Honeywell Reaches $8M Goal
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
“It really changes things for us as an organization,” said Cathy Gatchel, director of external relations, during the event in the Legacy Hall of the Honeywell Center. “It’s an investment for us going forward.”
Of the $8 million raised, $2.6 million will go to support the foundation’s Educational Outreach Program, she said. Before the capital campaign, she said there was no guarantee that the program could always continue, but the capital campaign’s success provides that guarantee.
“We had a 12-member volunteer leadership committee that really guided the whole effort,” Gatchel said, including folks outside the Wabash community.
The other $5.4 million will go toward the general endowment, Gatchel said. “It helps us be responsive going forward,” she said.
In the last five years, the Foundation was able to purchase the Eagle Theatre in Wabash and take it on as a non-profit. It was the only theater in town, but run down. Now, thanks to the Foundation, there’s movies and other events held there.
“It’s that kind of decisions we could do with this endowment,” Gatchel stated.
If a person gave $25,000 toward the capital campaign, she said they could have their own endowment in someone’s name to support what they wanted, like Broadway shows.
“There were different options people could do,” she said.
Dave Haist and John Forrester served as co-chairs for the leadership committee.
“It’s very exciting,” Haist said of the campaign’s conclusion and Thursday’s celebration. “There was no question starting out that there was a need. The foundation really needed the campaign, but it was a daunting task.”
Forrester said everyone caught on that there was a major need for the campaign. During the campaign, he said new donors came to know the foundation and what it really does. Haist agreed, saying more of the community came on board to raise the funds.
In deciding how much the campaign needed to raise, Haist said, “We did strategic planning early on and we looked at increasing the endowment in a significant way. Through a lot of work and strategic planning, we modeled what we needed and came up with the next step.”
Forrester said the next step is to put all that donor effort to work.
“A number of activities are going on here in the Center. A number of students are taking part in the Educational Outreach Program. Now comes putting all those things in place we talked about doing,” Forrester said.
“There’s a lot of strong momentum going forward. The Foundation is more than the Honeywell Center. There’s lots of opportunities for the future,” Haist said.
Parker Beauchamp was part of the committee of 30 that did a lot of fundraising and helped finish the campaign for the foundation. Each committee member gave a sizable donation.
“The purpose of the committee was to get the principals of the foundation together for an injection of enthusiasm and capital into the campaign,” Beauchamp said.
The committee members made an extra gift, but were also connected to the foundation so they didn’t have to be sold on it, he said. “It really put them in a position to close the campaign,” he said.
Beauchamp grew up in Wabash and said he was one of the many kids who was a benefactor of everything Honeywell did.
“What’s neat about the committee is we’re all disciples of Mark Honeywell who want to share and spread the word,” he commented.
The $2.6 million from the campaign will “ensure that the Educational Outreach Program will always be here. So what’s really neat about that is that the Educational Outreach touches 250,000 kids in a nine-county area. It not only boosts Wabash, but it really boosts Northeast Indiana,” Beauchamp said.
He said he was proud of Wabash and its surrounding communities that “time and time again it beat the odds.” Wabash County is the second most giving county in Indiana, he said.
Honeywell Foundation Chair Steve Ford spoke about how the celebration event allowed everyone to think about the past, present and future of the Foundation.
“We invite you to consider Mark Honeywell and what his vision has contributed to Wabash and Northern Indiana,” Ford said. “As we reflect on the Honeywell Foundation and what it means today, it may mean different things to different people ... Whatever the case, I expect we all agree that Honeywell has established a legacy not just for Wabash County, but also Northeast Indiana. It’s a legacy worth preserving.”
After Haist and Forrester spoke, Honeywell Foundation Executive Director Tod Minnich spoke about the Foundation’s future looking bright not only because of the money raised, but also because of the strong base of support.
“The foundation is doing exciting things and will continue to do exciting things in the future,” he said.
