EnvistaCares Challenge Results Announced

Kansas Book Festival and Envista Credit Union are pleased to announce Kansas Book Festival will receive the EnvistaCares Challenge gift of $2,500 from Envista as a match to the generosity of the community’s donations of $2,900. In total, the Kansas Book Festival received $5,400 in donations during the month of September.

The Kansas Book Festival is the premier literary festival for Kansas.  Every year, the Festival brings over 50 authors to Topeka to make presentations based on newly released books, including authors of Kansas Notable Books (selected by the State Library of Kansas) and authors who are former Kansans but have established themselves outside the state, gaining national recognition.  In addition, the Kansas Book Festival foundation provides $10,000 in grants to needy Kansas libraries each year.

“The Kansas Book Festival, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary, encourages a lifelong love of reading and supports Kansas libraries and aspiring writers, promoting literacy across the state,” said Tim Bascom, executive director for Kansas Book Festival. “We give grants to needy Kansas libraries annually, and due to the support of the EnvistaCares challenge and the community we will provide another $5,000 in library grants this coming year.”

“Our goal at Envista is to lead, inspire and make an impact with our giving,” said Tara Dimick, chief business development officer for Envista. “We are honored to support the Kansas Book Festival and are inspired by their commitment to honor the rich literary heritage of the state and support libraries in underserved parts of Kansas.”

The EnvistaCares Challenge was created in April of 2019 and has helped raise more than $600,000 for local organizations. The Challenge includes an in-kind gift to the organization of a media buy that is valued at more than $12,000 and a $2,500 challenge grant. The media buy includes radio, emails, online ads, billboard, social media and interviews. The challenge gift provides a dollar-for-dollar match up to $2,500 for gifts given during the month that the organization is spotlighted. In 2021, Envista added the production of a storytelling video that the organization could use beyond the EnvistaCares Challenge experience.