National Willa Cather Center Meets Challenges, Enters Final Campaign Stage

The Willa Cather Foundation is pleased to announce it has raised $5.79 million in gifts and pledges to establish the National Willa Cather Center at Red Cloud, fulfilling a challenge grant deadline of June 30, 2014 from the Peter Kiewit Foundation of Omaha, Nebraska, as well as meeting a grant requirement of the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation. "We are so grateful to the Peter Kiewit Foundation and Robert B. Daugherty Foundation as well as more than 170 other foundations and individuals who have invested in this project and allowed us to meet these challenges—and to do so in advance of the deadlines," said Ashley Olson, Executive Director. "This endeavor has been met with enthusiasm from several corners of the globe, and we are proud to have committed partners all across the country. Once complete, the Center will become a great Nebraska destination and provide an incredible tribute to one of America's greatest authors."

The National Willa Cather Center project also received a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in the Tourism Development Category through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED). Additional support comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and federal historic tax credits are also being pursued for the project.