Community Foundation celebration plans to ‘connect’

    Nebraska Community Foundation will convene its statewide network Nov. 17 in La Vista to celebrate shared success, including the reinvestment of more than $40 million in the state in its last fiscal year.
     The annual celebration includes a full day of training and an evening banquet. Centered on the theme of “Connect,” NCF volunteers and other Nebraskans will convene for a day of peer learning and training on a variety of topics including fundraising, marketing, impact grant-making, community economic development and more.
    The evening banquet will gather hundreds of NCF supporters to celebrate the achievements of the organization’s 1,500 volunteers serving 276 communities in 83 Nebraska counties.
    Tyler Pribbeno, chairman on the Imperial Community Foundation Fund board, will attend, along with Russ and Lori Pankonin of Imperial.
    Pribbeno said they are hoping to connect with people with ties to Imperial who now live in eastern Nebraska to attend the Nov. 17 banquet.
    Anyone interested is asked to contact Pribbeno, 308-882-4368 at the city office, or Lori Pankonin, 308-882-0250 for details.
    In the past five years, the NCF network has reinvested more than $172 million into Nebraska’s people and places.
    Among the $40 million NCF affiliated funds reinvested through grant-making and disbursements in the 2022 fiscal year, $2 million benefitted people attraction efforts; $1.4 million went to parks and recreation; $2.7 million furthered education; $1.2 million went to arts, culture and humanities; $1.3 million benefitted health care; $1 million went to community centers and libraries; and over $370,000 was granted in support of entrepreneurship.
     Across the NCF network, all grant-making is determined at the local level, according to local needs and priorities—for instance, early childhood education in Albion, a new community center in Laurel, a “Welcoming and Belonging Community Grant Challenge” in Columbus, local foods in Hebron schools, housing development in Ogallala and Eustis, library services in Nebraska City, opera house renovations in Friend, an inclusive playground in Sidney, STEM education in Norfolk, leadership development in Valley County, expanded learning opportunities in Syracuse, nursing scholarships in Burwell, heritage tourism development in Red Cloud, pediatric dental health care in Bassett and Scottsbluff, small business and entrepreneurship development in Holt County and scholarships for Native American students throughout the state.
     “Our network continues to astound with its tenacity in raising funds and momentum to create even more vibrant communities,” said NCF CEO and President Jeff Yost.