Rochelle – Through the Rochelle Area Community Foundation’s Business and Employee Partnership program, City of Rochelle staff made donations and pledges of $8,500 to the Rochelle Area Community Foundation over the coming year through a payroll deduction opportunity. 

Human resource director for the City of Rochelle, Nancy Bingham, organized fundraising for the program with a baseball theme. With planning and great creativity, Bingham set a goal for city staff contributions at $8,000 and recruited city manager Jeff Fiegenschuh, an avid Boston Red Sox fan, to “take one (or two) for the team.” Upon meeting the fundraising goal he agreed to wear a competing team’s jersey to a future city council meeting as well as sit in a dunk tank at the city’s summer picnic. 

Each staff member who made a pledge or contribution signed a baseball and then had the opportunity to dunk the city manager. Additional balls could be purchased at the picnic by donation. Visual aids showed Fiegenschuh “rounding the bases” as the team reached their goal. 

“The Business Partnership program was created for a couple of reasons — to give more people the opportunity to learn about and be a part of the Rochelle Area Community Foundation and to build the endowment funds that allow us to support so many important causes and projects in the community, today and forever,” said Joe Meadows, foundation board member and chair of the foundation’s development committee. “The outcome of this effort by city employees has just blown us away.”  

Fiegenschuh says the Rochelle Area Community Foundation is a great place to invest charitable giving because contributors know exactly where the money goes, benefiting our local community. 

“I was so impressed with Nancy’s creativity and organizations skills and I had a great time working with her and meeting new people through the staff meetings I was able to attend,” said RACF director Kim Montgomery. “This success proves that a creative, committed and passionate leader can accomplish so much on behalf of the community.”

The Rochelle Area Community Foundation is also grateful for the partnerships and support of Rochelle Foods, Central Bank, and the elementary and high school staff members who support the foundation through payroll deduction. 

“We hope to expand the program to include additional businesses and organizations in support of community projects and programs. There is no limit to what good we can do with a strong network of donors, it just takes willing and passionate leaders like Nancy and Jeff to make the process fun,” Montgomery added. 

The Rochelle Area Community Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as a vehicle for personal, family, business and corporate philanthropy in the local area, making a difference in the communities of Chana, Creston, Kings, Lindenwood, Steward and all the areas in between. The foundation improves the community through charitable giving, encourages a spirit of philanthropy, develops collaborative partnerships, and improves the quality of life of the communities it serves. 

For more information contact  Montgomery at 815-561-3600 or by e-mail at kim@rochellefoundation.org.