Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau has thrown down a challenge for the community to match its $5,000 grant for the fledgling Butler Neighborhood Drug Watch program’s marketing efforts.

“The bureau is very interested in being involved in this program,” Jack Cohen, tourism bureau president, said Wednesday. “This money will be strictly to assist with marketing efforts.”

Kathy Kline, a former Butler City Council member who is leading the effort to establish the program, said she and other volunteers are trying to get a bank to volunteer to accept donations to match the bureau’s grant and pay invoices for marketing materials and advertisements.

“We need to find someone to accept donations and pay invoices for marketing. A bank would be the best. Right now we’re looking for a bank,” Kline said.

She said the tourism bureau will pay invoices for marketing from the $5,000 grant it is providing, but the drug watch program is not set up to handle money.

“The challenge is in the details of handling money. The NDW doesn’t have a bank account,” Kline said.

She said she hopes a willing bank is found quickly to avoid any negative impact on the program.

However, she is glad the bureau is offering the grant.

“We’re ecstatic. It’s absolutely exciting. The $5,000 match has to come from the community,” Kline said. “The community has to take ownership of this initiative. We have to do it as a community.”