Jefferson County joins the party with successful first county-wide fundraiser

JEFFERSON COUNTY - It took two years of planning, and seeing neighboring counties execute successful events of their own. But now, Jefferson County has joined the party, pulling off the first county-wide fundraising drive of their own.

"We first put together a group of interested nonprofits about two years ago. And over that two year period, we’ve built...this. We’ve gotten this created," Jefferson County Gives board president Beth Roelfs said. :Really what we want to do is squeeze the most that we can out of today. As we built this we of course wanted to raise funds for worthwhile projects, we wanted to highlight amazing projects that are ding really important work within our county and in our communities."

From agencies with statewide connections like APACE, Hope Crisis Center, TeamMates and Blue Valley Community Action, to local nonprofits like the Bonham Theatre, Homeless No More Cat Rescue or Whispering Acres, to groups based outside of the county that have specific objectives here like the Beatrice Humane Society or the Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling, to hyperlocal grassroots projects close to home across the county in places like Plymouth and Steele City, a total of 40 organizations took part in the first Jefferson County Gives fundraiser on Thursday, united by a common goal: making this part of the state better for everyone who lives and works here.  

"The mission is to prove to everyone that they can make an impact through giving days like this. They have the opportunity to give whatever dollar amount they feel comfortable in giving, toward projects they believe in," said Roelfs, who has been one of the captains of this county-wide effort since its inception. "It’s sort of the old adage that the tide raises all ships. As we support things we believe in, we create quality of life, in a place we believe in, which is Jefferson County."

Part of the objective for the first installment of this fundraiser was to make sure all of Jefferson County was included. So organizers established home bases at the Diller Fire Hall, the Plymouth Community Center, and at the On the Bricks event venue in Fairbury, all accepting in-person donations until 6 PM Thursday. Plus, the online portal is accepting donations of any dollar amount to any number of participating organizations until midnight.

And don’t forget the youngest members of this county community either: thanks to sponsorships and anonymous donations, some grade schoolers at Diller-Odell and Fairbury were each given ten dollars to invest into whatever organization they choose – just like the adults can do.

A live leaderboard tracking the results of the fundraiser was running on screens throughout the day - not to mention a live stream tracking the results of the Nebraska men's basketball team's NCAA Tournament game. Counting some donations received before the event started, the fundraiser crossed the $60,000 threshold by 1 PM, and crossed the $80,000 threshold by 5 PM, far surpassing most organizers’ hopes for even the final total for the first year of the event.  

But regardless of what that final tally ends up reading, Jefferson County Gives already knows this event is not going to be a one and done.  

"I’ve just thought, if we’re going to put all the work into this event, what can we do to make it as impactful as possible? We’ll think about it and see if in 2027 we can do even more," Roelfs said. "Next year we will open it up again to anyone with a worthwhile project. And we hope that this proves to everyone in the county and outside that Jefferson County can make this happen. It can be a successful building thing, a thing that brings pride and growth to everything that we support and believe in."