Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Rural Riley County Community Foundation on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 233
The Rural Riley County Community Foundation unites three small towns—Keats, Leonardville, and Riley, creating meaningful community impact through local philanthropy and robust fundraising initiatives.
• Foundation manages 26 funds, with 23 participating in their upcoming Match Day
• Raised over $97,000 in their first Match Day with $23,000 in matching funds
• Community Food Basket program addresses food insecurity with a central pantry and blessing boxes throughout the region
• Board includes representatives from all three communities plus dedicated ambassadors
• Second annual Match Day scheduled for August 28-29 at Riley County High School
• Already secured $32,000 in matching funds for this year's event
• Satellite locations will be available in all three communities during Match Day
• Online donations accepted at ruralrileycountycf.org
• Support extends to churches, schools, wellness programs, and mental health services
Join us for Match Day on August 28-29 at Riley County High School or visit ruralrileycountycf.org to donate online and support our rural communities.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. We are back, segment number three of the GMCF Community Hour, here on NewsRadio KMAN. The Rural Riley Community Foundation. Rural Riley County Community Foundation. There's an extra C in there, rrccf, correct? And Christine, this is another one of the caps that you wear here at the GMC Another cap that I wear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm the partner liaison. I get to work with wonderful people like Lori and Jenny who's the president? Jenny Anders and so they've been a community foundation for three years and this is their second match day and they just blew it out of the water with their first one, so we're ready to go on this second one.
Speaker 1:Her name is Lori Rogge. She is the what treasurer.
Speaker 3:Yes, I am Good for you.
Speaker 1:Another hat to wear, yeah you have a lot of hats right you do real estate, you do auctions, I do yeah we work a lot we do auctions together.
Speaker 2:That's right. We have a lot of fun together.
Speaker 1:We're gonna work on fun things. That's right. And now you got a different hat today, right yes so tell me what it is about the Rural Riley County Community Foundation that you're proud of.
Speaker 3:Well, I'd say number one as Christine said, we just hit the ground running is that we had our first meeting, set up our board of directors and, within a year, had our first match day, and the accumulation of funds that we were able to bring to Rural Riley County Community Foundation just with Match Day alone was, I think, monumental, and our community has been incredibly supportive all throughout the year, so that's a plus too. Match Day is just one piece.
Speaker 1:I remember seeing a bunch of y'all and if you're rural I can say y'all. I saw a bunch of you over here in the conference room when you were just starting getting involved in that and you got some great community minded people that are rallying together to make this happen.
Speaker 3:That is totally right. So rural Riley County Community Foundation encompasses Keats, leonardville and Riley, and so those are the northern Riley counties that we currently support, because some of the other communities in our area are supported by other community foundations, so the area is very community-minded. They just may filter into other areas of support, but rural Riley County Community Foundation came together with those three communities. Rural Riley County Community Foundation came together with those three communities and then we have three individuals from Leonardville, riley and Keats currently serving as board of directors, and then we also have ambassadors as well. So if anybody's interested in wanting to do continued support at a level of volunteerism, you just winked at me, and I live in the city.
Speaker 1:I just, you know, just want to clarify that. We can always take people on the outside too.
Speaker 3:Anybody can support the area.
Speaker 1:So what are some of the organizations that the rural Riley County Community Foundation supports?
Speaker 3:Yes, the important part there is Riley County because it are all those counties and we currently have now 23, 26, actually 26 funds. 23 of them will be supported through Match Day. So variety from churches to the area school district. A lot of the different clubs and organizations and athletic teams have funds, as well as some of our wellness and different group support there. So one to highlight is the community food basket.
Speaker 3:So the community food basket of Northern Riley County actually is located in Riley and their support is to provide food insecurity to the folks in our area and they have a food pantry in Riley. And then we have blessing boxes in Riley and in Leonardville and provide, of course, support to Keats too, but being able to have food in need for folks at all times. So even though the food pantry may be not open physically in hours is those blessing boxes are always open. So being able to provide that support is that the community food basket does not receive any kind of support, so they have to go out and receive those funds. So the community has been very, very supportive in that, in providing food as well as providing in funds.
Speaker 1:Do you work with the Food and Farm Council?
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, so Doris Fritz is the one that is in charge of the community food basket, so she's the director of that, she works with Flint Hills Food Basket a lot, and then also we have harvesters in the area too, so being able to provide that support, they actually come to Leonardville and then also to Randolph too, which in northern Riley County areas. So those are the two key areas that they end up coming.
Speaker 1:You know, christine, it sounds like you had the easy job walking in here and taking over this as a lead in this organization. Oh, when you got people like Lori out here a lead in this organization. Oh, when you got people like Lori out here going to bat for you. Oh, yes, absolutely, they are they so what is it you got to do? I mean, it sounds like it's all done.
Speaker 2:I just have to make sure that they, they do it on time. So no, they I mean really they they have been doing a wonderful job and I haven't had to. I mean, I, I provide support for marketing materials, website help, um, just making sure you know forms are put together and you know that type of thing. But they, they just they're doing their thing and they're doing that Great.
Speaker 1:Lori, was there one particular source of inspiration that you can reflect back upon that started your foundation?
Speaker 3:We all kind of had been talking about it, so it was all a lot of talk, I would say, and I say that our inspiration came from Clay County, so Clay County Improvement Foundation, their foundation, improvement Foundation, their foundation. Jared Hopper is one of our residents in our area and had been involved in that and so he kind of I would say he was kind of our spearhead. And then those of us that came to that first meeting didn't necessarily think that we were going to be board members, but it was very easy that it just all kind of came together. So all of those board members now, as Christine mentioned, jenny Anders is our president and Kim Bailey is vice president, I am the treasurer, ian Peters is our secretary, jeff Bulk, bryce Mojo, harold Oliver, josh Reisner and Donnie Wilson, and we all kind of came together.
