The 11th annual Grow Green Match Day on Friday, April 21, is a tremendous opportunity for the Manhattan community and Meadowlark Foundation. On that day, donations made through the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation to participating nonprofit agencies will receive a 50% match!  

 

Meadowlark Foundation is joining 92 other local organizations in urging our donors to participate. Gifts to Meadowlark Foundation, which appears as Meadowlark Hills on the Grow Green giving form and on GMCF’s website, will support scholarships for current Meadowlark employees who would like to further their education to become licensed practical nurses or registered nurses.

 

Now in its fifth year, Meadowlark’s scholarship program rewards the initiative of talented current employees, while, in the future, providing Meadowlark’s licensed care households with highly trained staff in what appears to be a perpetual nurses shortage. Employees who receive a scholarship agree to work at Meadowlark for at least two years following graduation.

 

Because of the generosity of our Foundation’s donors on Match Day in 2022, two current Meadowlark employees recently were offered scholarships. Amounts given by Meadowlark varies, depending on the amount awarded by the Kansas Board of Regents; however, these financial awards will fully fund, or nearly fully fund, each recipient’s nursing education program.

 

Donations made on April 21 will be made available to organizations for immediate needs, while the 50% match will go into endowed funds. Combined donations up to a total of $20,000 will be matched at 50%, giving a maximum of $10,000 in matching funds to any one organization.    

How you may help attract and retain nurses:
1. Give in person from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the donation station in the atrium at Colony Square, 555 Poyntz Ave. Donations by cash, check, or credit card will be accepted. Each hour, one donor name from the live event will be drawn to win $100 for the participating fund of his or her choice. 

 

2. Visit https://www.growgreenmanhattan.com/  to give online from 12 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 21. 

 

3. Write a check to Greater Manhattan Community Foundation.
   ~ If Meadowlark Foundation is the only beneficiary of your gift, you may write “Grow Green-Meadowlark” on the memo line.
   ~ Complete the giving form included with the April 6 Messenger, indicating the beneficiary/beneficiaries of your gift. (Meadowlark Hills is listed in the Basic Human Needs & Healthcare category.) Even if giving to more than one organization, write only one check for the total amount. The form you submit will indicate to GMCF how you’d like your gift divided.
   ~ No matter the day a check is written, date it 4/21/2023 and mail it and the giving form on or before 4/21/2023. Checks must be dated 4/21/2023 and postmarked on or before April 21 to be included in the 2023 Match Day total.  
   ~ Mail the check and giving form to GMCF, P.O. Box 1127, Manhattan, KS, 66505-1127

   ~ Meadowlark residents and Passport members may submit donations and donation forms to be delivered by Meadowlark Foundation in a bundle to GMCF. If you have a check and form to submit, please deliver to the Hospitality Desk by noon on Thursday, April 20.

 

4. Donate by donor-advised fund, grain, or by stock. For details, visit growngreenmanhattan.com or contact Becky Fitzgerald. Gifts of grain or stock must be initiated by Friday, April 14.

 

Although gifts of any amount are welcome, individual contributions ranging from $25 to $1,000 per organization will receive a local match at $.50 per $1, so a $1,000 gift can receive a $500 local match! Gifts may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed under applicable law; donors receive a receipt from GMCF. Couples may give only one gift, jointly, to organizations.

If participation in last April’s event is any indication, the Nursing Scholarship Program is sure to make cents. During that 24-hour period, Meadowlark Foundation was one of 28 organizations receiving $20,000 or more, and so earned the maximum match amount of $10,000.

 

Thank you for considering this opportunity! If you have questions, please contact Becky Fitzgerald, Development Director, at 323-3843. See the April 6 Messenger for information about current and/or previous nursing scholarship recipients.