A four-year fundraising campaign results in an annual major gift.

By Tony Knoderer 

In Indiana, U.S., the Riley Children’s Foundation received a US$500,000 gift from the Kiwanis Indiana District during the district’s midyear conference. In fact, it’s just one donation in its four-year Kiwanis-Riley Campaign — part of an overall commitment to raise $1 million through September 2027.  

The campaign’s purpose is to fight suicide, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions among youth in Indiana by funding accessible mental health services for kids and teens. 

“The second biggest cause of death of Indiana youth is suicide. This is unacceptable,” says Al Riggle, 2024-25 district governor.  

For Riley Children’s Foundation, one solution is to embed mental health services in pediatric and primary care offices throughout the state, putting those services close to home for up to 80,000 kids. 

The million-dollar goal
When the Indiana District raised $250,000, the gift instantly unlocked a match from the Family Social Services Administration (FSSA) — resulting in the half-million total. The ultimate goal is for the campaign’s $1 million to be matched with another million from FSSA. 

This year’s fundraising success led directly to progress toward next year’s. 

“We asked those present if they had anything to donate toward our next $250,000 check,” Steve Ingram, a past governor and a Kiwanis International trustee, wrote on his Facebook page afterward. “Immediately people came forward with checks totaling $102,295.” 

This kind of generosity is keeping the campaign ahead of its goal in just its second year, Riggle says. 

“We do a parade of checks at the midyear conference to allow clubs to donate money they’ve raised during that portion of the year to support the campaign,” he says. “The remainder will come in at the district convention. The district governor after me will do the same thing next year for the third year of the campaign.” 

A history of support
The current campaign is just the latest four-year fundraising initiative through which the Indiana District has raised funds for causes supported by Riley Children’s Foundation.  

“In the third year of each campaign, the Riley Children’s Foundation comes up with potential themes for the next campaign,” Riggle says. “These are presented to the (district’s) KIDS Committee and a recommendation is submitted to the district board. Once approved, all the planning takes place to kick off the campaign the next year at the conclusion of the current campaign.”   

Past campaigns have addressed autism and early developmental delay, the infant mortality rate and the creation of a staffed play-therapy room at Riley Children’s Hospital. In total, the Indiana District has provided over $9 million in support for various Riley programs and initiatives.