the ECF reached $20 million total in assets, the Board was going to hire a full-time Executive Director. Lauer was on the ECF Board and stated that while she couldn’t do the hiring, she would tell Nurnberg when to submit a resume. They kept in contact and in the fall of 2016, the ECF reached $20 million in assets. Lauer contacted her and Nurnberg followed up with her resume, starting as ECF Executive Director in September 2017.
Nurnberg’s work experience was in non-profit management and commission sales prior to moving to Kansas. She was the first woman Regional Representative for the Michigan Farm Bureau and one of the first four in the United States. She worked her way up to Local Affairs Manager, representing agriculture in local issues throughout Michigan. While in this position, she was appointed by two different Governors to represent ag interests on four different commissions. She also produced and hosted a television show during this time promoting agriculture on an NBC affiliate for 7 years. She left the organization to become an award-winning Farm Bureau Insurance agent, specializing in farm policies and advocating estate planning. In 2001, she moved to Springfield, Illinois where she was first the Executive Director of the Hispanic Dental Association, then recruited as a Senior Account Executive for the Sinclair Broadcast Group. From the time she was a little girl, she’s loved horses. Over the years, she has shown horses in the National Reining Horse Association and Ranch Riding competition and still does today.
With Nurnberg at the reins, the ECF has doubled in size in six short years. In 2017, the ECF was comprised of 187 individual funds; 94 area students received scholarships; $1,040,000 in grants were awarded; Match Day had $50,000 in matching funds paying out $179,875 to 24 organizations; and assets totaled just over $20 million. Last year the ECF gave 183 area students scholarships; over $4.2 million was paid out in grants; there are now over 350 individual funds; and matching funds for Match Day were $70,000, giving over $501,000 to local organizations. This year, Match Day is celebrating ten years with 35 organizations vying for $175,000 in matching funds. As of the end of August 2023, total assets held by the ECF were over $39.1 million.
Nurnberg believes her background with non-profits and commission sales gave her the skills and knowledge to fill the Executive Director position. She organized volunteers and led programs giving her an understanding of how strong local organizations can benefit a community. Her experience with estate planning both with the Farm Bureau organization and as an insurance agent provided the knowledge needed to develop a successful Flint Hills Legacy program and the Flint Hills Legacies radio stories on KVOE. She brought her marketing expertise to create promotional materials and educate the community about the benefits of the ECF. And, in 2020 when large gatherings were discouraged due to COVID, her television background was used in shooting videos for participating Match Day organizations, which are a highlight every year. Nurnberg’s rural roots run deep giving her a strong base to assist schools, organizations, and individuals in the greater Emporia area.
Nurnberg is quick to point out the gains made by the ECF could not have been made without the strong leadership of the Board of Directors and Trustees. She’s worked with countless volunteer leaders over the years and truly appreciates the direction given by ECF leaders yet allowing her to step forward and try new ideas and projects. The ECF leadership also holds her accountable to reach goals and keep the foundation moving forward. She is also quick to point out that she has had a strong partner in Loni Heinen, ECF Financial Officer. Nurnberg laughs saying Loni is responsible for crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s and she says, “Let’s try this!” The biggest challenge has been staffing the ECF when competing against benefits such as KPERS and free tuition from other local employers. This has led to long hours for both Nurnberg and Heinen, but they are a strong team as evidenced by the growth of the foundation.
The ECF Search Committee will accept resumes during the month of November. Those interested in applying should submit their resume to ECF Search Committee, P.O. Box 1084, Emporia, KS 66801 or ecfsearch@emporiacf.org. Plans are to review resumes, interview the first part of 2024 and have hiring complete so the next Executive Director can hit the ground running the first part of April.
For Nurnberg, her retirement is bittersweet as she truly loves her work and is quick to say being the ECF Executive Director is the most fulfilling position she’s ever held. Her philosophy is love what you do, and you never work a day in your life. However, she’s really looking forward to being a full-time farm/ranch wife and being more active on the operation with her husband Dan, his son and his partner. Dan says he’s looking forward to more “field meals”, running for parts with his wife and more traveling when his wife retires. Nurnberg believes in giving back to your community, so she won’t completely disappear from the grid.
