Muskegon Community Foundation: For Good, For Ever.

Staff

 

Laura Heintzelman
Executive Director
(231) 723-7269

Betsie Valley District Library Announces Challenge Grant

Challenge Grant to Benefit Betsie Valley District Library Endowment
 

Thompsonville, MI. – For a limited time, supporters of the Betsie Valley District Library can double their gift and help sustain library services thanks to a community challenge announced today by the Friends of the Betsie Valley District Library.

The Friends awarded a challenge grant in the amount of $5,000 to the newly established Betsie Valley District Library Endowment Fund, managed by the Manistee County Community Foundation.  Each donation to the Fund that is received between now and the end of the calendar year will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to the $5,000 maximum. 

The generous challenge was made on the heels of a previous gift from the Friends in the amount of $5,000 to establish the endowment fund late last year.  Driven by a passion for the critical role that the Library serves in their rural community and in an effort to ensure continued services despite funding cuts through the State of Michigan, the Friends established the Betsie Valley District Library Endowment Fund at the Manistee County Community Foundation in 2009.
 
“Through our challenge grant we’re encouraging members of our community and library patrons to help us grow the endowment over the next few months. Our board and membership is proud of the important step we have taken to help sustain Library services.  By establishing the endowment fund we have begun to build a permanent and lasting source of support that will provide funding for Library programs and services for current and future generations,” offered Diane Wilbur, President of the Friends of the Betsie Valley District Library.  “The Manistee County Community Foundation manages the administration and investment of the endowment fund, freeing up our time to focus on our mission” Wilbur added.

The Manistee County Community Foundation is proud to include the Betsie Valley District Library Endowment as one of over 45 endowed funds it currently manages.  “We applaud the efforts of the Friends of the Betsie Valley District Library to uphold Library services to residents and visitors of the Village of Thompsonville and surrounding area,” said Laura Heintzelman, Foundation executive director.  “Thanks to their foresight and leadership a new vehicle for philanthropy has been established that can offer a variety of benefits and options for Library donors.  For example, donors to the endowment are eligible for the State of Michigan Community Foundation Tax Credit in addition to a federal income tax deduction.  The fund also provides an opportunity for donors to make planned and legacy gifts in support of the Library.” 

Gifts to the fund may be made online at the Manistee County Community Foundation website at www.manisteefoundation.org or made payable to the Betsie Valley District Library Endowment Fund and mailed to the Manistee County Community Foundation, 332 First Street, Suite 104, Manistee, MI, 49660. 

In addition to providing books, magazines, audio books, and movies, The Betsie Valley District Library provides use of computers with internet access, wireless internet access, inter-library loan, Project Read tutors, beginning computer classes, and children’s programming.  The Library is located in Thompsonville, Michigan, and serves Cleon and Springdale Townships in Manistee County and Colfax and Weldon Townships in Benzie County. 

The Friends of the Betsie Valley District Library, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was created to sustain and support the good works of the Betsie Valley District Library. The Friends provide financial support and countless volunteer hours, as well as the donation of patron computers with desks, staff computers, children's and adult magazine subscriptions, a DVD player, a projector and projector screen, a sound system, and GED Prep manuals and CDs for library patrons.
          
The Manistee County Community Foundation builds community endowment, makes grants, and serves in community leadership roles to affect positive change.  As one of 65 community foundations in Michigan and more than 700 that exist throughout the United States, the goal of the Manistee County Community Foundation is to enhance the quality of life in Manistee County, now and forever.  To learn more about the benefits of giving through the Manistee County Community Foundation visit www.manisteefoundation.org, or contact the Manistee County Community Foundation at (231) 723-7269.