ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Foundations such as the Meade County Community Foundation receive much in the way of funding throughout the year, but in the season of giving, Director Cheyenne Federau said she does not see much in the way of donations.
“We get a few little holiday gifts, but we don’t have a lot,” she said. “We have a few monthly donors who come in during the holidays, but we don’t get a lot specifically on the holidays because a lot of people give during our Match Month, which we had in September and October.”
Events such as Match Month are what Federau said feed MCCF’s grant cycles more so than Christmas donations.
“If we get more during the holiday season, that’s great,” she said. “We can put that into the grant cycles as well. We have done that, and there are some people who forget to donate during Match Month. We’ll get a couple checks during December, but we don’t really bank on getting a lot during this time just because we haven’t. Donations are welcome and will be used.”
To donate to the foundation, visit www.meadecountycommunityfoundation.org to make a payment via credit card to designate a specific organization, or send a check to MCCF, P.O. Box 1302, Meade, KS 67864
“If they would like that to be specified either to a specific fund or organization, they can write that in the memo, or they can leave a note for me to call them, and we can chat about different options,” Federau said. “We’ve had people do that too. They see it, and they want to get that check in the mail, but they don’t know what they want to do with it. I play catch up with them later and let them know different options. We can do that too.”
Federau said foundation officials want to make sure donors’ money going to the causes they care about and want to help out.
“If that’s you, that’s great, and we’d love to chat with you,” she said. “If you just want to donate and put it in the pool for our grant cycle, that’s great too.”
With MCCF being a 501(c)3 non-profit, all donations are tax deductible.
“If you start funds like a donor-advised fund, there’s really great tax incentives for that too,” Federau said. “I’m not a CPA, so you’d want to talk to your tax accountant about that. There’s some pretty significant tax credits on those specifically. If we have the needs, the needs are there, and we’re going to find the need.”
Federau said this is the greatest part of a community foundation like hers.
“We find the biggest needs in the community, and we meet those,” she said. “We can donate to you, and we can help your specific cause too. It works both ways.”
Federau said MCCF is in a much different position than it was a year ago at this time.
“We currently have nearly $100,000 in our endowments fund right now, and a year ago at Christmas time, we had zero,” she said. “We are on a great track to becoming sustainable. The sustainability level for where we’re at would be to have half a million in our endowment, but we’re getting closer. We have four agencies.”
Federau estimated the foundation has about $15,000 in those endowments as well.
“What that means is that money is not going to be touched, and we get a percentage off that each year,” she said. “That’s how our agencies work too. Those are our non-profits. Our sustainability is looking up, and we have a good amount in our sustainability grants too.”
Federau said MCCF is in a much different than most foundations.
“Most foundations started from a large gift,” she said. “Some I’ve talked to started from a $100,000 gift. Some I’ve talked to started from a $2 million gift. When you start with that, you put a significant part in your endowment, and if you start with $2 million, you’re already sustainable off the bat. We weren’t that way. When we started, we just got a portion of the diversion funds from the Meade County Sheriff’s Department, and we were running off about $3,000 a year before I came on. They granted all that out.”
Federau became the foundation’s director in May 2024, and she said MCCF has grown substantially since.
“From where we started with zero, we’re in a really good spot, but we’re just in a different boat than other community foundations when they start with a large gift,” she said. “We just didn’t have that.”
With gift giving on the minds of everyone during the holiday season, many may not give much thought to donating to community foundations, but for Federau, this should be near the top of the list.
“I can donate,” she said. “I know it’s going to find the need, and I also know if I have a specific cause or organization or project I want to donate to, I can do that through the community foundation as well.”
Federau said some people will write checks designated to multiple non-profits.
“You can figure out how much you want to give at the end of the year and write one sum, and you can tell us where you want us to put the funds,” she said. “We’re your partner in giving. We don’t want to take away from non-profits. Literally, our whole mission is to support them. If you want to donate directly to a non-profit, that’s great, but if you have a couple you’d like to donate to, we’re a really good partner to help with that.”
Federau said the non-profits MCCF funds are very thankful for the donations they receive.
“They do get funding from other foundations as well, but we do a significant amount of funding in our area,” she said. “A lot of the events that go on, a lot of the projects that go on wouldn’t happen without us. We’re really proud we’re able to do that, and we’re really excited for the future and how our partnerships can grow even more.”
So for Federau, donating to a community foundation at Christmas time is very important.
“It’s a tax write off,” she said. “If you’ve made enough money and you’re to the point where it’s either give the money to the government or donate it, we’re a really great option. We’re just going to connect you with the need.”
Federau said this is what makes MCCF different, and all of the money raised stays in the Meade County area.
“We do go into Seward County,” she said. “We support the three school districts in Meade County — Southwestern Heights, Meade and Fowler. We go into Seward County quite a bit too, but all of it stays local. Even our admin fees stay local. We hire Meade County people. It’s all local. It’s all here. It’s all going back to your community.”
This Christmas, Federau is thankful for her family, which includes her two young daughters, as well as a grant from the Western Kansas Community Foundation for new software and for being selected for the Invenergy mini grant.
“They are really the light of my life, and that’s part of why I do what I do,” she said of her daughters. “I get to see all these projects. They get to go to a lot of the events we fund. They get to go with me, and they get to see all the things we’re doing. I hope as they get older, they really see the importance of giving back and being a part of the community.”
