An estimated 80 members of the community and the Plainview Brunswick Community Fund were in attendance for the group’s annual dinner – and heard about a recent large donation, from the Nebraska Community Foundation, as well as a “state of the union” update.
The capstone of the evening’s events was the introduction of a special guest, Bill Steffen, who was representing Husker Ag to officially announce a $100,000 donation from the local ethanol plant to help kickoff fundraising efforts for the proposed Plainview Community Building.
Steffen said that Husker Ag was glad to help support the project, and that the company sees the asset that a new community building could be to helping grow Plainview, attract new business and people and provide some great services with what has been proposed.
Local Husker Ag Board member, and PBCF Co-Chair, Jim Krause added to the announcement, saying that the PBCF board had agreed to receive the donation, thanked Husker Ag, and announced that for the next number of months, the funds would be used in a $2/$1 matching grant to help raise funds for the proposed building.
In essence, for every $2 donated, the Husker Ag funds would be used to “match” that donation with $1. The PBCF has already received one $25,000 donation to that effort, leveraging $12,500 of Husker Ag’s donation with the added boost.
In addition to that announcement, the group heard that the PBCF was happy to report that as of the end of 2022, the communities had cumulatively raised $489,000.
The division of those funds included primarily the Endowment fund, the Community Building fund, and the General Fund, as well as funding, and helping fund, the Chilvers Park tennis court renovation, the Brunswick basketball court renovation, and the donation of funds to purchase land hoped to be used for the new community building.
Near the end of 2022, and through the first part of 2023, the Community Building Committee, the City of Plainview and the PBCF had worked together to acquire land from Norda Johnson, just west of the ballfields, as the proposed location for the Plainview Community building project.
Funds that had been donated toward the building project to the PBCF were donated to the City, who finalized and purchased the land, agreeing to hold the land until the Community building project came to fruition.
The final event of the evening was a presentation by KC Belitz, the Chief Operating Officer, of the Nebraska Community Foundation, and re-introduction of Kara Gaster-Weander, the local NCF support staff assigned to the PBCF’s area.
Belitz talked about the assets that are available in Antelope and Pierce County, and recalled the information announced last year of the NCF’s “Five to Thrive” program, which focuses on the Foundation and local Fund’s efforts to seek just 5% of the wealth that will transfer hands in the next 10 years in the two counties.
Belitz noted that in Pierce and Antelope Counties the expected wealth transfer to the next generation could total nearly $1.2 billion in assets – real estate, securities, retirement accounts and other assets.
Anyone interested in information about the PBCF, the Endowment, the building project or the “Five to Thrive” account can contact the PBCF at pbcf@plvwtelco.net or through the group’s Facebook page.
Co-Chairs Jim Krause (left) and Wayne Rasmussen (right) thank the community
,Husker Ag and donors for their support so far.