Boys & Girls Club given $500k challenge

NASHUA – The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua has been given the opportunity of a lifetime, but the club needs help from the community.

If the club raises $500,000 by the end of the summer, The Kresge Foundation will give the club a matching grant of $500,000.

“This is a huge opportunity for our club and for the greater Nashua community, and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Norm Bouthilette, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua. “Our board, trustees and supporters have gotten us to the $3 million mark. Facing $1 million more to raise is daunting. Kresge has potentially cut that amount in half. We sincerely hope that our community will respond to help us meet this challenge.”

Challenged by The Kresge Foundation to raise $500,000 in the final phase of the Teen Center and Clubhouse Improvement Project, the club will receive matched funds of $500,000 from the foundation. If the club meets the challenge, the Kresge grant will conclude fundraising, and the club will have met its capital campaign goal of $4 million.

“If we can raise $500,000 in donations and pledges by the end of summer, Kresge will match those dollars – but only if we reach our mark; otherwise, no funds will be received from the foundation,” Bouthilette said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the club and for the community to leverage their donations and pledges dollar for dollar in the final phase of Clubhouse improvements. Every donor counts, no gift is too big or too small, and donations are tax deductible.”

The Kresge Foundation is a national, private foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations, by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, supporting artistic expression, advancing methods for dealing with global climate change and other initiatives. In 2007, the foundation made 283 grants totaling $178.5 million, the majority of which were granted to U.S. nonprofits. It is rare for New Hampshire organizations to receive a Kresge challenge grant.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua annually serves 4,200 boys and girls ages 5-18 in Nashua, Merrimack and Litchfield. It reaches another 10,000 youngsters in the community. Offering a variety of programs and wholesome activities to build attitudes, skills, values and behaviors that enable youth to succeed in adulthood, the club’s vision is for all children to have a safe place to go after school to develop the best within themselves and experience the joys of childhood. The club is staffed with professional, caring adults and is open to all children. Membership is $15, a year and no child is turned away for inability to pay.

To help the Boys & Girls Club meet this challenge, mail tax-deductible donations and pledges to Kresge Challenge, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua, 47 Grand Ave., Nashua, NH 03060. Pledges may be paid over three years. To make a donation by credit card, donate securely online at www.bgcn. com or call Denise King at 883-0523, ext. 217.