Mitchell United Way clears fundraising goal with $451,299 in donations

Nov. 17—MITCHELL — There are changes happening at the Mitchell United Way, but its consecutive streak of reaching its yearly fundraising goal remains intact.

That was revealed Friday at Dakota Wesleyan University, where organization leaders announced the annual campaign drive had brought in $451,299, surpassing the goal of $450,000. The total continued the organization's long running streak of meeting its fundraising target.

"It feels great," said Ashley Hobbs, executive director for the Mitchell United Way. "It takes everyone and all sizes of donation to make this happen. We really tried our best to get every dollar that we could to make it happen."

The organization made the announcement during its annual banquet that saw 115 members of associated agencies, volunteers, board members, staff and the general public in attendance. The group brought in $421,000 last year, topping that year's goal of $420,000.

Funds raised from the campaign stay in Mitchell and support local organizations, Hobbs said.

Mark Spitzenberger, who chaired the campaign committee for this year's drive, said this year's goal was ambitious but necessary to properly reflect the goals the organization had for itself. He said fundraising is a yearly battle that needs to strike a balance between being realistic in expectations but also pushing past previous goals to drive the organization forward.

"When you set goals, for the most, part you're setting those to push yourself, to reach something you wouldn't normally reach," Spitzenberger said. "There's an art to setting goals. You set those too low, you're not going to push yourself hard enough. If you set it too high, you risk people saying to you that you're not going to make it. You have to fall in there somewhere."

The higher fundraising target this year is reflective of the expanded goals the organization is expecting itself to accomplish over the course of the upcoming year. Everyone involved will have to step up their game and dedication to the cause, just as donors increased their generosity this year, he said.

"It was a stretch goal and I think it was necessary. We really are at a crossroads with the Mitchell United Way. We've made the decision to go to a full-time director, which was definitely the right move," Spitzenberger said. "Ashley is doing a terrific job, but she's obviously only one person, and one person can only do so much. Looking forward, those of us who are board members are going to have to do more than what has traditionally been asked of the board of directors."

The expansion from a part-time role to full-time role for the executive director is an example of what should be expected from everyone involved. That will help bring the organization to the forefront of more minds throughout the course of the entire year, and not just at certain times.

"It's not just one day a year. We need to be on the minds of people 12 months of the year and really try to make our agencies better, our organization better and really our communities and ourselves better," Spitzenberger said.

Hobbs was hired in February in conjunction with the switch, stepping in for Dave Stevens, who had served in the role since 2007.

Stevens, who established the Day of Caring campaign that remains a yearly staple of the organization, was one of the individuals singled out for recognition at the event. Ken Schlimgen, president of the Mitchell United Way board of directors, said Stevens had led the organization to $7 million in donations during his tenure as executive director and had impacted the lives of many people.

"He impacted the lives of so many people," Schlimgen said.

Stevens told the audience that he could not have helped the nonprofit achieve as many goals as it did without the help of his fellow volunteers.

"I really appreciate the board of directors who have served during this 15 year term. Without their dedication and volunteerism we would never have been as successful," Stevens said. "I would also like to congratulate the agencies that have been the recipients of those allocations and the work that they do to make this area a better community."

Stevens said he was ready to move on to his next passion, in this case returning to Thailand to teach English to primary school students. But he said he knew the Mitchell United Way would continue to find success.

"I appreciate all the volunteers who have helped along the way, along with the staff. I think the best is yet to come for the Mitchell United Way," Stevens said.

In addition to the change to the executive director role, the organization also moved into new office space. Now located at 1920 N. Sanborn Blvd. in a building it shares with BankWest, the office offers administrative space as well as conferencing facilities that can be utilized by the agencies the nonprofit serves.

The group moved into the space just a few months ago and is still getting settled, but Hobbs expects it to be a great boon for the group and the agencies it supports.

"We moved in right when we launched the (fundraising) campaign. It's not all settled yet but it will be a great space. We're hoping the nonprofits can use the conference space and we'll be adding some additional resources there they can use," Hobbs said.

As the nonprofit heads toward the end of 2023, Schlimgen said volunteers will continue to work toward their goals of supporting their fellow local nonprofits. The event Friday was a time to celebrate the past year's efforts and to look ahead to the future, one he felt was bright thanks to the work of the group's members and the support from the community at large.

"We know none of this would be possible without the support of our community year after year in completing this campaign," Schlimgen said.

Additional recognition at the event included Scott Kaiser as volunteer of the year, Vern Eide as the business of the year and the James Valley Drug Court as the featured agency. Mike Lebrun and Karen Harrington were also named board members of the year.