Author: ckcfashley

Community Foundation Hosts Eastern Mennonite University Trainers

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Harvey County continues to have individuals and organizations working in the area of trauma awareness. Central Kansas Community Foundation, in partnership with Eastern Mennonite University, the Harvey County Health Department and Offender Victim Ministries are host two training opportunities. Funded by a $50,000 grant from the Funders’ Network to Central Kansas Community Foundation in June of 2018, training in STAR (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resiliency) and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) will be offered in Hesston, KS at Dyck Arboretum of Plain the week of October 8-12th.

Area First Responders, Excel employees, health and human service providers and other invested partners are coming together to gain understanding and skills to use in the work place but also in their personal realms.  “The STAR and ACEs trainers are highly skilled professionals” shared Susan Lamb who is working contractually with Central Kansas Community Foundation to coordinate both trainings, and we are confident our county is ready for the information that will be shared at both events.”

“The relationship with the Funders’ Network with a grant focused on disaster preparedness and response began for Central Kansas Community Foundation early in 2017, and an opportunity to receive additional funding for an extensive project prompted CKCF to apply for support in the area of trauma,” shared Lamb.   “We continue to be committed to caring for our County as individuals and groups continue their journey through the recovery associated with the Excel shooting, but we are also keenly aware of the need to be educated about potential trauma associated with future disasters – be they natural or human created,” commented Angie Tatro, Executive Director for Central Kansas Community Foundation.

Trainers for STAR bring strong experience to their work.  Annette Lantz-Simmons is the Executive Director for the Center for Conflict Resolution in Kansas City, MO, and Katie Mansfield is the lead trainer for STAR at Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Local facilitators leading the ACEs training are Lynnette Redington, Director of the Harvey County Health Department and Laurel Woodward-Breckbill, Executive Director of Offender Victim Ministries of Harvey County.  Woodward-Breckbill is also trained in the STAR curriculum.  “We have such a strong community of support for this work and believe that this is another progressive step for our County”, said Lamb.

The mission of Central Kansas Community Foundation is “Building Stronger Communities Through Charitable Giving”, and CKCF is the host foundation for 20 regional affiliate foundations including 15 communities in central Kansas.

CKCF Leader Series: Todd Kasitz

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TODD KASITZ
Treasurer

ABOUT TODD

Todd is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Newton Medical Center. He serves as Treasurer for the Central Kansas Community Foundation. When not using his talents to serve his community and create a better hospital experience for Newton and surrounding communities, he enjoys spending time with his wife Debra and their four boys, ages 14-22. He is happy to be involved in community organizations that make a difference!

Charity Spotlight: Communities in Schools – Mid America

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We love when our grant recipients promote their mission and educate the general public about the unique challenges that face the groups they serve. Communities in School is a great example of our charitable dollars at work.

Locally, CIS was awarded $2,500 for their work with children and families at the El Dorado Middle School. We are proud to support them with a 2018 Kids FUNd grant award!

CKCF Hosts Affiliates for 2018 Affiliate Summit

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The 2018 CKCF Affiliate Summit truly placed the power for community change and foundational growth in the hands of our affiliate organizations.

The foundation experienced a very successful year in 2017. Foundati

on grants funded 138 programs with a total impact of $184,553. The need was far greater, in the amount of nearly $500,000. $313,614 in grant requests were not funded. CKCF awarded 110 scholarships in the amount of $108,933. Several new accounting procedures and foundation policies were implemented to continue to operate within National Standards and industry best practices.

A general tone of a relational focus was sprinkled throughout the Summit. The Central Kansas network of foundations has a tremendous opportunity and responsibility for shining the light on needs, while also engaging donors with charitable intentions. Partnerships and alliances are growing stronger in our region, demonstrating the strength of rural Kansas and that it has citizens who wish for a better tomorrow for future generations.

Consultant Terry Woodbury empowered and encouraged foundations to bring together the Education, Government, Business and Social Service sectors to impact change within the communities served by affiliates. It is only through partnerships between

these sectors that meaningful change and community growth can happen. His hands-on small group exercises encouraged participants to listen to the needs in the communities, to identify and evaluate the strengths of each sector in the group and come up with ideas to solve a communal problem they each individually identified. He partnered participants with individuals form other communities as a means of building support and accountability. This “buddy” relationship will be in place for this coming year!

Ashley Bridgeman with the Bridgeman Group continued the momentum by discussing

how affiliate foundation volunteers can use integrated marketing and fund development to achieve their strategic goals and increase their community impact. The power of the affiliate organization lies in the creativity of its planning, which is becoming increasingly more important as we move to a more developmental approach to build community endowment. Development is the idea that we create and hold onto relationships with potential donors through meaningful outreach and interactions, with a goal of philanthropy. A good integrated marketing plan supports a strong development plan. In the coming months this will be integrated into board discussions as plans are designed for local needs and goals.

As we move forward, CKCF will partner with each affiliate organization to identify high level goals and put a development plan in place to have a guide to create relationships, grow funds, increase giving and emerge as recognized community leaders.

Hillsboro Community Foundation Hires Director

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Hillsboro Community Foundation and Central Kansas Community Foundation are pleased to announce the hiring of Bonnie Darwin as the Foundation’s new Director in Hillsboro.

Bonnie replaces Cynthia Fleming who served as Hillsboro’s Director from 2015 to 2018 and oversaw the growth of the Foundations assets to the 2.5 million.  This year the Foundation distributed $64,000 in grants to various nonprofit organizations and $9,200 to individuals in scholarships.

