Community Foundation awards $41,364 in Fund for Reno County grants

13 Dec Community Foundation awards $41,364 in Fund for Reno County grants

Hutchinson Community Foundation awarded Fund for Reno County grants totaling $41,364 to six nonprofit organizations in November.

Established in 1990, the Fund for Reno County serves as a permanent resource for the changing needs of Reno County. Grants represent an innovative approach or collaboration, a new efficiency, a critical need that requires funding or an opportunity that needs a bit of local support to leverage resources for the community.

Proposals for the grants are accepted year-round, with awards decided in January, March, May, July, September and November.

The community foundation also continued payout throughout 2022 of multi-year grants that were awarded in previous years. In all, $354,941 in grants were supported from the Fund for Reno County this year.

The following organizations received grants in November:

• Buhler Public Library, “Improving Operations at Buhler Public Library,” $500: The library staff member and volunteer board are working toward a more effective and sustainable organization. Funds will be used for costs associated with producing and mailing the library’s first-time annual appeal letter.

• Holy Cross Conference of St. Vincent de Paul, “Serving Others at St. Vincent de Paul,” $15,000: Holy Cross Conference of St. Vincent de Paul is a volunteer-run organization that addresses the most basic needs of community members. While St. Vincent de Paul has been able to meet many needs solely through donations in the past, these grant funds will allow volunteers to continue assisting with food, utilities, rent, gas/transportation and other needs that individuals and families face during these particularly challenging economic times.
• Hutchinson Regional Health System, “Our Redeemer Early Learning Center Bridge Project,” $9,634: Hutchinson Regional Health System (HRHS) and Our Redeemer Lutheran’s Early Learning Center (ELC) are developing a plan for collaboration that will allow high-quality child care for up to 39 children at the existing ELC facility while the new HRHS Child Care Academy is constructed on the hospital campus. To prepare for this bridge project, staff are required to complete two weeks of training. Grant funds will help support the costs associated with the training sessions.
• Hutchinson Symphony Association, “The Hutchinson Symphony Presents: The Dream Season,” $4,230: Grant funding will support the payment of two guest performers and the music rental fees for several pieces in this dream-themed series of performances, which will take place at Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre through April 2023.
• Kansas Food Bank Warehouse, “Food 4 Kids Weekend Backpack Program,” $5,000: Grant funds will help cover the costs of weekend food backpacks provided to the more than 330 Reno County students who might otherwise go without food until their next meal at school.
• New Beginnings, Inc., “Developing a Land Trust,” $7,000: Grant funding will cover the costs of exploring and working with an attorney to develop a land trust, which would allow a split between a piece of land and the housing on that land. This legal structure enables people in the housing development to be members of the land trust while making the cost of the housing itself more affordable.

The following multi-year grants were supported in 2022.

• City of Hutchinson Human Relations Commission, $20,000: The second year of a three-year grant to support the programming and educational efforts of the Human Relations Commission through trainings, research, facilitated meetings and support of partnerships and cultural celebrations that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Reno County Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, $90,000: Year three of a five-year grant and funding partnership with the City of Hutchinson and Reno County to strengthen and grow the small-business sector through supporting the Entrepreneurship Navigator at StartUp Hutch, efforts to improve mentorship and connection among entrepreneurs, and increased communications that inspire and celebrate innovators.
• Salvation Army of Reno County, $15,000: Year two of a three-year grant that provides bridge funding as The Salvation Army increases staff, allowing continued implementation of their emergency services while increasing opportunities for Reno County individuals and families to participate in the Pathway of Hope program, which helps people reach a level of stability that is necessary to begin moving out of poverty.

Other projects supported this year from the Fund for Reno County.