The Project Pumpkin Endowment Fund

This Donor Advised Fund (DAF) was started in January of 2014 by the Morton Chamber of Commerce. The primary purpose of the fund is to assist in providing funding to pay for festival packages (free carnival tickets and pumpkin bucks) for Morton families in need.

The Morton Chamber of Commerce, organizer of the annual Morton Pumpkin Festival, established the Project Pumpkin Endowment Fund in an effort to meet a need that they have seen over the years... local families who cannot afford to send their children to the festival. 

To contribute to the fund, festival guests can purchase a special item at the Pumpkin Store before and during the Morton Pumpkin Festival.  100% of the proceeds from those sales go to support this fund.

Seed money to start the Project Pumpkin Endowment fund came from the sale of pumpkin bead necklaces sold during the 2013 Pumpkin Festival.  The theme for that year's festival was "Pumpkin Carnivale."

Each year, the Chamber contacts the Morton School District, who identifies families who would benefit from festival packages of free carnival tickets and pumpkin bucks.  These festival packages are funded by grants from the Project Pumpkin Endowment Fund.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this endowment fund, please click the button below for online donations. Or, you can mail a check to 135 S First Avenue, Morton, IL 61550.