Yesterday was a BIG day! Our SWIF Board of Directors met in Madison for our regular meeting. We heard great things throughout the day, but the biggest news came during our community lunch.
Together with Madison Community Foundation (MCF) Board Chair Cynthia Huse, we made a special announcement. The Siebenand family—siblings Mary Ann Kramer, Kathryn Kulas, John Siebenand and Chuck Siebenand—recently gifted 116 acres of farmland, which today is valued at $900,000, to benefit the Madison community!
Their gift is set up as a retained life estate through SWIF, so the siblings will continue using the land for their lifetimes. After that, it will be sold to create the Siebenand Family Memorial Endowment Fund through MCF, to award local grants.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to the Siebenand family for their generosity and vision. You’ll hear much more about this wonderful southwest Minnesota family. And, thank you to Cynthia and the MCF for planting seeds and helping them grow for the past 13 years. We’re all excited to see what local donors, partners and community leaders take on next in this southwest Minnesota community! The way people give back, even those who no longer call Madison home, is such an asset for this area.
We heard more examples of giving during a tour of community projects. As one of our 24 local community foundations around the region, MCF serves as a fundraising vehicle for some big local projects. Our SWIF staff have processed MANY gifts and grants for them!
- Project leader Dick Newman—a retired teacher, coach and member of Minnesota’s Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame—showed us the beautifully renovated baseball field. To date, $176,512 has been raised to update the lights, field, dugouts and seating. Home to four local teams, this is an incredible regional asset!
- City manager John Rademacher showed us the community pool which is being completely redone. If this rainy weather clears soon, they’ll be on schedule to open June 1. This is a huge collaboration with the city, area townships and private donations together contributing almost $1 million. They’re happy to have a fun facility for the area’s young families to enjoy.
- Entrepreneur Maynard Meyer gave us a special preview of the Grand Theatre’s newly-updated digital film and sound equipment. The community raised $116,000 in a year to support the conversion, which was needed for the theatre to keep running. Read more about this project in our past Connect newsletter.
During our community lunch, our board heard from even more people who are working to keep the Madison area vibrant. Challenges around workforce and attracting people to the great jobs and quality of life their communities offer is top-of-mind for many. They point to broadband, quality schools, and a warm and welcoming feeling as key assets.
This community is a true inspiration for our entire region!
