Fund Facts: Info For The Heck Of It
by Gayle McMillen
KMEA Fund ManagerKMEA Fund
The KMEA Fund is in its 11th year. Last year, I gave you a truncated history of the Fund. This year, I would like to give you some information that I think is interesting. The KMEA Fund is a part of the Greater Salina Community Foundation who serves a large number of communities, schools, hospitals, organizations, and individuals in Kansas, particularly in the central and northwest areas. We are one of a small handful of state-wide organizations.
Our money is in two separate accounts: the KMEA Fund, which is much like a savings account where we have access to the balance if there comes a need, and the KMEA Endowment where the principle stays there as a financial anchor. Both accounts are invested through the GSCF, along with the rest of the funds by people much smarter and more savvy than me. We currently have just under $150,000.00 combined. There is a formula that takes into consideration how much money can be spent each year and still allow for administrative costs (less than 1%) and growth. That is the amount we can award in scholarships and (future) grants.
Each year since 2012, the GSCF has hosted a day of donation, Match Madness, where they match up to 50% of any donation turned in that day. This is a wonderful opportunity to magnify gifts to the Fund. The match money comes from generous people in the community that support the non-profits that participate. To date, we have totaled over $18,000 donated with over $7,000 additional coming from the matches. A frustrating note for me is that at the most, we have had 20 people participate. Out of somewhere around 900 KMEA members, that hugs 2%. Just think what we could do with more people giving!
I would like to offer a challenge to every person that is reading this article. The Greater Salina Community Foundation is having its 2020 “Match Madness” on March 19, where they will match up to 50% of all money donated that day. I will be representing the KMEA Fund. You can donate two ways:
Give me a check made out to “GSCF” with “KMEA Fund” in the memo line. It can be any amount from $1 up to $2,000. I will deliver all the collected checks on March 19 for the matching funds to apply. It’s as simple as that! You can either hand them to me or mail them to me at 521 S. Estates Dr., Salina, KS, 67401, by March 12 so it can get to me in time.
If you don’t do checks, set your calendar alarm, and donate online on March 19 by going to “MatchMadnessGSCF.org” and follow the directions. Be sure and designate Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA) as the recipient.
March 19, 2020, is not the only day you can contribute to the KMEA Fund. Any of the other 364 days in the year, you are invited to further the legacy of the Kansas Music Educators Association by a donation to the Fund. Feel free to send a check designated for the “KMEA Fund” to our Executive Director, John Taylor, 614 N. Parkdale, Wichita, KS, 67212.
We can start realistically developing a plan to apply for and award grants from the KMEA Fund. After the logistics are finalized, we hope to begin awarding very small grants. Hopefully, when the awards get started, there can be even more interest in seeing the KMEA Fund grow.
In 11 years, we have grown from a dream to a reality. That is a great thing. My hope is that we can soon be celebrating some new growth in music education here in Kansas that was helped along the way by the KMEA Fund.
