City of Haven

Award: $2,100

Through its own Love Where You Live initiative, the City of Haven will host interactive events, such as a speed connecting gathering and a guided bike tour, so participants may share ideas and feedback on improving local amenities and programs. These insights will drive future initiatives, ensuring Haven remains a safe, welcoming and vibrant place to live and work.

City of Haven

Award: $2,500

Funding to go towards a digital sign to communicate to Haven citizens the programs and activities happening within the city from various municipal entities. 

Hutchinson NAACP Youth

Award: $1,700

This project aims to enhance the Hutchinson NAACP Youth’s ability to actively participate in community outreach, which would foster greater community involvement and strengthen the organization’s mission of advocating for equality and positive change. Funding will supplement the costs of educational materials and marketing/engagement tools for outreach efforts, as well as supplies necessary for engagement activities.

Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce

Award: $2,500

Funds committed for purchasing signage as a demonstration project to promote and improve vacant spaces in Downtown Hutchinson. During the implementation stage of the Downtown Master Plan, the signage will visually improve windows in vacant buildings by covering the interior storage and dressing up the Downtown neighborhood in a demonstration block area.

Hutchinson Wesleyan Church

Award: $2,500

Funds will provide necessary startup costs for a monthly free community dinner at the Hutchinson Public Library with the aim of building community and developing relationships across Creekside, Midtown, Grace Arbor and College Grove neighborhoods. The Big Table seeks to use its community dinner-based model to provide meals and foster a sense of belonging for those in need.

Sylvia Helping Hands

Award: $2,459

In the spring of 2024, a few citizens started a community garden with five raised beds to benefit the Sylvia community. Produce was harvested and placed in the city office and library for residents. Funding will allow the Sylvia Helping Hands organization to increase the size of the community garden.

Buhler Public Library: $8,000 

The library will use the grant to help fund an interactive wall mural and updated building awning. 

City of Hutchinson: $19,000 

Funding will help foster community pride through murals, light pole banners and business-led projects. 

City of Plevna: $1,500 

The grant will replace a piece of playground equipment destroyed by a tornado. 

Food Bank of Reno County, Inc.: $27,320 

Grant funds will support communications and development as the food bank expands to a new facility to better serve the community. 

Foundation of Life Ministries: $18,906 

This project provides overnight and wraparound services for unhoused individuals as an extension of the local shelter. 

Hutchinson Friends of the Zoo Inc.: $10,000 

The grant will support the addition of themed pedal boat rentals at the zoo. 

Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre: $28,301 

Grant dollars will help fund the installation of a new boiler in the theater, helping ensure climate comfort year-round. 

Hutch Rec: $8,000 (year two of two-year grant)

Funding is supporting the establishment of a tenants’ association. The organization is exploring and developing an association with the goal of creating a system that is fair to tenants and landlords and provides education on tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities.

Hutch Rec: $5,000 (year two of two-year grant)

Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce: $50,000 

Hutch CF, alongside community partners, contributed funding from this strategic grant to the development of a five-year county-wide economic development strategic plan.  

Hutchinson YMCA: $25,000 (year two of two-year grant)

Funding is supporting the construction of the new YMCA building.

Pretty Prairie Community Food Pantry Association: $25,000 

The grant will help fund the construction of a community space that will house the food pantry. 

StartUp Hutch: $9,000 

Funds will support workshops and coaching sessions for entrepreneurs across rural Reno County. 

Emancipation Committee, Hutchinson, KS

Award: $11,500

Funding will help with the costs of inviting an in-state and an out-of-state marching band to participate in the annual Emancipation Parade in August, increasing excitement, pride, attendance and, ultimately, a better understanding of what Emancipation weekend represents.

Family Community Theatre

Award: $7,600

Funding will help finish renovations of three restrooms in the Flag Theatre lobby.

Hutch In Harmony

Award: $20,000 per year for two years

Funding will help launch the Hutch Pass: Hutchinson Cultural Passport Program, an interactive and educational experience encouraging residents to explore cultural, historical and artistic sites across the county. Participants will receive a physical or digital “passport” through a booklet and will be able to download an app that provides incentives for engaging with local cultural landmarks, businesses and events. 

Hutch Rec

Award: $9,700

This project will bring the Hutchinson Municipal Band to performances in Hutch Rec’s Healthy Neighborhood Initiative neighborhoods, as well as the Smallville Festival. The project aims to transform public spaces into lively cultural hubs and foster a deeper sense of community while also increasing the band’s audience and, potentially, supporters.

Stage 9

Award: $7,600

Funding will help with the repair of the Stage 9 theater building façade.

Cancer Council of Reno County: $7,500 

CCRC is undertaking a strategic marketing project with the objective to take their 28 years of work into the future by aligning what they have done, what they continue to do, and what they aspire to do into a cohesive marketing plan. 

City of Sylvia: $2,580 

The grant will pay for lightweight tables and chairs to replace dated, less mobile sets. 

City of Turon: $7,500 

Funding will assist in the repair and maintenance of the entrance and some windows of the 116-year-old Turon Community Building, which serves a variety of functions within the community, including for Friendship Meals, City Council meetings, birthday parties, family gatherings and as a polling place.  

Clothed in Compassion: $6,993 

Grant will provide supplies for Kitchen Hero Academy, a 10-week summer cooking course for middle school students. 

Early Education Center, Inc.: $6,500 

This grant will go toward a strategic planning retreat for the education center. 

Food Bank of Reno County Inc.: $7,500 

To accomplish the Food Bank’s goal of reducing food insecurity and improving services for children and families, it is in the process of developing a long-term plan, and part of that plan will require a more spacious and reconfigured facility. Funding will cover part of the project management costs of the project. 

