Different ways to give

by Vonda Hamill

When you think of charitable gifting, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Cash is the usual answer, but there are other creative ways to donate to entities that you want to support.

In the five years that the capital campaign for the nursing home operated, donations came in several different forms. Gifts of grain and cattle are common in our area, although a campaign in an urban area would be baffled by that notion. Several donors planned with the local elevators and the livestock auction to average out an amount of their sale to be paid to the building fund. Proceeds of the sale of a personal cattle brand were gifted to the cause. Gifts of stock, bonds, and individual property were witnessed as well. In-kind gifts come from people who have a particular skill or asset that a campaign can utilize. For instance, the use of a downtown space as an office, sign-making skills or printing equipment that can manufacture signs and help offset advertising costs. Of course, volunteering your time to an entity can be a remarkable gift, if feasible for all involved parties. It pays to approach the non-profit you are interested in and inquire about what kind of gifts they may be looking to acquire.

“The most unique approach to gifting,” commented campaign director Vonda Hamill, “was probably the gift of a personal oil painting of your choice in exchange for a cash donation.”

Frank Hansen, Albuquerque, New Mexico, took up oil painting in his retirement years. He took old photos of landmark buildings in the Haakon County area and created paintings of them. The paintings were left at Ginny’s coffee shop. Patrons could have a painting that they took a fancy to, in exchange for a donation of any size, to the campaign. “We saw several locals take home a painting of something that spoke to their childhood memories of Philip area, and we got a gift in return, it was really a great idea,” said Hamill. Then the donations started coming from folks in New Mexico, because Frank was doing the same thing in his own community.

More recently, Frank proposed that people can continue to acquire a painting if they wish, and they can choose the subject matter. He often paints childhood homes, favorite fishing spots, pets, and even cherished vehicles from photographs that he is supplied with by clients. He paints these subjects for free, the only caveat now is that the recipient makes some kind of donation to the Philip Area Health Foundation.

If interested, samples of Frank’s skill can be seen: paintings of what is often referred to as the Cutler Place from Northern Haakon County and the Plum Creek hay bottom are displayed in Ginny’s and the hallway to the Philip Clinic.

If someone is interested in obtaining one of Frank’s interpretations, they can contact Vonda Hamill at 605-859-2342 and find out the particulars about how to proceed. “It can be a really sentimental gift for someone, and the Foundation benefits from Frank’s talent and generosity as well,” summed up Hamill.