Thanks to a generous outpouring of contributions, the Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF) raised $167,630 in November, setting a new match month record. With matching gifts from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and Patterson Family Foundation, this will result in $367,630 to the community foundation for permanent endowment building and local grant-making.
“Match month shows how deeply Russell County friends and neighbors care about each other and their communities. Our goal was to raise $100,000, and we are enormously grateful that so many donors, businesses and government entities invested in match month and helped us exceed that goal,” said Angie Muller, RCACF Executive Director.
Monies raised will support the Fund for a Better Russell County Area, a permanent endowment that is the foundation’s community grant fund. The fund allows RCACF to make impactful grants to support the arts, education, park development, hunger relief, downtown revitalization, historical preservation, public safety, recycling and community clean-up, the hospital, libraries and more throughout Russell County area. A portion of the funds will also go toward the foundation’s administration and the SPARC Fund (Strategic Partnership for the Advancement of Russell County), which allows the foundation to make large, impactful grants.
“We greatly appreciate the generous investment in Russell County by our partners at the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and Patterson Family Foundation who provided matching incentives. They see the potential in rural Kansas and want to help us grow,” said Muller.
Since Match Month began nearly a decade ago by the generosity of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, nearly $1.5 million has been raised and invested in RCACF to widen community grant-making. RCACF celebrates 25 years of serving the Russell County area in 2026.
RCACF’s mission is to fund the good. As an affiliate of Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation (501c3), we join a collective of area community foundations aimed at increasing philanthropic giving in rural Kansas.
When you leave a gift to the community foundation through your will, your life’s work and what you care about most live on forever, creating your legacy. We can help you create a charitable fund that ensures more good things are funded in Russell County. Contact Angie Muller, RCACF Executive Director, at 785.445.3611 or stop by our office at 507 N. Main Russell. Visit us on the web at rcacf.org