After attending Jost family reunions in Hillsboro for the past twenty-five years, Bonnie moved to Kansas. from Sacramento, California to be closer to her extended family. During her professional career in Sacramento, Bonnie worked with rural hospitals at the California Hospital Association and served as the Chief Consultant to the Committee on Aging for the lower house of the California Legislature.

Todd Jost, President of HCF, says “We are thrilled to have Bonnie join us as we strive to expand HCF’s work to enhance and sustain our community. We will miss Cynthia’s experience and knowledge, but we are excited by the passion and different perspective Bonnie is bringing to the post.”

Angie Tatro, Executive Director of CKCF, says “We are delighted to have Bonnie join us to continue the outstanding work of Hillsboro’s Foundation and look forward to the ideas she has to help rural communities thrive.” Tatro went on to say Hillsboro Community Foundation was established to promote and facilitate charitable giving in support of project/programs that enhance the quality of life in Hillsboro, Kansas. Then ended by stating “I am confident Bonnie will contribute greatly to this purpose.”

CKCF Mission Moment

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Be Ready. Be Resilient. CKCF and our affiliates are prepared to activating Community Response Funds in the event of local man-made or natural disasters. Donors seek reputable resources for their gifts for recovery. We are that local partner.

We regularly post information regarding our disaster preparedness initiative HERE!

CKCF Leader Series: Jennifer Vogts

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JENNIFER VOGTS

SECRETARY

ABOUT JENNIFER
While Jennifer moved around with her father’s Air Force career during her formative years, she spent the most time growing up in Norcross, Georgia. After graduation, she moved to Kansas and has lived in Newton since 2003. She married Alan Vogts and together they have a blended family filled with 6 children, a son-in-law, two grandchildren and two soon-to-be sons-in-law. She enjoys spending time with family, attending the kid’s sporting events, running, reading, listening to live music and watching movies.

CAREER
For the past 12 years Jennifer has been a stay-at-home mom. Remaining connected and engaged in the Newton community in meaningful ways is very important to her. Therefore, sought involvement with the Women’s Community Foundation, Leave a Legacy, North Newton Community Foundation, Central Kansas Community Foundation and others. This allows her the flexibility to balance her time and attention on the needs of her family while making a positive contribution to other endeavors outside of her home. Currently, Jennifer also works as needed with Alan’s companies, Vogts Construction and Vogts-Parga Construction.

JENNIFER IS PASSIONATE ABOUT CKCF!
CKCF’s mission is building stronger communities through charitable giving. Jen firmly believes that is what is going on in Newton and in CKCF’s Affiliate service areas. It is very rewarding to see so many people, many of them her friends and neighbors, investing their financial resources as well as their effort and time generously and strategically back into their communities. The difference a donor’s charitable contribution makes on the lives of people living in our communities is tremendous, and she is honored to get to see that first hand as a CKCF board member. She is so proud of the work CKCF does as a team. CKCF touts capable and talented leadership, and staff and board members work well together, and they have a lot fun while they’re at it! As a result, CKCF assets have grown to over $22M across 380 funds producing over $1M in grants each year to help make communities stronger and life better in many areas like animal welfare, health and human services, science and education and arts and culture.  She is very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of something so significant to others and impactful on the world around her!

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
In addition to her profound commitment to CKCF, Jen serves the North Newton Community Foundation, Newton Area Woman of the Year, SafeHope and Big Brothers Big Sisters serving Harvey County. She is also involved with Junior Reading Circle.

FUN FACT ABOUT JENNIFER
Jennifer is related to Noah Webster – they are cousins! He was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author and was the author of Webster’s Dictionary. Also, Al and Jennifer watched all 7 seasons of Game of Thrones in three weeks!

Health Ministries Clinic Benefits from Area Foundation Grants

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Health Ministries Clinic (HMC) is pleased to announce that it recently received grant funding through several community affiliates of the Central Kansas Community Foundation. “We resonate with the emphasis of the Central Kansas Community Foundation in utilizing locally donated funds to build strong communities,” commented Health Ministries Clinic’s CEO Matthew Schmidt.  “We appreciate the investment of the Hesston, Halstead and Newton affiliates in partnering with us to ensure access to healthcare services for everyone in our community.”

A $3,000 grant funded through the Hesston Community Foundation will be used to ensure that Hesston area residents have access to primary care at HMC, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status.

An $800 grant from the Newton Area Health Fund was funded through the Kansas Health Foundation Fund-Newton. HMC will use the funds to assist Newton area residents to obtain primary care services when they can’t afford their care.

A $1,000 grant from the Halstead Community Foundation will purchase a pulse oximeter to measure blood oxygen and a wheelchair for HMC’s Halstead clinic. Health Ministries has operated the clinic at 126 Main, Halstead since 2015. In 2017, HMC provided primary care services for 670 patients from Halstead and the surrounding area.

 

The Benefits of a Charitable Bequest

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Bequest Benefits

A charitable bequest is an easy way for you to help us in our work and benefit. Here are some of the benefits of bequest giving:

  • It costs you nothing today to make a bequest
  • A bequest is free of federal estate tax
  • Your bequest can be changed down the road
  • You can still benefit your heirs with specific gifts
  • A bequest may produce estate tax savings
  • You can leave a legacy through a bequest

Click HERE for more information.

If you are interested in establishing a bequest, please contact our office at (316) 283-5474.