More than $209K in 2019 Fund for Hutchinson grants awarded

Hutchinson Community Foundation announced the 2019 Fund for Hutchinson grant awards on Nov. 14 at the Crystal Ballroom at The Burt. Established in 1990 by the foundation’s founding board of directors as a permanent resource for the changing needs of Reno County, $3.7 million have been awarded to more than 170 area organizations and agencies from this fund. This year, 25 organizations providing a wide variety of services and programs in Reno County collectively received $209,985.

Also announced at the program Thursday morning, were the foundation’s plans to move Fund for Hutchinson grants from an annual to a year-round open cycle – in which partners can apply for funding when the need or opportunity arises – and to conduct a Match Day on May 5, 2020. Match Day serves as an opportunity for nonprofit endowments at the community foundation to grow exponentially, as the foundation will match individual gifts from a matching pool of $50,000. The last Match Day in 2016 raised $267,801 from 729 donors for 35 nonprofit endowments in over 24 hours.

“The year 2020 seems like a good time to look to the future and consider the sustainability of the work being done by the nonprofits in our community,” said Aubrey Abbott Patterson, community foundation president and CEO. “The community foundation can help ensure that sustainability by supporting endowed funds so that our nonprofits aren’t so depend on grants and annual fundraising and have more time to focus on their missions.”

The following organizations received 2019 Fund for Hutchinson grants:

Arts & Culture – $25,997

Family Community Theatre, $10,000 – Lift the Flag: Upgrade and remodel the Flag Theatre lobby, making the theater more pleasant and inviting for community members, whether participating as part of the cast and crew or attending performances for personal enjoyment. Funding will also cover the installation of a restroom in the men’s dressing room.

Family Community Theatre, $1,475 – Strategic Planning: Support for a facilitator to lead a strategic-planning retreat for the board of directors and develop a draft of a strategic plan. (Made from the Fund for Hutchinson – Community Leadership)

Hutchinson Symphony Association, $5,522 – Our Message is in the Music: Celebrate America’s positive spirit through an entire series of concerts and community collaborations featuring the different periods and genres of American music. Collaborations with Stage 9, Hutchinson Community College’s Badinage, Fox Theatre performers Sons of Serendip, and area high schools are among the highlights of the series.

Hutchinson Theatre Guild (Stage 9), $9,000 – The Foundry: Provide students ages 12 to 18 an opportunity to produce and perform an original work of theater. Over the course of two weeks, middle-school students will work alongside high school mentors and adult instructors developing skills in all aspects of a theatrical production. Stage 9 will collaborate with the Hutchinson High School drama instructor and Hutchinson Middle School vocal music instructor for this theater lab.

Civic Improvement – $54,621    

Cosmosphere, $10,000 – Accessible Low Ropes Course: Transform a vacant lot at 11th Avenue and Ford Street in Hutchinson into a low ropes course that can serve people of all ages and abilities as they experience team building, develop leadership and problem-solving skills, and gain personal confidence. The Cosmosphere will partner with Disability Supports of the Great Plains on this project that will benefit not only the organizations’ camp programs and clients but also be available to the neighborhood and entire Reno County community.

Haven Gathering Place, $14,621 – Haven Gathering Place: Promote social and emotional health by creating a safe place where community members can connect with each other and learn about local resources. Funds will allow construction of an ADA-compliant restroom in the downtown Haven building being renovated for this project, which is a collaboration among Haven High School, Haven Chamber of Commerce and the city of Haven.

Hutch Rec, $15,000 x 3 years – Neighborhood Development: Final year of a three-year grant to support collaborative work with residents and community partners, including the city of Hutchinson and the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, on innovative neighborhood development strategies with the overarching goal of ensuring Hutchinson has safe neighborhoods and is an attractive place to live, work, play and raise an active family.

Interfaith Housing and Community Services, $15,000 – A Server to Continue Serving: Replace the organization’s outdated 2008 server with a new server that will provide the capacity and longevity necessary for continued operations. An updated server will ensure clients’ access to the phone system, computerized application processes, program information and payment services will be uninterrupted and that the organization’s staff can provide the effective service the clients deserve.

Health & Human Services – $37,335

BrightHouse, Inc., $15,000 – From Adequate to Exemplary: Updating the BrightHouse Child Visitation and Exchange Center: Increase BrightHouse’s capacity to provide high quality supervised child visitation and monitored exchange services by investing in technological and environmental upgrades, including visitation management software and furniture that will help create a more comfortable and welcoming experience for the children and families served.

Circles of Hope Reno County, $13,995 x 3 years – Bridge Funding for New Circles Director Position: First year of a three-year grant to create a part-time director position that will provide focus, structure and supervision for the program’s staff and volunteers. Having a director in place will also increase Circle’s capacity to recruit volunteers and develop and carry out fundraising efforts in order to sustain the initiative and grow its impact.

Poverty Collaborative Task Force, $2,500 – Capacity Building: Group coaching to strengthen collaborative relationships among people, churches, and organizations concerned about poverty, as well as costs associated with convening partners to better understand the emergency referral system and consider potential interventions for increased efficiency and empathy. (Made from the Fund for Hutchinson – Community Leadership)

Resilience Reno County, $5,840 x 3 years – Resilience Reno County 3.0: First year of a three-year grant for an AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service to America (VISTA) position to strengthen this collaborative effort to equip community members and organizations with resources on healing from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Ultimately, Resilience Reno County aims to create a trauma-informed community that is more empathetic and able to connect individuals and families who have experienced trauma to organizations offering supportive relationships and resilience-building tools. Partial match by the Davis Foundation.

