Small Towns, Big Spirit

From the street, downtown Lost Nation can appear to be a sleepy place on a weekday morning. However, inside the library, residents are active, chatting about March Madness brackets, local sports, and radio bingo. Conversations like these bring the small town to life.

Neighboring towns Lost Nation and Elwood make up a close-knit community that the fewer than 600 residents are happy to call home. These are the people that have made the new LNE Community Legacy Endowment Fund successful, helping it reach its first-year fundraising goal in just four months.

Lost Nation and Elwood are among 16 communities participating in the Small-town Dreams Initiative, which empowers residents of rural towns to build endowments that support local projects and priorities for generations to come.

The Community Foundation provides training and support that transforms everyday residents into fundraisers and leaders who bolster civic engagement and unlock matching funds for their towns. Between the local dollars and a $100,000 donor match, these endowments reach $450,000 and grant out $20,000 a year.

“The success so far reflects the strong spirit of giving in our communities and demonstrates how residents and businesses are investing in the long-term vitality of the places they call home,” says Jody Holtz, a member of the Legacy Endowment team.

That investment began in April 2025, when residents launched the campaign. By that May, each team member made a personal commitment by donating to the fund. By late-June, they started connecting with their neighbors, explaining the intention behind the initiative and how they could support it.

Within months, the team met its first two fundraising goals, bringing the endowment total to $262,500 and unlocking an additional $25,000 for grantmaking.

The grants will fuel momentum for the campaign by giving residents opportunities to see the fund’s impact. Residents have weighed in on what types of projects they would like grants to support, including a veterans’ memorial in Lost Nation’s Rustic Park and a new welcome sign in Elwood.

Like the Lost Nation library where residents gather, these ideas reflect how people value community and take pride in their towns.

“It takes willing community members to keep everyone thriving,” says Jackie Duwa, a member of the Legacy Endowment team. “We might be small in population, but we have huge hearts.”