Community Impact
What we seek
We aim to leverage our five forms of capital to make continual progress toward:
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- A strong, diverse and inclusive local economy
- Healthy, connected people and neighborhoods
- A place with a culture of shared ownership, pride and belonging
Our five forms of capital
Social
Moral
Intellectual
Reputational
Financial
What we believe
We believe in uniting people and building trust among residents.
- We do that by honoring varying perspectives and life experiences, sparking dialogue, and promoting transparency, trustworthiness, and inclusion in decision-making processes.
We believe in empowering local people to address our most pressing challenges and improve livelihoods, especially for those who are most vulnerable.
- We do that by inspiring charitable gifts of all sizes, encouraging experimentation and continuous learning, and believing that the people of Reno County have the answers, the expertise, and the wisdom necessary to make progress toward a thriving shared future.
We believe in being exemplary stewards and community partners—the go-to source for philanthropy in Reno County.
- We do that by building open and honest relationships, investing wisely for both a financial and social return, reporting with integrity, and never taking for granted the resources and capital entrusted to us.
Where we focus
Early Childhood
Giving children a strong start from birth is one of the Community Foundation’s highest priorities. Since 2002, the foundation has been working alongside early child care and education partners to create a seamless system of inclusive services to help young children and families thrive. Over the years, we have attracted and administered more than $12 million in state and private foundation grants to fund preschool programs, social-emotional screenings, home visitation programs and parenting education. Whether it’s support for high-quality child care or programs to address trauma in the home, the foundation’s involvement in such efforts helps open the door to innovative ideas that can better serve the children of our community and create stronger families. We currently support the efforts of the Reno County Child Care Task Force, made up of community partners and child care providers to spur innovation, collaboration and sustainability in the local child care system.
Housing
If Reno County is to be a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging, everyone must have access to a quality, affordable place to live. As our county’s housing stock deteriorates, Hutchinson Community Foundation’s priority has been to inspire and support public-private-philanthropic partnerships to close our housing gaps.
In 2013, we used our tool of impact investing to provide gap financing for New Beginnings’ project, the Townhomes at Santa Fe Place, which eliminated a block of blight and built a pocket neighborhood of workforce housing. We continue to explore innovative ways to catalyze investment and infill in our historic neighborhoods, including a 2022 partnership with the MIT Sloan USA Lab to generate strategies for attracting young adults to choose Hutchinson’s core as a place to live and raise families.
Economic Development
Hutchinson Community Foundation has researched and expanded the definition of economic development and partners on creative approaches to spurring growth. In addition to financial support, we cultivate local resources by building and strengthening talent and networks and supporting people, places and ideas to create economic resiliency, preserve the areas we hold dear and provide upward mobility for all.
Through an expanded economic development toolbox, Hutch CF has unlocked assets to overcome barriers and activate projects, worked alongside partners to identify priorities for development in the city’s core, and encouraged the next generation of leaders through administration of Leadership Reno County.
Since late 2017, we have partnered to strengthen and grow the local economic ecosystem thorough the Reno County Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Partnership, that creates and advances a countywide action plan. We are particularly interested in working alongside partners driving entrepreneurship and renovation of buildings in our historic downtown, as well as advocating for policy, systems and environment changes that will lead more people to financial stability.