Early Childhood & Youth Development – $45,396

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Reno County, $2,500 – Diversity and Inclusion for All: Support a marketing and media campaign, along with after-hours events, Lunch and Learns, and Coffee and Conversation opportunities designed to recruit a diverse population of professional and retired community members throughout Reno County to serve as adult mentors for youth who are a minority or who identify as LGBTQ.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Reno County, $1,700 – Catching up with Technology: Update aging office equipment with the purchase of two new laptops, which will allow the organization to be more efficient when serving clients and volunteers.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson, Inc., $12,000 x 3 years – Hawk Huddle: Final year of a three-year grant for an after-school program providing seventh- and eighth-grade students at Hutchinson Middle School with homework help and opportunities to become involved in school events, allowing for continuous academic assistance while a sustainable funding source is built.

Circles of Hope Reno County, $3,696 x 2 years – Hutchinson High School Project-Building Capacity of Youth Who Are Living in Poverty: Final year of a two-year grant to increase the resilience of Hutchinson High School students from unstable homes by building their capacity to stabilize their lives and create their future stories.

Girls on the Run Heart of Kansas, $7,500 over 3 years – Program Expansion to New Sites & New Program Scholarships: Second year of a three-year grant to ensure that girls who would not typically have access to quality youth programming have the opportunity to participate in Girls on the Run (third- through fifth-graders) or Heart & Sole (sixth- through eighth-graders) programs that inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident through experienced-based curriculum that creatively integrates running.

Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, $4,000 – Youth Entrepreneur Event: Host an event for Reno County high school students who are involved in entrepreneurship and journalism programs with the goal of providing practical experience in business and entrepreneurship, creating awareness of the opportunities available in Reno County, and providing tools and inspiring confidence to go after those opportunities. Annual Meeting speaker and editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine Jason Feifer will share experiences and knowledge with students during the event in February.

Hutchinson Public Schools, $4,000 – Expanding the IB Career-Related Programme: Provide support for scholarships and some of the necessary materials for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Career-Related Programme at Hutchinson High School, making rigorous college-preparatory courses more accessible and ensuring more students are college- and career-ready upon graduation. Matched by the Davis Foundation.

Kansas Children’s Service League, $5,000 – Healthy Families-Reno County: Increase the caseload capacity and community awareness for this program, which provides primary child abuse and neglect prevention services to Reno County families. Matched 1:1 by Medicaid.

Salthawk Community Support, $10,000 x 3 years – Removing Barriers to Education: Final year of a three-year grant providing students in need at Hutchinson High School with basic necessities and access to academic tutoring, financial education and self-esteem-building activities coordinated by emotionally encouraging staff and volunteers.

Helen Adams Hamilton Children and Education Fund – $24,888

To foster the growth, education and development of young people who are 18 years of age and younger, with a preference for funding activities that result in an early intervention in an at-risk child’s life.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Reno County, $11,200 – Collective Impact Collaboration: Provide leaders of multiple agencies the time and resources to work toward developing a collective impact strategy for at-risk Reno County youth ages 14 to 21, with the ultimate goal of bringing together organizations and resources across the community to help youth overcome adversities, build relationships, develop work-ready skills and create a positive future story that they will be able to fully achieve.

Hadley Day Care Center, $13,688 – Countertops, Cabinets & Cubbies: Replace countertops and cabinets in six classrooms, ensuring safe storage of cleaning products and supplies. The grant will also fund construction of individual cubbies for the 70 children using the classrooms, allowing each child his/her own space for personal items, such as jackets, backpacks and an extra change of clothes.

Kansas Health Foundation Public Health Endowment Fund – $21,748

Supporting health and well-being through healthy lifestyles, behaviors and environments.

City of Hutchinson, $7,500 – Phase Zero Hutch: Experiment with a series of placemaking and tactical urbanism projects to help the community reimagine several of our public places. Community members will have the opportunity to experience short-term, low-cost demonstration projects in Midtown, the State Fair/Main Street area, and Farmington Park and offer feedback based on their personal interactions with the projects prior to a commitment of major public financing for permanent features.

Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, $1,941 – Community Based Programs: Creating Tomorrow’s Leaders: Provide financial assistance for Reno County girls to participate in the Girl Scouts’ skill-building Community Based Program, attend summer camp and help with costs, such as uniforms and curriculum materials.

Headquarters, Inc., $2,158 – Collaborating to Prevent Suicide: Provide suicide prevention expertise to the Reno County Suicide Prevention Coalition as they select evidence-based suicide prevention strategies. Headquarters, Inc. will help identify public education, awareness campaigns and school-based suicide prevention initiatives that best fit the particular needs of the Reno County community.

Kansas Food Bank Warehouse, $5,000 – Food 4 Kids Backpack Program 2020: Provide volunteer-assembled, weekend food packets to children in Reno County who are experiencing food insecurity, allowing them to return to school on Monday mornings feeling less anxious, healthier and better prepared to learn.

Reno County Health Department, $1,400 – Creating New Connections: Welcome new people to the community by coordinating a quarterly potluck dinner and information-sharing session with the goals of raising awareness about community resources, encouraging attendees to become more vested in their new community, and providing a space and opportunity for social connections.

Rise Up Reno – Prevention Network, $3,749 – A Platform for Progress: Purchase a software platform that will allow the organization to more effectively manage contact with and service to stakeholders, helping to better match partners and participants with their specific interests among the many programs Rise Up Reno – Prevention Network (formerly Reno County Communities That Care) implements. The software platform will also increase staff efficiency, resulting in more time for direct contact with students and families.