By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Bingo! That’s a fun game that many people love to play. Today we’ll meet a creative community foundation which used bingo and other projects to support its community during the pandemic.
Tara Vance is executive director of the Norton County Community Foundation. A Stockton native and Fort Hays State grad, she became director of the Norton Chamber of Commerce. In 2012, she was asked to serve as part-time director of the community foundation as well.
The more she learned about the importance of local philanthropy, the more committed she became to the community foundation. “I’ve developed a passion for it,” she said.
Scott Sproul, director of the Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center Inc., was Norton County economic development director at the time. “He was a great mentor to me,” Tara said. “We saw that the private donor world would be essential (for our community) if tax dollars aren’t there someday.” Continue reading “Tara Vance, Norton County Community Foundation”
