The Thomas County Community Foundation is a public, nonprofit organization with 501 (c) (3) status that pools the resources of many donors and focuses grant making efforts in Thomas County, Kansas. Board of directors and staff of the foundation seek to build permanently endowed funds, using the interest generated for charitable, community betterment. The Thomas County Community Foundation accepts and administers a diversity of gift and fundy types to meet the varied philanthropic objectives of donors. With a dual role of being a catalyst for community betterment, TCCF also serves donors in carrying out their philanthropic intentions, within applicable laws and regulations.

Mission

Our mission is to enhance quality of life, today and in the future, by:

• Enabling donors to fulfill their charitable desires
• Building a permanent endowment
• Facilitating prudent management and care of funds
• Meeting needs through grants, awards, and scholarships

What Type of Support is Funded?

• Projects or programs that serve the community and/or advance the mission of the organization
• Seed money to establish or initiate a new project, program, or organization, including operating expenses
• Capacity building or activities that strengthen an organization to increase its ability to fulfill its mission, including technology & equipment, professional development & training, additional staff to implement a new program, etc.
• Capital improvements including new construction or renovation of a facility
• Endowment funds to provide permanent and long-term support for an organization or program
  • Note: The grants committee will consider requests for endowment funds, but it is unlikely to receive funding unless it supports a specific initiative.

Cloud County Public Health Fund/Kansas Health Foundation for Cloud County

The Cloud County Public Health Fund was established in response to the Kansas Health Foundation’s second chapter of the Giving Resources to our World (GROW II) match grant challenge.

Grants from this fund support the public health of Cloud County. Public health is defined as the protection and promotion of the health and well-being of individuals and their communities through encouragement of healthy lifestyles, behaviors and environments.

Funding for this grant is also supported by the Kansas Health Foundation Fund for Cloud County.

The Kansas Health Foundation Fund for GSCF was established in response to the Kansas Health Foundation’s second chapter of the Giving Resources to our World (GROW II) matching grant challenge.

Learn more about the GROW II program here.

What do the funds support?

• Programs and projects that support the public health of Saline County, KS, defined as: the protection and promotion of the health and well-beings of individuals and their communities through encouragement of healthy lifestyles, behaviors and environments.
• Grants will be made to preventative programs/projects that support healthy living.

Humanities For All Mini Grant

Humanities For All grants support projects that draw on history, literature, and culture to engage the public with stories that spark conversations. 

Goals:

• Share stories that explore the human experience
• Engage people in public discussions
• Generate insights that cultivate a thriving democracy

Types of Projects We Support

Humanities programs can take many forms. Formats include, but are not limited to, interpretive exhibitions, community conversations, town halls, panel discussions, presentations, book discussions, short films, full-length films, or podcasts. Creativity and innovation are encouraged. 

To be competitive for funding, the humanities must be central to the proposal. Projects should draw on our diverse history, literature, and cultures to explore a defined topic. Projects must engage the general public, which primarily refers to an adult, out-of-school audience. 

Humanities include the following disciplines:

• History
• Literature
• Languages and cultures
• Law
• Folklore
• Gender studies
• Religious studies
• Philosophy
• Art history*
• Archeology
• Cultural anthropology
• Ethics
• Social sciences, such as political science and sociology, are also considered humanities.

* A note regarding the arts: Humanities Kansas does not support arts projects, defined as creation and display of visual art, creative writing workshops, or performance (drama, dance, music, etc.). However, as noted above, projects that focus on the analysis and contextualization of art, such as a panel discussion moderated by an art historian, are eligible. The difference between humanities and art can be a fine line. If your project includes arts components, contact HK staff for guidance. 

Format

Consider the format. HK is interested in innovative, creative program formats, diverse perspectives, and new methods for reaching an audience. HK grants are intended to get a project “off the ground.” HK cannot be expected to fund a similar project, or a signature event, year after year. 

