Lodgepole has established a community fund with the help of a Nebraska-based nonprofit to spearhead development in the town.

A group of local volunteers have launched the Lodgepole Community Fund as an affiliated fund of Nebraska Community Foundation. The Fund is working to build a robust, permanent unrestricted endowment to benefit the community of Lodgepole.

“We’ve been looking for ways that enable residents and alumni to give back to Lodgepole,” Lodgepole Community Fund Advisory Committee (FAC) chair Gewn Devie said. “This fund enables anyone to make a tax-deductible contribution that will perpetuate our way of life in Lodgepole.”

For over 25 years, Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) has been networking communities statewide in providing proven goals for community development through local charitable donations.

“Lodgepole Visions group has been a great local community group and will continue to do all the wonderful things they do for Lodgepole,” Devie said. “But the Visions group is not a 501(c)3 and therefore has some limitations. Our affiliation with NCF connects Lodgepole with hundreds of small Nebraska communities for sharing best gift-giving practices.”

The Lodgepole Community Fund and the Visions group will be partnering to create a stronger future for Lodgepole, according to a news release.

Now part of the NCF network, Lodgepole can participate in education and training opportunities that involve peers from communities across the state.

"Connecting with other communities is a tremendous advantage for Lodgepole and will help us dream bigger about what is possible in the future," Devie said in a news release.

The fund advisory committee will be sharing ways for community members to give back to their hometown and seek input from the public for local projects and programs to consider.

The funds that are given to the Lodgepole Community Fund stay in Lodgepole and can be tax-deductible gifts of cash, grain, land, or other commodities.

To learn more about the Lodgepole Community Fund, the NCF network and to support the work of the local fund advisory committee, visit https://www.nebcommfound.org/give/lodgepole-community-fund/.

Lodgepole Community Fund Advisory committee members include Gwen Devie, Bill Taylor, Gordy Wilkins, Gary Addison, Mark Bartley, Janet Fox, Glenda Shellhorn, Cindy Bondegard and Tom Nelson.