Reno Rodeo Foundation
History
The Reno
Rodeo Foundation was incorporated as a private foundation in 1986
to serve as the charitable arm of the Reno Rodeo. The Rodeo, produced
yearly by community volunteers since 1919, wanted to formalize the
tradition of giving the annual proceeds of the event back to the residents
of northern Nevada. The Board of Trustees was strategically established
as a balanced combination of rodeo volunteers and local leaders from
outside the rodeo community, instructed through the by-laws to give
scholarships and grants, and to maintain various endowments for future
use.
During the first twenty-five years of the Foundation’s history, funding
came almost solely from the Reno Rodeo Association. The select Board
of Trustees oversaw the distribution of hundreds of thousands of dollars
in scholarships to the University of Nevada, Reno– primarily for students
coming out of rural Nevada; as well as a comparable amount in grants
to non-profit organizations. The Reno Rodeo Foundation was a quiet
resource for innumerable community service organizations, and as time
went on the mission developed to reflect a concentration on giving
for children with special needs ranging from the physical to the financial.
The Foundation further broadened its scope in 2001 with an ambitious
project to build a horseback riding facility for Marvin Picollo School,
a school for children with special physical or mental needs in Reno.
The project brought private individuals, other local foundations,
and businesses into partnership with the Reno Rodeo Foundation for
the first time. The success of this first capital project led the
Foundation to add Capital Projects as a regular component of its work,
to stand alongside Scholarships, Grantmaking, and Reno Rodeo Wish
as the current annual endeavors. The current Capital Project is a
one-million-dollar recreational facility for Reno’s Kids Kampus, which
houses the Children’s Cabinet, Kids’ Kottage, and the McGee Center
– the single most important assets for neglected, abused and troubled
children in our area.
The expansion of the Reno Rodeo Foundation’s projects led to two significant
changes in the organization. First, the increase in grantmaking and
the large capital project fundraising goals created the Foundation’s
need (and ability) to raise two-thirds more funds on its own than
the Rodeo Association provides annually. Under these circumstances,
the Foundation now qualifies as a public charity. Second, by 2003 the
rapid increase in activity to fundraise for and operate the new projects
placed undue strain on the volunteer Board of Trustees, and a staff
member was hired to oversee the work of the Foundation.
The Reno Rodeo Foundation still represents the generous heart and
soul of over three-hundred volunteers who produce the area’s
longest-running, biggest, annual professional sports event. With the
increase in scope and activity seen in recent years, the Rodeo
Foundation has become more than just the Rodeo’s charity. As of
today, the organization annually assists twenty-two rural-based students with tuition at UNR,
provides fifteen to twenty local service organizations with well-deserved
grants to support their programs, chooses a child with critical
illness or physical/mental impairments to
receive a special “rodeo wish”, and provides the anchor for large
capital projects to improve the lives of children. Leveraging community
partnerships, putting financial resources to the highest impact use
possible, and establishing an identity as a major supporter for local
children’s services has put the Rodeo Foundation on the northern Nevada
giving map.
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© 2007 Reno Rodeo Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Photos provided by Reno Gazette-Journal and Reno Rodeo Foundation