Scholars

Contact a Humanities Scholar. Every project must involve at least one humanities scholar to support a humanistic perspective and provide in-depth knowledge. Scholars are often faculty members, library or museum professionals, or independent cultural experts. HK staff can help identify humanities scholars. Scholars must have at least one of the following criteria:

• At least a Master’s degree in a humanities discipline helpful to the success of the project
• College-level teaching experience in a humanities discipline or proven record of scholarship in the humanities
• Museum curator, librarian, or other individuals with exceptional knowledge of the relevant topic
• Culture bearers – tribal or community elders, or practitioners of traditional cultural forms

Dylan’s Legacy of Volunteerism

Dylan began volunteering early in his life through sports and various activities, first as a Pittsburg Purple Dragon, then as a Kansas State Wildcat, a Dresden Monarch, and a Milan Rhino. He taught leadership, hard work, and camaraderie to all he came in contact with.

Later he combined his volunteering efforts with his love for adventure and travel by making his way across New Zealand working on organic farms (see the Captain Keith sailing story), as a painter, and as a waiter in an organic café, always seizing the moment and soaking up the beauty the fiords and the people of New Zealand had to offer.

Dylan Meier Get Busy Livin’ Foundation (GBL Foundation) Youth Volunteerism Grants

This Foundation offers a grant opportunity specifically for youth volunteerism in the Southeast Kansas region. GBL grant applications are available during March. The desire to serve others has always been ingrained in the GBL philosophy.

As explained on its website, the GBL Foundation: "was established in 2011 to provide support for individuals and groups that embody the values that Dylan pursued: adventure, fitness, curiosity, generosity and a daily zest for life experiences."

Cheyenne County Impact Fund

In December 2016, the Cheyenne County Impact Fund was established through a matching initiative provided by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Incoming donations into this endowment fund were eligible for a $1 for $1 match up to $50,000 during the month of December in 2016. In December 2017 and 2018, incoming donations were once again matched $1 to $1 up to $50,000 by the Hansen Foundation, and an additional match was offered by Stanion Wholesale Electric Company / the Bill and Cindy Keller Family. Annual matching campaigns will continue through 2025 to build this endowment fund. As this fund grows, the interest will be used to fund projects throughout Cheyenne County.

Cheyenne County Impact Fund grants are to help benefit Cheyenne County as a whole, as well as the communities and school districts within.

Grow Gove County Fund

The Gove County Community Foundation accepts grant applications from the Grow Gove County Fund annually from May 1 to June 30. Funding decisions are announced by August 1 annually. Applicants are encouraged to allow local / county vendors and businesses to bid on material and labor for projects and to indicate this within the proposal.

The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation’s (FSACF) goal is to partner with and be a resource to organizations whose goals are to improve the quality of life in the Fort Scott, Kansas, area. FSACF strives to create connections between donors and a variety of many worthwhile causes.

FSACF was launched in August 2007 to meet the needs of Fort Scott and the surrounding area. FSACF encourages philanthropy and provides donors with a variety of giving options. The Foundation assists donors in meeting their charitable goals by creating a giving and granting environment that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of the Fort Scott area.

We provide funding for nonprofits

FSACF offers funding for Bourbon County nonprofit organizations, including churches, schools, public charities, and government agencies. The Foundation is home to designated funds, field-of-interest funds, and donor-advised funds that provide grants to such organizations according to the instructions of the person who established the fund with us.

Plus, we host an annual competitive grant cycle during which eligible organizations can request funding. And through an agency fund, we can manage and grow nonprofits’ own resources to support their continued success.

Grant applications

We accept grant applications during August, evaluate them during September, and award them during the last week of October. We consider proposals based on how they improve the quality of life for residents in the Fort Scott area. 

About

Welcome to the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas! We help our donors establish long-term charitable funds, using the best tax advantages, to benefit their causes and our community.

Founded in 2001 by a group of citizens interested in encouraging philanthropy and strengthening communities, the Community Foundation has awarded over $16.9 million in grants through its donor-advised, unrestricted, designated, field-of-interest, scholarship, and agency funds. It is one of more than 800 community foundations in the country and is a member of the Kansas Association of Community Foundations.

Our mission

The Community Foundation serves the region by encouraging charitable giving benefiting the common good and the quality of life.

Future Fund Giving Circle

The Future Fund is a philanthropic giving circle comprising friends and family of the Pittsburg area who pool their resources to make a difference in Crawford County. Contributors’ gifts make grants in the Crawford County, Kansas, area possible for nonprofit organizations, schools, and religious and governmental institutions.

Since 2006, the Future Fund Giving Circle has awarded over $155,000 in grants, including $18,509 in 2022 alone. Future Fund grant applications are available during August.