Fund Spotlight: Hatchet Fund
The Huron County Community Foundation is proud to announce its newest fund, the Hatchet Fund. The Hatchet Fund is a school fund to benefit Bad Axe Public Schools. School funds are a great way for alumni, employees, and communities to support local schools permanently by giving to an endowment. As long as the school exists, gifts to the fund will continue to provide additional funding to the district for field trips, athletics and other extracurricular activities, fine arts programs, technology updates, and much more. “Mr. Newland [Bad Axe’s Superintendent] reached out to me a few months ago with an interest in the school fund. He invited me to speak at the School Board meeting last month and shortly after, the fund was in place.” said Huron County Community Foundation Executive Director Mackenzie Price when asked about how the idea for the Hatchet Fund started. “The idea to start the Hatchet Fund came from the great people of the Bad Axe community who donate their time, talents, and money to our school programs,” adds Bad Axe Superintendent Greg Newland. “In working with the Foundation the process to donate is very simple and donors will know that their gift is going directly to help with the high quality education provided to our students,” said Newland.
With the start of the Hatchet Fund, Bad Axe joins three other districts in Huron County who also have school funds at the Huron County Community Foundation: the Harbor Beach Pirate Fund, the Ubly Bearcat Fund, the Laker Legacy Fund, and the Laker Fine Arts and Academics Fund. The Hatchet Fund will begin to benefit the school after the endowed balance reaches $5,000. The district plans to publicize this to alumni, parents, and the community as well as have staff casual Friday dollars go toward the fund.
Once the fund starts to grant to the District, how the grant dollars are distributed within the schools is left primarily to the district. “These funds are created to benefit the school however they see fit.” noted Price, “Distributing the funds is a decision we leave for the districts to make. They can set up their own system, be that a committee, administrative decisions, or an internal application process.” Mr. Newland anticipates this decision being made by a committee of the Hatchet Fund in which teachers and student groups will apply for funding for special projects, equipment, or other educational aides that helps assist with student growth in and out of the classroom.
“We are excited to see Bad Axe take pride in this resource and make the growth of the Hatchet Fund a priority” added Price. If you would like to make a gift to the Hatchet Fund, please make checks out to HCCF, writing Hatchet Fund in the Memo line, and send them to the Huron County Community Foundation at PO 56, Bad Axe. Gifts via credit card can be made online at huroncountycommunityfoundation.org. HCCF is a 501(c)3 organization that can accept estate gifts, stocks, investments, gifts of land, and gift of crops. Please contact the Foundation for more details on supporting the Hatchet Fund at 989-269-2850.
