Ten youth-serving nonprofit organizations will help Kosciusko County Community Foundation celebrate its 50th anniversary while earning themselves a generous matching fund for their endowments.

Representatives of the nonprofits gathered at KCCF in Warsaw Friday for the announcement of the “Endowment Challenge 50” (EC50) by the Foundation’s executive director, Suzie Light.

“Several years ago, we began eyeing the milestone that is now upon us – our Community Foundation’s 50th anniversary, and we began thinking about ways we could mark this special occasion,” she said.

Light said they knew they wanted it to be an “acknowledgement of the people who have been our supporters and partners, the people who helped us accomplish our mission to make donor dreams shine for the good of our community.”

In the coming year, Light said the Foundation will be celebrating and acknowledging its donors whose gifts to KCCF “make our work possible.”

“But today, we want to celebrate our nonprofit partners – those organizations who receive grants and the trainings that we offer. We could not help our donors achieve their charitable dreams without a robust nonprofit environment in our community,” Light said.

Anniversaries are a time to reflect on the past achievements and memories, she said, but also a time to think about the future.

“Each of the charities in this room is making an investment in the future by your service to youth. Each of you work with youth, and are building skills, knowledge and character in the children you are serving. So today, we celebrate each of your organizations and we will present our 50th anniversary gift to you,” Light said.

Each organization present Friday was selected to participate in the EC50. KCCF accepted proposals from youth-serving organizations in which the organization would commit to raising $10,000 for its endowment and to participate in multiple trainings focused on sustainability and donor development, according to a news release from the Foundation. In return, the selected nonprofits will receive a $40,000 match, for a total of $50,000 for their endowment funds.

Participating organizations were selected based on number of youth served; program goals; how they build skill, character and knowledge in youth; financial management; the level of their board’s commitment to fundraising and more, the release states.

“This endowment challenge would not be possible without the generous support of our partners: The Dekko Foundation, which is why this is youth-focused; the Ruth Lilly Philanthropic Foundation; and the Dr. Dane & Mary Louise Miller Foundation,” Light said.

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The organizations selected for EC50 are:

• Anthony Wayne Boy Scout Council, which has invested in the lives of boys since early 1900s and currently serves 632 youth from Kosciusko County. Its mission is to serve others by helping instill values in youth and prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime and achieve their full potential.

• Baker Youth Club has served youth in Kosciusko County since 1926. Its summer and after-school programs provide mentoring, recreation, tutoring, physical activity and snacks to 750 children each year.

• Camp C.O. Mollenhour has provided camp experiences for youth since 1938. Each summer, girls and boys enjoy swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, archery and learning about conservation. Its mission is to teach principles of conservation to young people through instruction and experiences in a camp wilderness setting.

• CASA serves “the most vulnerable of our community’s children,” Light said. It recruits, trains and supports volunteers to serve children in the family court system who are at risk of abuse and neglect. Last year, it served 269 children in the community.

• Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan has a mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. It accomplishes its mission through programs for girls from kindergarten to 12th grade.

• Joe’s Kids serves the special needs of children with physical, occupational and speech therapy and has been in existence since 2014. This past year, Light said it served 242 children from Kosciusko County to “develop motor skills, cognitive skills and communication skills.”

• Kosciusko County 4-H Council has served the county since 1920. It “provides real-life educational opportunities that develop young people who will have a positive impact in their communities and around the world,” Light said. Over 750 local youth benefit from the programming that teaches parliamentary procedure, STEM, agriculture and career exploration.

• Kosciusko Literacy Services has helped children and adults read for the past 25 years. Its children’s programs include Read to Grow, Baby’s First Book, Reading Won’t Wait and Plant the Seed: Read, and they serve thousands of children annually.

• Lakeland Youth Center serves children primarily in the northern part of Kosciusko County, with the mission to offer  youth and community services and programs “that cultivate academic excellence, encourage physical and emotional health, and develop children’s personal and interpersonal skills.”

• Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts is “best known for our local theater in the round,” Light said. But for the past 13 years it has provided youth programming. It serves nearly 5,000 local youth through holiday field trips in which school children are invited to enjoy a theater performance. Wagon Wheel also provides acting and dance classes, art competitions and summer workshops.

Light concluded by saying, “We are so pleased that all of you youth-serving organizations represent all parts of our county and a diverse array of services that are educational, health, arts and education-related.”

For more information about EC50, contact the Community Foundation by calling 574-267-1901; emailing kcf@kcfoundation.org; or visiting its office at 102 E. Market St., Warsaw.