As chase ends, Foundations drive builds momentum
It has taken 53 weeks, countless hours of time volunteered and over $357,000.00 to find the elusive Ace of Spades!
A quick recap for those who may not have been following along these last few years... The FACF was created in December of 2018 through the SD Community Foundation as a way to sustain and improve our large rural area. An endowment fund(savins account) was established and a goal of raising $200,000.00 in three years was set. Meeting that goal meant the SD Community Foundation(SDCF) would grant us an extra $50,000.00 for our savings account, adding to the balance and generating interest. That interest will be granted yearly to area nonprofits for community projects generations into the future.
Fast forward to year three of fundraising, our saving account boasted an impressive $70,000.00 accumulated through donations including a match grant fundraising event. While everyone was happy with the progress of the savings account(especially during a pandemic)we were entering the third year still needing $130,000.00 to meet our goal. Board President Shalyn Hawley saw a community east of the river conducting a very successful campaign and reached out to them for information. And that folks is how we as a large rural community west of the river, embarked on an adventure to Chase the Ace.
The first drawing was January 27, 2021. We sold $855.00 in tickets and our first weekly winner received $86.00 for having their name picked from the folded tickets. Continuing through the weeks, the number of tickets grew and the cards dropped one by one. Each weekly winner received 10% of the weekly sales. Which brings us to January 26, 2022, week 53 of Chase the Ace.
The drawing was held at Nellies Mercantile in Enning, SD. With only 2 cards remaining out of a full deck of 54(including Jokers), 1 name was drawn from the tub containing 12,162 tickets. That lucky person was Kristel Hammerquist of Rapid City, SD. Kristel won 10% of the weekly sales for having her name drawn. She was not present so a call was placed and answered as Kristel was watching live on Facebook. Kristel chose envelope number 2 revealing the Ace of Spades and winning half of the accumulated pot of money. The remaining half goes to the FACF reaching our goal of fully funding our saving account! We will also be reciveing that extra $50,000.00 from the SDCF.
This dream could not have been realized without all of you who have supported the FACF through donations, volunteering, and helping spread the word on social media. For that we extend our gratitude and encourage you to get involved in preserving and improving our large rural area.