Speaker 3:Then we built our bylaws and everything right away and then encouraged to have some ambassadors too. So Darcy Potroff, donna Sullivan, Chandra Rostrom and Mary Kay Stauffer and Mel Knudson are all of our ambassadors at the time and were increasing in that role. So having more support there, that we've got a lot of monetary support from our community. But we hit the ground running, like Christine said, and had our match day the very first year and we had $23,000 in donor match day support from area businesses and such, and we raised over $97,000 last year. So I think that we have patted ourselves on the back on that one because that just shows what a great community that we do have.
Speaker 1:So this will be your third. This is our second match day, yeah.
Speaker 3:So we just started late in 2023.
Speaker 3:And then 2024, we went ahead and I have our match day in August and we have our match day again this year August 28th and 29th, and we already have secured $32,000 this year for our support. And so then our match day will be the 28th and 29th, it will be at Riley County High School and we will have a preview on Thursday with our fall preview for sports at Riley County High School Thursday evening, and then on Friday we'll be available all day at Riley County High School and then we'll have satellite locations over the lunch hour at Leonardville at the Leonardville Community Building and at Keats at the Community Center, and then also at Riley at City Hall. So you also have the capability to add online too.
Speaker 1:So you know there's that possibility.
Speaker 3:So you don't have to physically be there. We'd love to have you, but you can be in California or in Wayne, nebraska or Weeping Water.
Speaker 1:Nebraska. Well, let's see August 28th, 29th and 29th.
Speaker 3:Where will you be that day? Manhattan, Kansas, I think.
Speaker 1:Of course I may be in Leonardville, I may make a tour. See, there you go. I don't know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so our support, one of our donors lives in California now but was a graduate of rural Riley High School and so having that support. Like I said, they come from near and far, so we truly appreciate that and we just continue to grow and help our community.
Speaker 1:I've got a special fondness for all those communities. You may remember I served as a county commissioner.
Speaker 2:My daughter went to Riley County High and lived in Leonardville for a while.
Speaker 1:By the way, that new EMS station yeah, isn't that just a great asset to the north part of the county.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I just drove by there the other day and saw it for the first time. I was coming back from Wayne Nebraska. I just drove by there the other day and saw it for the first time I was coming back from Wayne Nebraska and just really, really made me proud to have that in Riley.
Speaker 3:County, yeah Well, and we have a new fire station too, so fire station and EMS, and then we have a lot of wellness support, punny, mental health supports, also for the rural Riley County Community Foundation and, like we said, we have several other funds there too. But I need to grow.
Speaker 1:Have you been here when we've had our match day in Manhattan?
Speaker 1:Yes, that was inspiration for us, and I was wondering that that was the connection I was going to make, laurie, because it seems like you know, you know, and Krista Thomas and I talked about this earlier in the first part of the program. It's just like you know, when you have these things, it is such an endearing opportunity to embrace the people in the community Not you know also the organizations. It's a great learning experience, but it is one of the great community events of the year and I hope that you know as you get into your second one, that you have that same type of atmosphere.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I feel like our match day just builds momentum for the rest of the year, and it's a good time to come together if you can. And again, like we said, if you can't, it's always online too.
Speaker 1:And the other aspect. You know, and it ties into what you use, the word momentum, but it's a, it's an awareness, you know you, you improve the awareness not just of what the community foundation is doing in rural Riley County but also those organizations 20, 26, 26 that you're helping to support and continue to grow.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, and every community foundation has needs and we have wants and we have goals, and it's neat that when we have a match day that we can just, you know, pull them all together and make something special happen, right, yeah, you look like you're pretty proud to be able to talk about this, just looking at you now and you know, just you know, this is something that you're excited for.
Speaker 3:Yeah Good, it's good to see that we're small communities but we're mighty, yeah, so.
Speaker 1:No kidding, have we covered everything for Match Day for Rural Riley County Community Foundation?
Speaker 3:I think we've got most of it, yeah.
Speaker 1:Like.
Speaker 3:I said August 28th and 29th Riley County High School, so please come out there or our satellite locations or online at rural Riley CF, Just CF.
Speaker 1:R-C-C-R-R-C-C-F.
Speaker 3:Well, and actually the website is ruralrileycforg.
Speaker 1:Ruralrileycountycforg. That's according to my sheet. Yes, I think that's right.
Speaker 2:RuralrileycountycForg.
Speaker 1:That's according to my sheet. Yes, I think that's right. Ruralrileycountycforg.
Speaker 3:There we go.
Speaker 1:But you can also connect through the GMCF website which is MCFKSorg that one I know really well.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and too many letters there, but RuralRileyCountyCForg.
Speaker 1:We do a lot of letters. There you go, that's right. A lot of abbreviations around here. You can.
Speaker 3:Google it, it'll pop right up. Yeah, rural Riley.
Speaker 1:County Community Foundation. Lori Rogge, always a delight to have you. Thanks for joining us here in the GMCF community. Our Christine Benny Yep man, that was the easiest interview you've had today. See, I don't they're just doing so great.
Speaker 2:I just sit there and watch them. Watch them do their things. So they're just doing so great.
Speaker 1:I just sit there and watch them, watch them do their things.
Speaker 2:So they're there. It's. It's great working with them. I really enjoy it.
Speaker 1:That's great to have everybody on and good luck on match day.
Speaker 3:Thank you Appreciate it.
Speaker 1:The GMCF community hour continues when we return for the break. No-transcript.