(Lander, WY) – Lander’s nonprofit community packed the Lander Community Center on Monday night for the annual Challenge for Charities check presentation, where the Lander Community Foundation announced that 54 participating nonprofits raised a combined $751,184 this year, a record.
Challengers, the donors who contribute to the event’s matching fund, put up a record $224,600, bringing the total raised to $975,785. Executive director Mary Greene told the crowd that 26 organizations hit the maximum $10,000 match cap, another record, and that this year’s match came in at roughly 30 percent.
Non-profit workers gather to receive their checks from this year’s Challenge for Charities event. h/t Carl Cote Katie Klingsporn grabs a check on behalf of Wyofile Monday evening in Lander. h/t Carl Cote Landerites gather in the Community Center for the Challenge for Charities check presentation ceremony Monday evening. h/t Carl Cote Mary Greene talks about the money raised by Challenge for Charities this year Monday in Lander. h/t Carl Cote
The scale of the growth was clear when Greene walked the room back to the beginning. In 2011, the first year of the event, 28 nonprofits raised $94,000 and 24 challengers contributed $54,000, for a total of $148,000. Over the 16 years since, challengers have put $2.1 million into the matching fund, and donors have given more than $6.7 million directly to participating nonprofits, roughly $8.86 million returned to the Lander area. More than $5.4 million of that has come in the last six years alone.
Representatives from each organization were called to the stage in alphabetical groups to collect their checks, with Greene asking the room to hold off opening them until everyone had one. Reactions, she said, were welcome.
Greene also used the evening to talk about the foundation’s broader work. Founded in 1996 under the financial umbrella of the Lander Rotary Club, the Lander Community Foundation has operated as its own nonprofit since 2006, offering local organizations free resources, fundraising guidance and nonprofit education. She noted that individual donations, total dollars raised, and contributions to both nonprofits and the matching fund have all climbed steadily since 2021. The foundation also runs a free volunteer platform that connects residents with organizations in need.
“Every check we handed out tonight represents more than a dollar amount,” Greene said, pointing to meals served, trails maintained, kids encouraged and volunteers connected. “It’s about generosity, but it’s also about trust. Neighbors investing in neighbors.”
Greene finished up by thanking the volunteers behind the summer race that feeds into the event, crediting more than 600 volunteer hours of planning, and thanking board members, sponsors and donors before turning the evening over to live local music.