Before Vocal Impact, which opened the evening, sang one more song to conclude the night, Gatchel stated, “We’re only here because of the people who came before us, those lifting us up now and those to come in the future.”[[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
“It really changes things for us as an organization,” said Cathy Gatchel, director of external relations, during the event in the Legacy Hall of the Honeywell Center. “It’s an investment for us going forward.”
Of the $8 million raised, $2.6 million will go to support the foundation’s Educational Outreach Program, she said. Before the capital campaign, she said there was no guarantee that the program could always continue, but the capital campaign’s success provides that guarantee.
“We had a 12-member volunteer leadership committee that really guided the whole effort,” Gatchel said, including folks outside the Wabash community.
The other $5.4 million will go toward the general endowment, Gatchel said. “It helps us be responsive going forward,” she said.
In the last five years, the Foundation was able to purchase the Eagle Theatre in Wabash and take it on as a non-profit. It was the only theater in town, but run down. Now, thanks to the Foundation, there’s movies and other events held there.
“It’s that kind of decisions we could do with this endowment,” Gatchel stated.
If a person gave $25,000 toward the capital campaign, she said they could have their own endowment in someone’s name to support what they wanted, like Broadway shows.
“There were different options people could do,” she said.
Dave Haist and John Forrester served as co-chairs for the leadership committee.
“It’s very exciting,” Haist said of the campaign’s conclusion and Thursday’s celebration. “There was no question starting out that there was a need. The foundation really needed the campaign, but it was a daunting task.”
Forrester said everyone caught on that there was a major need for the campaign. During the campaign, he said new donors came to know the foundation and what it really does. Haist agreed, saying more of the community came on board to raise the funds.
In deciding how much the campaign needed to raise, Haist said, “We did strategic planning early on and we looked at increasing the endowment in a significant way. Through a lot of work and strategic planning, we modeled what we needed and came up with the next step.”
Forrester said the next step is to put all that donor effort to work.
“A number of activities are going on here in the Center. A number of students are taking part in the Educational Outreach Program. Now comes putting all those things in place we talked about doing,” Forrester said.
“There’s a lot of strong momentum going forward. The Foundation is more than the Honeywell Center. There’s lots of opportunities for the future,” Haist said.
Parker Beauchamp was part of the committee of 30 that did a lot of fundraising and helped finish the campaign for the foundation. Each committee member gave a sizable donation.
“The purpose of the committee was to get the principals of the foundation together for an injection of enthusiasm and capital into the campaign,” Beauchamp said.
The committee members made an extra gift, but were also connected to the foundation so they didn’t have to be sold on it, he said. “It really put them in a position to close the campaign,” he said.
Beauchamp grew up in Wabash and said he was one of the many kids who was a benefactor of everything Honeywell did.
“What’s neat about the committee is we’re all disciples of Mark Honeywell who want to share and spread the word,” he commented.
The $2.6 million from the campaign will “ensure that the Educational Outreach Program will always be here. So what’s really neat about that is that the Educational Outreach touches 250,000 kids in a nine-county area. It not only boosts Wabash, but it really boosts Northeast Indiana,” Beauchamp said.
He said he was proud of Wabash and its surrounding communities that “time and time again it beat the odds.” Wabash County is the second most giving county in Indiana, he said.
Honeywell Foundation Chair Steve Ford spoke about how the celebration event allowed everyone to think about the past, present and future of the Foundation.
“We invite you to consider Mark Honeywell and what his vision has contributed to Wabash and Northern Indiana,” Ford said. “As we reflect on the Honeywell Foundation and what it means today, it may mean different things to different people ... Whatever the case, I expect we all agree that Honeywell has established a legacy not just for Wabash County, but also Northeast Indiana. It’s a legacy worth preserving.”
After Haist and Forrester spoke, Honeywell Foundation Executive Director Tod Minnich spoke about the Foundation’s future looking bright not only because of the money raised, but also because of the strong base of support.
“The foundation is doing exciting things and will continue to do exciting things in the future,” he said.
Before Vocal Impact, which opened the evening, sang one more song to conclude the night, Gatchel stated, “We’re only here because of the people who came before us, those lifting us up now and those to come in the future.”[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092