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LUDINGTON — The Community Foundation for Mason County recently raised over $6 million for its Campaign for Mason County: Building a Stronger Community Together. The foundation’s goal was $5 million.
The campaign finished with $3,032,500 in cash gifts and $3,045,000 in planned gifts for a total of $6,077,500.
The recent success echoes the community foundation’s history. In 2007, the foundation launched a campaign to reach $7 million in assets. In less than four months, 11 donors collectively gave $2 million, with $1 million designated as unrestricted.
The recent Campaign for Mason County was sparked by a $1 million transformational pledge from Lee and Joan Schoenherr, which inspired additional gifts and generated momentum.
Just before the close of 2025, a local family stepped forward with a matching challenge to cover half of the remaining goal. The family’s commitment inspired a final wave of support, pushing the campaign across the finish line and ensuring the foundation is better equipped than ever to address Mason County’s most urgent needs and opportunities.
The primary goal of the campaign was to increase unrestricted funds for the community, enabling the foundation to respond to emerging needs and opportunities. Last year, unrestricted funds provided roughly $177,000 to support projects like Lakeshore Food Club’s Fresh Futures Program, the Mason County Landbank, the Blue Hat Ministries Thrive House, Home Team Housing’s critical home repairs, multi-use trail development, and many others that continue to move the needle in Mason County.
“We often receive two to three times the number of grant requests that we are able to award,” said Andrea Large, executive director of the Community Foundation for Mason County. “This campaign helps us bridge that gap, allowing us to increase support for the nonprofit partners who work tirelessly to address Mason County’s greatest needs and opportunities.”
The campaign has already doubled the foundation’s grant making capacity for 2026. These funds will be directed to projects aligned with grant making priorities that were identified by the community and recently updated by the Community Foundation Board. These include Education (Workforce and Learning Readiness), Economic Development (Workforce Supports), and Community Development (Recreation & Quality of Life).
“This success reflects neighbors stepping up for neighbors,” said Large. “We are deeply grateful to every donor, partner, and community member who made this possible. Together we are strengthening the future of Mason County—our home.”
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