Gather

&

give back

The Morton Pumpkin Festival’s core function is community enhancement for the Village of Morton and the Morton Chamber of Commerce. In addition to using festival revenue to support their general operations, the Morton Chamber of Commerce donates tens of thousands of dollars each year to other, local non-profit organizations that assist in the operations of the festival.

Community Special Project

Proceeds from the annual Morton Pumpkin Festival are used to help fund a Community Special Project/Program for a local non-profit or an organization that serves children ages (0-18). In order to be considered the funded project/program must have a positive impact on the Morton community.  

All applications must be submitted no later than 12:00am on December 10, 2024.  The funded project will be announced at the Morton Chamber of Commerce Annual Meetup on February 6, 2025. (Past “Special Projects” listed at the bottom of the webpage)

Project Pumpkin Fund

Project Pumpkin is an endowment fund the Morton Chamber of Commerce launched in 2013 in partnership with the Morton Community Foundation. The purpose of the fund is to provide access to the Morton Pumpkin Festival for families in need. 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. Direct contributions to the fund can also be sent to the Morton Community Foundation.

Sponsored by:

Liz Meier Morton Pumpkin Festival Volunteer Give-Back Fund

Each year, it takes thousands of volunteers to make the Pumpkin Festival a success. Many of those volunteers come in the form of non-profit organizations. This Fund provides financial contributions to non-profit and youth groups who provide a minimum of ten people to host a shift or activity during the Annual Morton Pumpkin Festival.

Past Year Contributions

The Morton Chamber of Commerce has contributed thousands of dollars to local nonprofit organizations and projects through the revenue generated by the Morton Pumpkin Festival. Here is a history of contributions over the past decade:

  • 2001 – $11,000

  • 2002 – $15,250

  • 2003 – $16,500

  • 2004 – $17,000

  • 2005 – $17,500

  • 2006 – $5,000

  • 2007 – $25,000

  • 2008 – $5,000

  • 2009 – $35,000

  • 2010 – $40,000

  • 2011 – $13,118

  • 2012 – $46,793 (Special Project: Downtown Memorial Plaza – $25,000)

  • 2013 – $41,062.26 (Special Project: Idlewood Arts Pavilion – $25,000)

  • 2014 – $46,564.37 (Special Project: Veterans Memorial – $25,000)

  • 2015 – $46,152.22 (Special Project: Birchwood Park Softball Complex – $25,000)

  • 2016 – $31,016.61 (Special Project: Library Book Drop & Downtown Flower Pots – $14,714.61)

  • 2017 – $39,074.13 (Special Project: Idlewood Large Picnic Shelter $20,000)

  • 2018 – $38,740 (Special Project: Jefferson School Playground $10,000)

  • 2019 – $51,650.83 (Special Project: Morton Park District, Horseshoe Park $25,000)

  • 2020 – $13,162

  • 2021 – $49,549.13 (Special Project: Morton Park District, Lakewood Park $20,500 & Morton Public Library, Story Walk $4,500)

  • 2022 – $45, 542.09 (Special Project: Welding Simulator for the Morton High School $25,000 & Hometown Holidays Promotional Donation $5,000)

  • 2023 = $49, 826 (Special Project: Morton High School FFA Program $5,000 and Holidazzle Shop Local Business Impact $2,500)