Randolph Area Foundation ‘hidden gem’ for town betterment

RANDOLPH — There would be no Lied Randolph Public Library without the Randolph Area Foundation.

“It just wouldn’t have happened,” said Library Director Peggy Leiting.

Although a community development grant of $250,000 had been secured for the library building project in 2003, the grant from the Lied Foundation had to be granted to a 501c3-designated non-profit organization. That’s where the Randolph Area Foundation was able to step in to help and funnel the money for the project along with accepting other donations from the community.

“Even to this day, there’s certain grants through the library that I can apply for through the city but still plenty of them that are only 501c3 that I can do,” she said.

The library fundraiser was the largest the Randolph Area Foundation (RAF) has been involved with to date, said RAF Board President Josh Rayford. But since its inception, RAF has helped facilitate millions of dollars for Randolph’s betterment.

“It’s a hidden gem within the community,” he said. “Not a lot of people realize it’s there, but it does help spark a lot of new things in this town.”

The Randolph City Auditorium and Cardinal Kids Learning Center were other major projects in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that RAF has proudly been instrumental in funding.

The learning center project was brought about by a citizen survey identifying the need for more childcare providers – an important commodity for any community wanting to attract and keep families in town, Rayford said. And on top of that, the learning center also helped bring in 15 new jobs.

Currently, RAF is accepting donations for the proposed aquatics center with a price tag of $1.1 million.

“It keeps getting bigger and better as we go along,” Rayford said.

RAF began in the ‘90s, started by Dan Tunink who had lived in Randolph all of his life until his passing earlier this year.

“He’s really the reason it exists, and it’s flourished the way that it has,” Rayford said. “Without his vision and his forward thinking, Randolph would’ve lost out on some of the opportunities we’ve had. With his passing, we reflect back and realize how much he did for this community.”

Not only is RAF a mechanism for large donations to flow through, but the organization also gifts money for different projects in town like the new Veterans Memorial and downtown beautification. The local senior center, saddle club, churches and schools have also received some gifts from RAF to update their properties.

Rayford’s 12-year-old son, Milo, applied to receive funding from RAF last year for new basketball hoops at the city park. Unbeknownst to him, Park Board President Julie Kint also applied for the same – solidifying a need for the equipment at the park and the RAF board decided to move forward and fund that project.

“It was an encouraging moment for him to take an idea and make it a reality,” Rayford said. “Ideas are very easy in life – it’s the work behind it to make it come to fruition is the hard part. It was a good opportunity for him to see how that works.”

About $10,000 has been gifted each year for the past several years, Rayford said.

RAF receives donations from small to exceptionally large and from all different sources – private individuals to organizations. A specific cause will typically spark more giving but RAF does receive some general donations as well with 100 percent of all money going back into the community.

“There’s no board member fees, no hidden costs,” Rayford said.

Donations can be received through the RAF website (randolphareafoundation.com), through mail (PO Box 624, Randolph) or through any RAF board member: Rayford, Leiting, Sandy Owens, Jenny Gubbels, Denton Kuhl, Trent Brunssen or Sheri Bargstadt.

“It takes people willing to support the mission that we project for the betterment of the town and encourage development and growth. WE couldn’t do anything without the donors and the believers,” Rayford said.

Leiting said after she saw how RAF was able to fund the library building, she became a board member and it’s been rewarding work.

“We help the community make their dreams come true,” she said. “Seeing all the projects come alive is by far the best – just the community pride.”

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