Hutch Rec: $1,500 

This grant proposal aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the community’s music culture by exploring a strategic partnership with the Hutchinson Municipal Band, Reno County Choral Society and the possible restart of the Hutchinson Symphony. Funding will provide a stipend to people who serve on the exploration task force.  

Hutchinson School of Tae Kwon Do: $7,500 

This project will allow for the purchase and installation of new training equipment and upgraded lighting to enhance the safety, accessibility and overall learning experience for underprivileged families, thereby fostering personal growth and strengthening the community.  

Hutchinson Wesleyan Church: $2,500 

This hands-on project, which includes coaching and training, will help participants develop the relational and organizational skills needed to serve The Big Table community dinner events and start their own throughout Hutchinson and Reno County.  

Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation: $7,500 

Funds will go toward a two-day retreat for the Kansas State Fair board and key staff members to develop a strategic plan. 

Kansas Food Bank Warehouse, Inc.: $5,000 

This project provides weekend food packs to food insecure children in kindergarten through eighth-grade in Reno County who may not have access to nutritious meals when school is not in session. 

Love Hutch Daily: $2,719 

Funding will contribute to the purchase of a 15-passenger van to pick up students from area schools and deliver them to after-school care. 

New Beginnings: $5,000 

Funding will allow for replacement of six obsolete lab computers at New Beginnings, which are used by low-income individuals and families for education, communication and applying for jobs. 

Rise Up Reno Prevention Network: $4,200 

Rise Up Reno staff will work with a trained facilitator of strategic review and planning processes to evaluate current programs and attitudes toward the work they do, and in turn, prepare for the most important priorities they will face moving forward. 

The Salvation Army: $7,500 

The Salvation Army’s Pathway of Hope initiative is an evidence-based program that strives to break the cycle of poverty by guiding low-income parents with children beyond crisis to stability. Funding will support the salary and benefits of the program’s case manager. 

Trinity United Methodist Church: $1,000 

Funds will provide materials and resources so that Circles Reno County can expand its community outreach. 

City of Arlington

Award: $20,000

Currently, the gymnasium in Arlington’s community building has no heat. As a result, the open gym for youth, as well as the community and family gatherings that previously filled the gym, has halted. This project will restore heat to the gymnasium in the community center through installation of two 60-foot radiant tube heaters and a center-circulating fan. 

ESSDACK

Award: $4,500

Many Reno County students living outside of Hutchinson are unable to attend school daily at the Reno County Learning Center inside of the Hutchinson Mall because of lack of funds to purchase gas. Some students travel 80 miles a day round trip. Funding will help provide gas cards for those students so they can attend school.

Girls on the Run

Award: $5,400

In this program, trained, caring and qualified coaches deliver a life-skills curriculum during out-of-school times by guiding small teams of girls through twice-weekly lessons that promote social-emotional learning alongside physical activity.

Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters Serving Reno County

Award: $5,000

Funding will assist in providing large-scale match activities between Bigs and Littles. 

Kansas Children’s Service League

Award: $5,275

Funds will provide transportation assistance to those enrolled in the Healthy Families program, helping relieve a frequent stressor for families working toward resilience.

Reno County Education Cooperative

Award: $2,300

This proposal will fund training 20 special education teachers in the PAX Good Behavior Game during a summer session. 

USD 312-Haven

Award: $7,613

This project aims to initiate the rebuilding of the school library collection with current nonfiction books and quality fiction books starting with reading levels for students in kindergarten through third grade.

Wisdom in Motion

Award: $12,500 per year for two years

This organization serves at-risk and high-potential youth, fostering a sense of connection, empowerment and community engagement through structured mentorship, experiential learning and family-focused initiatives necessary for long-term success. Funds will help cover the costs of experiential learning initiatives, workshops and community engagement to help increase the impact on youth while also creating awareness of and engagement with the organization and programming.

Award: $399

The grant will bring a new, more beginner-friendly 3D printer to the innovation lab at Avenue A after-school and summer programs for K-5 students.

Award: $345

The grant will allow the school district to create a more engaging experience for elementary school students during the summer and provide them with services/opportunities to help minimize the learning gap from May to August.

Award: $505

Funding will be for the launch of the FCT Youth Social Media Team, an innovative, youth-led initiative designed to bridge the gap between theater arts and modern digital communication. This program will serve approximately 30 youth annually by rotating teams of five students across the theater’s six seasonal productions.

Award: $1,000

The funding will go toward building a greenhouse for the after-school program to be used year-round but especially to expand gardening abilities in the winter months.

Award: $500

The funding will go toward purchasing woodworking supplies to enhance the after-school program’s woodworking classes.

Award: $750

This grant will help purchase drumsticks and mallets for the approximately 30 percussionists participating in the organization’s summer drum and bugle corps program.

Award: $700

This grant will provide funding to teach middle-school-age children in foster care basic cooking skills.

Award: $801

Funding will help support the organization’s hands-on international cooking class that’s designed to help young people explore global cultures through food, storytelling and shared experiences. Each month, youth focus on one country and prepare a full menu consisting of an appetizer, entrée and dessert. In addition to cooking, youth learn about the country’s cultural traditions, geography and food history through guided discussion and reflection.

Award: $450,000

Interfaith Housing will use the grant dollars to expand its housing production capacity, allowing it to take steps toward middle-income housing production.

Award: $150,000

New Beginnings will use its grant dollars to fund the addition of a housing development specialist to its staff who will focus on the organization’s permanent affordable rental housing and small homes development initiatives.