Volunteers from communities across Greater Nebraska took an opportunity last month to share their success stories with guests from Canada visiting on a community development tour.
The Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) network hosted 17 guests representing the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST), a non-governmental organization located in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. The cohort visited Nebraska to learn from NCF volunteers as part of a learning tour focused on supporting quality, sustainable tourism experiences across Canada through education, training and by implementing strong community development principles.
Among those on this cross-state tour was Bill Dickey of Wayne, representing the Wayne Area Legacy Fund.
The multi-day bus tour made stops in the communities of Shickley, Red Cloud, McCook, Ogallala, Halsey, Taylor, Ord and Albion where Canadian guests received tours from local volunteers who talked about the progress occurring in their communities.
At each stop, local leaders involved with NCF affiliated funds spoke with visitors about their experiences in using asset-based community development (ABCD) practices to build more vibrant, resilient communities. Throughout the tour, hosts and guests reflected on the similarities between rural areas in Nebraska and Canada – most importantly the need to get residents involved in co-creating the future.
“It’s important to ask people to get involved,” NCF Honorary Board Member Richard Walter told the group in Shickley. “Some people are never asked.”
Jonathan Foster, GMIST’s executive director, said the group experienced the kinds of community development practices that have led to NCF’s tremendous growth and thriving hometowns across the state of Nebraska. The tour helped them understand they have what they need in their own communities to build a more resilient future.
“We’re the ones who are going to be our own saviors,” Foster said. “We’re the ones who are going to commit. We’re going to help our community. We’re going to do what is needed.”
For NCF and the affiliated funds who took part, the tour served to reinforce their mission to unleash abundant local assets, inspire charitable giving, and connect ambitious people to build stronger communities and a Greater Nebraska.
“In each community we visited on this tour, volunteers had an opportunity to share their success stories with an engaged audience eager to learn how Greater Nebraska became an international beacon for community-building,” said NCF President and CEO Jeff Yost. “Through this experience, our affiliated funds learned just how inspiring their work is to people around the world and took the opportunity to celebrate their achievements.”
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Nebraska Community Foundation unleashes abundant local assets, inspires charitable giving and connects ambitious people to build stronger communities and a Greater Nebraska.
Headquartered in Lincoln, the Foundation serves communities, donors and organizations by providing financial management, strategic development, education and training to a statewide network of 1,500 volunteers serving more than 270 communities.
In the last five years, 45,993 contributions have been made to Nebraska Community Foundation and its affiliated funds. Since 1994, Nebraska Community Foundation has reinvested $517 million in Nebraska’s people and places. For information, visit NebraskaHometown.org.
