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As 2022 wraps up, the Hays-based Heartland Community Foundation would like to take a moment to thank donors and supporters and share our fiscal year 2022 granting highlights and a new 15-year grantmaking total.
The Heartland Community Foundation proudly granted $424,772 in fiscal year 2022 to 67 organizations for 129 projects. This total represents the combined granting dollars in Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties.
Since 2007 when the Heartland Community Foundation was founded, $3,205,263 has been awarded to community organizations in grant dollars.
This is all made possible because of the foresight of the Heartland Community Foundation founders 15 years ago, the ongoing investment of donors each Match Month and throughout the year, the investment of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, financial market growth, and the nonprofit organizations that continue to look for new ways to serve their communities and apply for grant dollars.
“The impact of a donation to the Heartland Community Foundation truly has the ripple effect of creating lasting change in our communities,” said Sarah Meitner, executive director at the Heartland Community Foundation. “In just 15 years, the community foundation has reinvested $3.2 million back into the region for charitable projects and programs. There is no doubt that you or your loved ones have been positively impacted by an initiative that was funded in some part by the Heartland Community Foundation. What a tremendous legacy to build upon.”
Several categories received the bulk of the fiscal year 2022 grant dollars, including: $112,347 that went to schools or other groups for education programs; $90,200 for health and human services organizations; $78,400 for disaster relief response and public safety; $60,857 for community development initiatives; $36,398 for arts and culture programs; and $32,339 for parks and recreation projects. The remainder went to miscellaneous projects, religious institutions, and other community programs.
Money granted for disaster relief was a new addition in 2022, made possible by the creation of the disaster relief funds that were opened by the Heartland Community Foundation in response to the December 2021 wildfires and windstorm.
The Heartland Community Foundation manages the endowed funds for area nonprofit organizations, donor advised funds that have been earmarked for charitable philanthropy by donors, and the countywide impact funds, called Legacy Funds, that are the chief grantmaking arm. Each February, during the annual Match Month appeal, contributions to the Legacy Funds are matched by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation -- $2 to $1. The more these funds grow, the more that the Heartland Community Foundation can continue to grant.
If you’d like make a difference in your community by supporting a wide breadth of local programs and projects, consider making a donation to the Heartland Community Foundation between Feb. 1-28, 2023. Learn more at www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.
The list of 2022 grantee recipients includes:
Ellis County: Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas, Celebration Community Church, City of Hays, City of Hays Parks Department, DSNWK, Ellis County, Ellis County Historical Society, Ellis County High School Alumni Association, Ellis County 4H Shooting Sports, First Call for Help of Ellis County, Grow Hays, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, Hays Arts Council, Hays High School, Hays Larks, Hays Medical Center, Hays Public Library, Hays Recreation Commission, Herzogest, Holy Family Elementary, Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation (KMOM), Railroad Museum of Ellis, STEM Harvest, TMP-Marian, United Way of Ellis County, Victoria Community Coalition, USD 489, Victoria PTO, Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home & Museum, and Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center
Rooks County: City of Damar, City of Plainville, City of Stockton, Damar Community Foundation, Main Street Christian Church, Plainville Community Foundation, Plainville Fire Department, Plainville Recreation Commission, Plainville Saddle Club, Redbud Village Court, RoCo Arts Council, Rooks County, Rooks County Health Center, Rooks County Healthcare Foundation, Sacred Heart Parish, Stockton Rodders, USD 270, and USD 271
Trego County: City of WaKeeney, Heritage of our Forefathers, St. Michaels, Trego County Enhancement Foundation, Trego County Historical Society, WaKeeney Church of God – The Well, USD 208
For more information about the Heartland Community Foundation or to make a donation to one of the funds managed by the community foundation, visit www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org. Look for the GIVE ONLINE button.
To follow the latest news, view grantee profiles, or see featured funds, follow Heartland on Facebook at @HeartlandCF.