Community Foundation Uses Western Flair to Land Large Contribution

The South Dakota Community Foundation created a Western-style proposal book, bound in leather with a brass plate, to help secure a $25-million bequest from Paul and Donna (Muffy) Christen. The South Dakota Community Foundation created a Western-style proposal book, bound in leather with a brass plate, to help secure a $25-million bequest from Paul and Donna (Muffy) Christen.

February 6, 2012 | Read Time: 3 minutes

A leather-bound book helped secure a $25-million gift last year by Paul and Donna (Muffy) Christen to the South Dakota Community Foundation. It didn’t hurt that the foundation also branded the book—which laid out the nonprofit’s case for support—with the logo of the Paul and Muffy Christen Legacy Fund.

“It has its own style, and that’s very fitting for the Christens,” says Bob Sutton, the foundation’s president. “We personalized the presentation and geared it very much toward them.”

The Christens have made gifts and helped run the organization since it was started 25 years ago. Mr. Christen was the foundation’s first chairman, heading the board for 10 years. Then, some years later, his wife became a board member.

“If we didn’t know them as well as we did, none of this would have happened,” Mr. Sutton says.

‘A Little Shocked’

The Christens reached the foundation’s top tier of donors in a short time, which prompted officials to strategize their request for a significant estate gift. For six months, Mr. Sutton and his staff, along with a marketing firm, worked to put together a proposal that would wow the couple.

The staff knew the Christens liked the outdoorsy, ranch-culture scene, and they had a real knack for Western elegance, a style replete with wood and big-stone fireplaces. That theme carried over to the First Western Bank, which the Christens founded and sold in 2008. So organizers used that inspiration in the proposal book, which now had a leather binding, a logo, heavy paper, and a brass plate.

Next, Mr. Sutton set up an appointment to visit the Christens. An hour into brunch, he gave them the presentation on what a $20-million bequest could do for the foundation, now and in the future. The proposal had three parts: an unrestricted grant program, a matching challenge for local groups that raise a certain amount, and a fund set aside for a few groups that the Christens will personally select.

“They were not taken aback,” Mr. Sutton says. “They were a little shocked, but they appreciated it.”

A ‘Racing’ Heart

After a couple of tweaks, the Christens pledged to give the full amount.

By late that summer, almost all the paperwork had been finalized, the Board of Directors had been told, and a celebratory gala, featuring a speech by the governor, had been held.

That’s when Mr. Sutton received a call from Mr. Christen. “My heart started racing, sweat was pouring out of my head,” Mr. Sutton recalled. He thought the donors were going to back out and reduce their promised pledge.

But that wasn’t the case. They wanted to add $5-million more.

Mr. Sutton sighed with relief and told Mr. Christen: “Any time you want to change and keep increasing that number, you have my cell.”

The foundation president noted the original $20-million request was an educated guess, based on research on the couple’s wealth.

“Obviously, they came back and they added $5-million, so I didn’t ask for enough, did I?” he said, with a chuckle.