A year ago, a crowd of hundreds gathered in Bassett to celebrate the grand opening of a new community center designed to make Rock County a destination for all varieties of events. Against a backdrop of dueling pianos, the collected revelers enjoyed a prime rib dinner while they admired their community’s newest amenity.
For many, the evening marked the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of community conversations, planning, fundraising, and construction – with a pandemic thrown into the mix as well. Rock County Community Fund, established in 2014, was around for most of the adventure. Serious discussions about constructing a building to supplement the existing Legion Club began after respondents of a 2012 survey listed a new community center as a priority. When RCCF affiliated with NCF a couple years later, volunteers reviewed the survey and formed a committee to dive into what opportunities existed to help bring that dream to life.
This committee traveled across the state, visiting nine different communities to tour their facilities and learn how each town achieved their community center goals – from having productive conversations with residents that may oppose such a large project to understanding what funding opportunities might be available. Peers in the NCF network helped RCCF’s advisory committee better prepare for the process. RCCF began raising funds for the community center project in 2016 and soon after started applying for grants. In 2020, however, many granting organizations shifted their priorities to alleviating hardships created or amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Undeterred, RCCF remained focused and was ready to apply by the time major grantors were ready to return to civic projects. They also issued a $250,000 challenge grant in 2021, which the community met in less than a year. To help the project cross the finish line, Jim and Lori McClurg issued a challenge of their own in 2024 – if the community raised $100,000, the couple would match it for a total of $200,000. Overall, RCCF raised $1 million for the project.
The Rock County Community Center is one example of how a community organized around and committed to a shared goal can achieve major success. Throughout the 13-year journey to construct the facility, community members took turns leading the way toward an even brighter future for Rock County.
