Faribault Philanthropists Gather in October

Laura Bock Executive Director

Sometimes the word Charity gets a bad rap. Charity is not a freebie; it is a way to care for others. Charities or nonprofit organizations fill essential needs in our community, and our acts of charity help us to respond to the needs of others with kindness and without judgement.

We write a lot about giving and philanthropy in this column. Get ready, because October will be your month to demonstrate a giving heart.  The Faribault Foundation invites you to activate your charitable heart by supporting the 100 Women Who Care and 100 Men on a Mission events coming in October.

Here’s what you can expect if you attend!

100 Women Who Care is in its 5^th year. This year the event is on October 5 at the Three Ten Event Center from 3-5 pm. This year, as always, half the proceeds go to the local nonprofit chosen by the women present, but new this year, the remaining half will go into the Women Who Care Endowment. A heartfelt thank you to Community Resource Bank is sponsoring 100 women who care Gather and Give.

The 100 Men on a Mission event is on October 23 with a game day theme to watch the Vikings. The event starts at 6 pm at the American Legion, and you’ll be home by halftime if that suits you. The Men are in the early stages of forming a Men on a Misson Endowment.  You can be part of this from the start by attending this year’s event.  Shoutout to Monkey Motors, Mikes Garage and The State Bank of Faribault for sponsoring 100 Men on a Mission in 2025.

Both events are run the same way. Each person contributes $100.00 to bring the total raised to $10,000.00 or more for each event. Each attendee enters a favorite local cause in a drawing. Three are chosen at random to be finalists. Then all participants cast their vote for one of the three. The organization with the most votes gets half the total, $5000.00!  The other half will build the endowments at the Foundation supporting grants to good causes long into the future.

Of course there are lively conversations, lots of laughs, outstanding food, and the best feeling ever, giving generously and cheerfully from your charitable heart. 

Even if you cannot attend, you can donate to support the effort. It’s best to be there, so you can enter your favorite charity for a chance to win the big grant, but if you really can’t make it, your donation adds to the others to build the grant dollars.  By combining gifts, great and small, the Faribault Foundation gives everyone the opportunity to be a philanthropist. This is a great way to flex your charitable muscles and activate your charitable heart and have a great time supporting the community with other philanthropic people like you.

Make your donation today to reserve your spot www.faribaultfoundation.org or give us a call at 507-805-8800. I look forward to seeing you in October!

Laura Bock is the Executive Director of the Faribault Foundation. Faribault Foundation is located at 530 Wilson Ave. Faribault, MN 55021