Well our first Giving Challenge is over!  How’d we do? 
 
I’m going to start with some statistics: We had 39 online donations that will be matched 2:1, and 2 off line donations for a total of 41 donations.  Out of the 41 donations 29 were by Kiwanis members or spouses.  The average donation from members and spouses was $97.00.  The average donation from family and friends was a respectable $67.00.  
 
The total raised from members, spouses, family, and friends was $3,525.00.  The Paterson Foundation match for online donations is expected to be $6,650 increasing Challenge donations to $10,175. 
 
Before the Challenge the Club applied for a “Board Bonus”, which is an additional money incentive to encourage every Board member to donate which they did with smiles!!  The Bonus is competitive so it will be late October until we know the result.
 
Members who worked on getting our Foundation in the Giving Challenge were Doug Griffin, Fred Scheerle, and John Ferrari.  Past and present Board members were involved as well, making phone calls to potential donors on behalf of our Foundation.  You may have noticed lots of reminder emails were sent out.  It all seems to have worked!
 
A great deal was learned qualifying for the Giving Challenge and even more encouraging people to donate.  Things learned this year will serve us well for next year’s Giving Challenge.
 
I think we did quite well for our first year.  Our members, Board members (past & present), and the committee deserve our thanks and a pat on the back.