The Story County Medical Center Endowment Foundation was originally formed in March 1977 as the Story County Hospital Foundation. The Articles of Incorporation were signed by Kermit Anderson, President of the Nevada National Bank; Ralph Hansen, President of the Donnelly Corporation; Mert Coover, Owner of the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Dealership in Nevada; Harold Miller, Real Estate Broker; Skip Bell, Pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church; Jim Frevert, Hertz Farm Management, Inc.; with Don Nelson, Attorney as Agent. The organization's main purpose was to assist in the recruitment of physicians for the hospital as many had retired or were nearing retirement. With great support from the community, the organization held its first fundraising drive in the fall of 1977 to support the recruitment effort.

The SCHF had early success as Dr. Pandu Bonthala agreed to move from Wells, Minnesota, to start his practice in Nevada, IA as of January 1, 1978. The SCHF was instrumental in helping Dr. Bonthala establish his practice by guaranteeing a monthly salary or cash draw as well as some leased equipment. The committee helped Dr. Bonthala move to his new home and office and also assisted with his rent and furniture storage for several months. Dr. Bonthala's practice was very successful and he was able to repay all of the funds advanced to him within the first year. In addition to his practice, he did considerable surgery at the hospital.  Dr. Bonthala continues his private practice in Nevada today.

In 1982, the bylaws were changed to make the organization an Endowment Foundation and the emphasis began to shift towards fundraising for the hospital. The hospital board of trustees began hiring physicians as employees instead of having them set up private practices.

The Foundation kicked their fundraising efforts into high gear during the '90's. In 1991, a $65,000 fundraising drive was held to assist the hospital in purchasing a new ambulance. Nevada residents John Stark and Jim Christy were co-chairs for the successful campaign which exceeded its goal by $10,000.

In July 1993, the Foundation had the opportunity to purchase the old Johnson Medical Clinic which was owned by Dr. Jerry King. The King Medical Center was purchased for $150,000 and an additional $50,000 was needed to remodel and upgrade the space. The first doctors to rent the medical clinic were Dr. Mark Jones and Dr. Alison Carleton.

As a result of the purchase of the medical clinic, the Foundation was now faced with a $200,000 debt. The Foundation hired Robert Harvey, a consultant from Colorado, to complete a feasibility study and then assist in a major fundraising campaign. The primary conclusions from the feasibility study were that the people in the community that utilized the Story County Hospital felt that the care they received there was extraordinary. However, may local residents were not aware of all of the services available at the hospital.

Recommendations from the Harvey study included the need for public awareness of the vital, well-equipped and capably staffed medical facility here in eastern Story County. The study also recommended that a new medical office building be built as soon as possible. Retaining the current physicians and recruiting future ones would be extremely difficult with the current office settings. Landscaping the courtyard on the south side of Long Term Care and paving the parking lot was another recommendation made by the Harvey study.

Another successful fundraising activity was completed in 1995 which raised approximately $300,000.  The funds were used to landscape and develop the courtyard, remodeling the entryway to the hospital, the business offices, and the gift shop. In 1998, the Foundation provided the funds to pave the south parking lot. An appreciation event was held on May 12, 1998.

One of the hospital's Board of Trustees members Pat Allen, led a valuable strategic planning activity with representatives from the Board of Trustees, the physicians, the hospital staff, and Foundation members. As a result of this study, plans were developed to build a new Nevada Clinic connected directly west of the hospital. The clinic was completed with a grand opening on August 7, 2000. The clinic contained offices for five physicians plus space for the physical therapy department which is now managed by 21st Century Rehabilitation.

After the new Nevada Medical Clinic was opened, and other SCH clinics were opening in surrounding communities, SCH changed its name to Story County Medical Clinic in September 2000. The new clinic also eliminated the need for the Foundation to continue ownership of the King building and it was sold to Larry Krupp, a local real estate developer, for $100,000 plus a $10,000 donation to the Foundation in September 2001.

The Foundation has also helped with many celebrations for the SCMC.  

In October 2001, the Foundation celebrated SCMC's 50th anniversary with an elegant dinner, live entertainment and a silent and live auction called the "Golden Gala". A similar event was held the following year called the "Grand Gala" and net proceeds were designated to improve the emergency room and Long Term Care. Then again in October 2005, an event called the Black and White Ball was held and proceeds were directed to the new digital imaging x-ray equipment.

In early 2006, the emphasis of the Foundation moved towards developing strategies to raise funds for a replacement hospital because of the growth of the services the hospital provides, the too small size of operating rooms, the need to update electrical and heating utilities, and Medicare reimbursement issues.  The Foundation hired the consulting firm, ME & V Fundraising Advisors out of Cedar Falls, Iowa, to conduct a feasibility study. The study confirmed the Foundation's strong ability to take on a major fundraising capital campaign.

During this time, the Foundation also increased it's board membership and Jim Frevert, an original and influential Foundation member, stepped down as president and passed the reigns to Lisa Nady. Nady endorsed the goals of the Foundation and a steering committee, co-chaired by Foundation members Michelle Cassabaum and Marcia Handsaker, embarked on its biggest fundraising challenge to date. The "Choose SCMC. Expert Care, Close to Home." $1 million capital campaign began in August 2006.

By September 2006, an employee-only fundraising drive raised over $110,000 for the capital campaign. In October 2006, the Foundation secured a matching grant from the Josephine Tope Charitable Trust in the amount of $600,000. On December 3, 2006, a public kick-off event was held in which the steering committee announced that $539,626 had been pledged through private citizen donations, employee donations, the Medical Center Board of Trustees, and Foundation members. 

Since the public kick-off event, the steering committee continues to collect pledges as it nears its $1 million goal. The Story County Medical Center Endowment Foundation remains a strong and valuable resource for the Story County Medical Center.

The mission of the Story County Medical Center Endowment Foundation is to encourage, accept, and manage gifts and grants from public and private sources given to the Story County Medical Center and the Story County Medical Center Endowment Foundation.