Chase County Challenge extended, exceeded goal

There was a turn of events at the first annual Chase County Challenge when organizations received an unexpected amount of support.
The challenge took place Saturday at the annual Smokin’ on Broadway event.
Organizations began setting up around 3 p.m., an hour before the event began.
The booths were located around the perimeter of the east side of City Square and one in the meeting room on the northwest side of the library.
Members of the 21 organizations taking part were present until 10 p.m. when the event ended.
This gave the community six hours to get to know the organizations and donate if they chose to. Donations of all sizes were accepted.
Originally, the Imperial Community Foundation Fund planned to match donations to eligible organizations, up to $25,000.
Donations received at Saturday’s event or before the Monday deadline were eligible for the match.
By the end of Saturday night, organizations across Chase County had received a total of $63,942 in donations.
“I’d love to say I’m shocked by the response to our first annual Chase County Challenge but the truth is, I’m never surprised when we ask our community to show up and support the folks doing the hard work to make our hometown a great place to live,” ICFF Secretary Brianna Pribbeno said.
In response to the unexpected total, the Imperial Community Foundation Fund announced that night that they were going to extend their goal.
ICFF proposed to raise their original match of $25,000 to $50,000 if total donations reached $75,000 by 5 p.m. on Monday.

After the deadline, organizations can still accept donations but they will not be eligible for the match.
The challenge was exceeded, ending with an overall total of $85,364.50 in donations to local organizations which raised the ICFF match to $50,000. That means a total of $135,364.50 to the groups.
“Imperial knows how to show up! I would like to add an extra thanks to the organizations that worked hard to share information and get people to the event, spend hours in the July heat and share their stories with the public,” ICFF  Co-Chair Tanna Hanna said.
“The attendance and amount donated showed how passionate residents are to see our community thrive,” she said.
ICFF plans to make the Challenge an annual event at Smokin’ on Broadway.
Pribbeno is optimistic for the event’s future.
“The first annual Chase County Challenge was an overwhelming success and I am genuinely excited to watch the event grow and see all the ways our local organizations thrive through our shared visions for an even better Chase County,” Pribbeno said.