The Michigan 4-H Foundation has a goal to raise $5,000 to grow 4-H county endowments on #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving.

From 2013-2018, 31 Michigan county 4-H programs participated in the Michigan 4-H Foundation’s county 4-H endowment match campaign to raise perpetual support for local 4-H programs by establishing and growing county 4-H endowments.

During the campaign period, the Michigan 4-H community including clubs, parents, volunteers, alumni and donors collectively came together to show their strong support of 4-H today and to sustain funding for the program well into the future through endowments.

To help continue to grow these funds for the future, the Michigan 4-H Foundation has set a #GivingTuesday goal to raise $5,000 to grow county 4-H endowments in a 24-hour period on Dec. 1, 2020. Learn more.

Counties with Michigan 4-H Foundation endowments include Allegan, Arenac, Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Houghton-Keweenaw, Ingham, Ionia, Iosco, Isabella, Kalkaska, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Macomb, Mason, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oakland, Ogemaw, Osceola, Ottawa, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

Each of these county’s annual endowment investment earnings can provide general support for current 4-H program delivery, purchase or development of new program and learning materials, support for 4-H youth leadership experiences, participation fees or any future areas of great need to advance the county 4-H program.

For example, in St. Joseph County the endowment earnings supported a charter bus rental for 54 participants to attend 4-H Exploration Days in 2018. It also funded two fair events: a 4-H Year End Dance with 154 participants and a 4-H Fair Frenzy with 98 participants. The fair frenzy allowed staff to provide a fun event during fair week to get the youth to work as a team and to interact with one another on a social level. The dance is another opportunity to get youth to engage without social media and the competitive aspect of the fair.

“We were able to provide programs and services with the endowment earnings that we have struggled to provide without the additional funds,” said Eva Beeker, 4-H program coordinator in St. Joseph County. “Several of our 4-H youth would not have had transportation to Exploration Days and would not have attended without the bus funded through these funds.”

Additional examples of how 4-H endowment earnings are supporting general program needs in counties include:

• Eaton County – funds have provided supplies and materials for the Eaton County 4-H Cloverbud Camp, lowering the cost of the camp to only $10 per youth. This reduced rate allowed the camp to be held at an affordable rate for families, especially those with financial hardships. The Eaton County 4-H Cloverbud Camp is a day camp that involves 20-30 youth ages 5-7 from 4-H and non-4-H members across the county and 15-20 teen leaders as camp counselors. Additionally, the planning committee is comprised of teens and adult volunteers. “The camp is a great opportunity to support our youngest 4-H members in their growth and keep them active in our program,” said Kristy Oosterhouse, 4-H program coordinator in Eaton County. “The support of the endowment funds is a great benefit to this event.”
• Gratiot County – a portion has provided scholarships to educational events and supported new programming opportunities for virtual activities. In previous years, the endowment interest has provided funding to increase STEAM programming opportunities to underserved audiences through the 4-H STEAM AmeriCorps Program. Forty-nine new 4-H members were recruited to join at least one 4-H STEAM SPIN Club and 10 new 4-H SPIN Clubs were started. Five family engagement events were also held to further connect the families with the 4-H program and to recruit new members. Thirteen new volunteers were successfully recruited and vetted through the 4-H Volunteer Process. The endowment has also funded 4-H promotional activities like the 2019 Kid’s Day Exploration Tent at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth.
• Ingham County – this support has helped fund and purchase supplies for an AmeriCorps volunteer and for the Ingham County 4-H Still Life Workshop, which welcomed more than 100 participants to explore a variety of 4-H project areas, with more than 40 different sessions being offered throughout the day. “Possible uses for the 2020-21 allocation include covering fair expenses and helping to facilitate remote programming opportunities for our 4-H youth and volunteers, among other uses that will allow us to further support 4-H programs in Ingham County,” said Eric Dobbrastine, 4-H program coordinator in Ingham County.
• Ionia County – endowment interest provided scholarships for Ionia 4-H volunteers to attend 4-H skill-building workshops. Volunteers attending these workshops were able to gain knowledge and experience that they were able to bring back to their 4-H clubs and youth. “Thanks to the Ionia County 4-H Endowment Fund, in 2018-19, our volunteer attendance to the Winterfest workshop was very high compared to other counties,” said John Duvall, 4-H program coordinator in Ionia County. “This allowed Ionia volunteers to be involved in a wide variety of sessions, allowing volunteers to bring back a wider variety of knowledge to 4-H youth!”
• Muskegon County – the fund has provided scholarships to middle school youth to attend 4-H Exploration Days. “This increased youth leadership skills and had youth start thinking about college,” said Tonya Pell, 4-H program coordinator in Muskegon County. “Many of the youth who received scholarships to 4-H Exploration Days were first time attendees.”
• Shiawassee County – funds provided educational materials for the 2018 4-H Camp Neyati, scholarships that allowed 10 youth to attend camp at no cost, materials for camp counselor trainings and transportation cost for youth to get to camp. “These funds provided the necessary materials needed to promote extended education for youth development,” said Nikki Hersch, 4-H program coordinator in Shiawassee County.
• Washtenaw County – endowment interest provided funding for 4-H newsletter communications and general support for local 4-H program work.

Note that each county has its own process on how these funds are spent. Individual endowment donors are encouraged to reach out to county 4-H program coordinators for additional details on how these funds are helping to provide opportunities to 4-H youth in their area.

Learn more about how you can help grow county 4-H endowments on #GivingTuesday: https://mi4hfdtn.org/giving-tuesday/.