Philanthropy
by James Fly
A group of 20 Park County seniors has helped donate a total of $4,000 to four local non-profit organizations as participants in the very first Senior Giving Circle, a collaboration between the Park County Senior Center and the Park County Community Foundation. The seniors met twice for luncheon meetings at the center led by Tricia Erickson, philanthropy director, and Keva Ward, program manager, Non-Profit Action, both of the PCCF.
In a grassroots democratic process, Erickson and Ward presented the seniors with the needs of various nonprofits in the county in the categories of Health, Safety and Education;Small Town and Rural Lifestyle; Landscapes and Natural Amenities; and Housing and Affordability.
"You want to help everybody, but just go with your gut," Erickson told the seniors as they considered donating $1,000 to only one of three nonprofits in each category that Ward had identified between the meetings as the most deserving.
In a simple raising and counting of hands, the seniors did go with their guts. In most categories the vote was close and in at least one, almost unanimous. The four nonprofits the seniors voted to donate to include Livingston Meals on Wheels, Park County Ag Fair Alumni, Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute, and Giving Tree of Park County.
The money for Livingston Meals on Wheels will help pave the parking area of the nonprofit's soon-to-be completed building on Park Street. LMOW, which provides delivered meals and serves weekday meals in person, currently operates out of the senior center.
The newly incorporated Park County Ag Fair Alumni, which for decades has supported the Sale Arena Tent used for the annual 4-H livestock sale at the Park County Fair, will most likely use the funds to purchase or rent a permanent sale tent, a shelter that protects the animals and youth from the weather, thereby boosting sales.
Featuring Park County's 13,000 years of human settlement in an upcoming docuseries, the Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute, highlights the county's cultural and ecological heritage through community-led archaeological projects, public talks, exhibits and events, partnering with the Yellowstone Gateway Museum.
Finally, Giving Tree of Park County, originally founded as a holiday gift program for underserved children, now provides year-round support for rural families facing economic hardship, supplying essentials like hygiene products, blankets and kitchen items. The donated funds will help cover operational costs so the Giving Tree can continue to meet critical needs.
According to Erickson, the $4,000 the seniors voted to donate to these Park County nonprofits came from a grant given to the PCCF from Fidelity Charitable and Philanthropy Together, in a partnership stipulating that the funds be used in a pilot program giving seniors in different communities the opportunity to become philanthropists in their local communities.
"It's giving seniors an opportunity to step into our shoes in a microcosm of the process of how we grant donated funds," commented Erickson.
As they left the second meeting, several seniors expressed their sincere appreciation to Erickson and Ward, for the honor of being included as participants in this program that benefits Park County nonprofits. As longtime Livingston volunteer Rob Bankston put it, "It's fun giving away someone else's money."
Though $1,000 doesn't go very far these days, Erickson and Ward pointed out that It can make a difference in the effectiveness of a nonprofit's mission.
"Everyone is a philanthropist, regardless of the amount they donate," noted Ward.
A ceremony to present the checks to the selected nonprofits will be held at the Park County Community Foundation offices located on Main Street in Livingston, and all of the seniors involved in the giving circle are invited to attend and meet the representatives accepting the checks. The ceremony will be in April on a day and at a time to be determined.