Emporia Area Match Day Sets New Record

What does a half a million dollars look like?  If the smiles on the faces of the 2022 Match Day organizations after checks were presented on Tuesday are any indication, you need look no further.  The 2022 Match Day total was not only the largest to date, but the final tally was an astonishing $501,865.62!  This year’s increase of $46,151.66 was over 10% higher than the previous year.  Since the first Emporia Area Match Day in 2014, a total of $2,380,325.97 has been gifted to 48 area smaller nonprofits.

Organizations applied earlier in the year to the Emporia Community Foundation (ECF) and had to meet the requirements of being in Lyon County or one of the surrounding counties; have an operating budget of $175,000 or under; and for the first time, have a fund with the ECF.  Becky Nurnberg, ECF Executive Director, said, “Almost all of other Kansas community foundations with a Match Day event require an endowed fund to participate and the ECF fund for organizations could be non-endowed.  The ECF is audited annually and nationally accredited, so donors feel confident when sending money to the foundation.  Also, the ECF has experience in accepting gifts of assets for charities and this year Match Day donations ranged from RMDs to soybeans!”  Once selected by the Match Day Committee, the ECF staff worked with the participating groups on social media, videos, media interviews and other fundraising efforts until the big day on November 14th.          

The 2022 Match Day matching fund of $70,000 was also the largest to date. The ECF thanks the following matching donors: the Clint Bowyer 79 Fund; the Jane and Bernard Reeble Endowed Foundation; the Trusler Foundation; the Preston Family Charitable Fund; the WS & EC Jones Testamentary Trust, Bank of America, N.A. Trustee; Fred & Paula Neuer, Nick and Jan Laurent; plus, the two newest – the Emporia Masonic Lodge No. 12; and the ECF Fund for the Future.  In the past, the ECF hosted Match Day as it’s gift to the community, but the ECF Fund for the Future has grown to where the ECF Board voted to become one of the matching donors.     

The 2022 Match Day totals, including match money and additional prizes, are as follows:

• Arvonia Historic Preservation Society - $ 16,058.98
• The Baby Closet of Emporia, Kansas - $ 15,224.76
• Bloom House Youth Services - $ 5,770.83
• C4 Food Pantry (Chase County Care & Compassion, Inc.) - $ 20,402.93
• Camp Alexander - $ 19,893.39
• Chase County Historical Society and Museum – $ 15,267.62
• Emporia Area Habitat for Humanity – $ 28,711.59
• Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills – $ 5,645.59
• Emporia Eastside Community Group - $ 4,316.91
• Emporia First Friday Art Walk - $ 10,821.73
• Family Promise of the Flint Hills - $ 9,673.50
• Food for Students – $ 23,299.30
• Friends of the Emporia Public Library - $ 11,544.05
• Latimer Lutheran Church Preservation Society - $ 14,045.86
• Lyon County Crime Stoppers – $ 6,167.61
• Lyon County History Center - $ 22,368.85
• Main Street Mommas - $ 17,647.54
• Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards, Inc. - $ 23,216.63
• NLC Youth Association – $ 18,506.03
• Olpe Downhome - $ 5,427.72
• Pioneer Bluffs – $ 51,978.05
• Project Playscape - $ 14,459.35
• Red Rocks - William Allen White Community Partnership - $ 6,160.48
• Street Cats Club - $ 13,118.64
• Team Schnak Strong – $ 84,305.07
• Vernon H. Buck VFW Post 7957 - $ 17,326.76
• Volland Foundation, Inc. - $ 8,604.62
• Wade Barrett Memorial Fund - $ 11,901.23

“Match Day continues to be one of the best tools for area donors and local nonprofits to achieve their dreams and meet the needs of the community,” said Nurnberg.  The ECF Board of Directors agrees and is committed to at least four more years of their gift to the community with the Emporia Area Match Day event. 

About the Emporia Community Foundation – The Emporia Community Foundation has served the greater Emporia community for over 27 years, helping donors and nonprofits come together to improve the quality of life in the Emporia area. For more information on the Match Day groups, visit emporiamatchday.com.  For more information about the ECF, go to emporiacf.org or call at 620-342-9304.