WAUSA, Neb. – This month, Wausa Community Foundation Fund (WCFF) announced the approval of grants totaling $18,084 to two local initiatives.
A $15,000 grant to Thabor Tots Childcare will be used to fund tuition scholarships for parents who apply. This grant was funded 50% by WCFF and 50% by a matching Youth Engagement Grant through Nebraska Community Foundation.
The Wausa Community Foundation Fund also presented a $3,084 grant to the Wausa Community Club to help fund the Wausa Media Group, which is an effort by the seven major boards in Wausa to maintain the Wausa website (wausane.com) and social media pages. The objective of Wausa Media Group is to improve communication both within the community and with alumni living outside of Wausa, as well as inform visitors of community events.
Wausa will always experience changing needs, and WCFF hopes to continue to invest in community communication, housing, education, recreation and more to adapt to those changes. WCFF’s vision encourages volunteers and residents to promote a welcoming community that will preserve Wausa’s history and heritage. The Fund is achieving this vision by growing an unrestricted community endowment. This is a crucial tool to keep Wausa growing, thriving and improving for future generations because it creates a steady stream of revenue for community needs today and those that will arise in the years to come. Through local investment from generous donors who care about the future of Wausa, WCFF supports opportunities and amenities that attract people of all means to visit, live and work in the community.
The Wausa Community Foundation Fund asks all who care about the future of Wausa to consider contributing to the unrestricted endowment through current giving, planned giving or both. The Fund is equipped to accept all kinds of gifts including cash, gifts of grain, livestock, real estate, life insurance and other assets that have the potential to make high-impact, tax advantageous charitable gifts.
Nearly $750 million is expected to transfer between generations in Knox County over the next decade, according to NCF’s 2021 Transfer of Wealth Study. Much of that will go to taxes or heirs living outside the community. Securing just 5% of that transfer would add $37 million to the resources Knox County communities could use for future success. Nebraska Community Foundation’s Five to Thrive campaign encourages all Nebraskans to consider gifting 5% of their estate to the places they love.
There are four simple things you can do to help ensure some of that wealth remains in Knox County:
Visit www.fivetothrivene.org and learn more about the transfer of wealth in Knox County.
Explore NCF’s planned giving resources at www.nebcommfound.giftlegacy.com.
Talk to your professional advisor about including your community in your estate plans.
Give to the Wausa Community Foundation Fund by:
Visiting www.nebcommfound.org/give/wausa-community-foundation-fund
Sending a donation to Wausa Community Foundation Fund, P.O. Box 43, Wausa, NE 68786
Or contacting one of our fund advisory committee members: Debbie Vanness, Carlie Johnston, Rod Banks, Bob Marks, Brian Eldorado, Carolyn Johnson, Heather Carlson or Darren Vanness
Remember: once our wealth leaves the community, it is gone forever. Once our wealth is endowed in our community, it is here forever. The time to act is now – the opportunity will never be greater!
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About Wausa Community Foundation Fund
A group of thoughtful community leaders launched the Wausa Community Foundation Fund in 2005 as an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation. Now part of a statewide movement to spearhead community development and create prosperity, the Fund is working to build a robust unrestricted endowment to benefit our community long into the future. Wausa Community Foundation Fund is an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation.
About Nebraska Community Foundation
Nebraska Community Foundation unleashes abundant local assets, inspires charitable giving and connects ambitious people to build stronger communities and a Greater Nebraska.
Headquartered in Lincoln, the Foundation serves communities, donors and organizations by providing financial management, strategic development, education and training to a statewide network of 1,500 volunteers serving more than 270 communities.
In the last five years, 45,993 contributions have been made to Nebraska Community Foundation and its affiliated funds. Since 1994, Nebraska Community Foundation has reinvested $517 million in Nebraska’s people and places. For information, visit NebraskaHometown.org.