Challenge is offered on Veteran’s Memorial campaign

HARTINGTON — The new Hartington Veterans’ Memorial building project just received a huge boost to kick off the fundraising campaign for the second and final phase of the memorial construction and what better day to announce it than Veteran’s Day.

An anonymous donor has pledged $50,000 in the form of an incentive to promote donations toward the memorial project. When $150,000 in new donations is achieved, the anonymous donor will contribute the pledged $50,000 and together this will generate $200,000 in new funding toward the project.

This very generous challenge offer and pledge by the anonymous donor allows the remaining fundraising campaign to get off to a very positive start, said Project Coordinator Dan Kathol.

It is estimated the remaining money needed to finish the project will be close to $250,000 and that the remaining $50,000-$75,000 in donations that will be needed is expected to come from additional veteran sponsorships.

A $150 donation is being sought for each veteran that is sponsored or adopted. Currently, there are 678 veterans who have been sponsored with a goal of 1,200 veterans whose names will appear in the memorial.

“All donations that are made toward the project are tax-deductible. In addition to any cash donations, individual stocks can be accepted as a donation. If someone is 70 1/2 or older, they can make a qualified charitable distribution from their IRA where a required minimum distribution on an IRA is required to be taken by the end of a given year helping to reduce one’s taxable income, even if one does not itemize deductions, Kathol said.

“Any Gift-In-Kind donation of labor or materials where a cost to the donor has been incurred, can also be considered tax deductible up to the extent of the law,” he said.

Anyone donating $500 or more or an equivalent value in Gift-In-Kind donations of labor and/or materials toward the veterans’ memorial project, will have their name or business name listed on a planned donor board.

Donations are welcomed from individual, families or businesses. Many employers and businesses offer a matching gift opportunity to their employees to make any charitable gift grow.

The veteran sponsorship form and the gifting/donation form can be found on the website www.hartingtonveterans.com or on Facebook.

The goal is to raise all the needed funds for the project by mid-2021 so that the necessary granite for the monuments can be ordered with adequate lead-time to allow the granite to be delivered, cut to size and the engraving completed so the monuments can be installed in the summer of 2022 in time for the planned memorial dedication on Veteran’s Day in November 2022. The monuments alone will require almost a year from ordering to completion. Most of the monuments will need to be installed using a crane because of the limited access into the memorial because of the wall and fence that will enclose the memorial except for the entrance area. “Before we can install any of the memorial monuments, all the other memorial components and infrastructure has to be completed and in place, much of what will need to occur in 2021 and the first six months of 2022. The pace of the project will be determined by how fast the needed money is raised, as we do not want to move on any particular part of the project without first having the money in place to pay for the item or work to be completed. Importantly, we want to be sure we meet or exceed our target of veteran names that will appear on one of the monument stones in the memorial. Finding sponsors for our veterans takes a considerable amount of time and is the biggest challenge we face on the project,” Kathol said.

Those veterans being sought for sponsorship are veterans who have any affiliation at all with the Hartington area from the Civil War period up to the present day. This list includes all men and women who served on active duty as well as those who served in the National Guard or the Reserves, both living and deceased, and who are connected in some way with the Hartington area.

This connection to the Hartington area could be through family, a marriage or simply a friendship, even if the veteran never lived in the Hartington area but has some affiliation to the area through family or the sponsor.

The challenge is to connect with those living veterans and families both local and those that live outside the area and around the country so they can be made aware of the veterans’ memorial project and the opportunity to sponsor a veteran. Getting the word out from the local Hartington area people to friends and relatives outside the area is key to the success of achieving the 1,200 veteran sponsorship goal.

“As we celebrate Veterans’ Day by honoring all our nation’s veterans, help us to keep our veterans with ties to the Hartington area in our memory for the future by sponsoring a veteran and/or consider making a generous donation to help us complete the memorial project here locally. The Hartington Veteran organizations appreciate all the support to date for the project from individuals and businesses and to the person who has pledged $50,000 toward the project when the new $150,000 challenge is met. All the support so far on the project surely provides the incentive and energy we need as we move forward,” Kathol said.

More info on the Hartington Veterans Memorial project including the veteran sponsorship form and the gifting/donation form can be found on the website www.hartingtonveterans.com or on Facebook. Anyone with questions can contact Dan Kathol at (402) 640-3334 or email at kathold@hartel.net.

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