Support the Morton Pumpkin Festival Volunteer Give-Back Fund

This fund was was established in June of October of 2018 by the Morton Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the Fund is to make annual distributions to assist in providing funding 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 (“Festival”). The contributions will support the non-profit and youth groups for volunteering their time while providing sustainable growth for Festival and enhance the give-back mission of the Morton Pumpkin Festival.

The Morton Pumpkin Festival is a pumpkin-themed event that takes place in mid-September in Morton, Illinois. Morton is home to Nestle/LIBBY'S Pumpkin. 85% of the world's pumpkin is canned here each year. The Pumpkin Festival celebrates the beginning of the canning season and draws over 70,000 guests for pumpkin foods, carnival rides, parades, live entertainment, a 10K race, and over 30 events, venues and activities.

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 such as soccer, baseball, football and other sports teams, church youth groups, boy and girl scout troops, Parent Teacher Organizations, etc. The Morton Chamber makes a donation to these groups in return for their efforts in helping with set-up and tear-down of various venues, garbage detail, etc.

Grants from this fund will be used to help ensure that donations can be made to these groups, even if proceeds of the Pumpkin Festival would be reduced due to weather or other unforeseen problems.