Search Through Operating Grants for Nonprofits in Kansas in the U.S.

Charitable Contributions

Our goal with financial contributions from BOK Financial and the BOKF Foundation is to enhance the quality of life and economic wellbeing in the communities where BOK Financial operates and where our employees work and live including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Our charitable contributions are focused on four pillars of giving: United Way, economic development, education and basic needs

Our long-term strategic plan guides all contributions to assure maximum impact in the community and to develop mutually beneficial relationships with our nonprofit partner agencies. BOK financial contributions are budgeted on an annual calendar basis. We accept online charitable contribution/grant applications throughout the year.

Pillars of giving

Basic Needs

We provide volunteer and financial support to organizations serving the most vulnerable members of our community. Our efforts largely focus on organizations providing direct services addressing such issues as poverty, hunger, healthcare, housing and safety.

Education

An equitable, robust educational system drives long-term community growth. We support local nonprofits whose primary mission is promoting basic education, including public school foundations, early childhood education, financial literacy, and institutions of higher education.

Economic Development

Actions that raise the standard of living and economic health of our communities make them better places to live and work. We provide support to local chambers of commerce; nonprofits focused on workforce development, job training, etc.; and public/private partnerships investing in our communities.

United Way

Our focus on strategically investing in the community aligns perfectly with United Way’s approach to achieving its mission of mobilizing the caring power of communities to advance the common good.

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

What does this program do?

This program helps eligible communities prepare, or recover from, an emergency that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water.

What kind of event can qualify as an emergency?

• Drought or flood
• Earthquake
• Tornado or hurricane
• Disease outbreak
• Chemical spill, leak or seepage
• Other disasters

How may the funds be used?

• Water transmission line grants up to $150,000 to construct waterline extensions, repair breaks or leaks in existing water distribution lines, and address related maintenance necessary to replenish the water supply
• Water source grants up to $1,000,000 for the construction of new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants, and/or other sources of water (water source up to and including the treatment plant)

Why does USDA Rural Development do this?

This program helps prevent damage or restore households and business' access to clean, reliable drinking water in eligible rural areas and towns following natural disasters. Funding can improve the natural environment and encourage manufacturers and other businesses to locate or expand operations.

Funding Priorities

We focus our grantmaking in a way that honors our founders’ intent and operates in alignment with our mission, vision, and values – to center our work on ensuring all people experience what is possible.

We understand that improving life for all requires an interconnected approach. Therefore, through our grantmaking we seek to increase economic opportunities of all, with an intentional focus on communities of color, those not earning a livable wage, and families experiencing poverty. Kansas City’s community needs will guide us as we work together to create stronger partnerships with communities, nonprofit partners, and foundation colleagues, in order to increase opportunities for all to succeed.

We believe that as we expand our reach and increase our impact through new, strengthened, and reimagined partnerships within our three impact areas, we will help build a community where an improved quality of life is equitable and enjoyable by all.

What we fund and the impact we seek

To achieve our vision of enabling all people in our community to experience what is possible; to achieve their greatest potential, and to create a bigger impact, our grantmaking will focus on three interconnected impact areas:

KC Spirit: Elevating Kansas City

• To ensure that greater Kansas City’s regional assets, cultural organizations, and sense of community make it a thriving and inclusive place to live.
• Make Kansas City stronger by embracing all in our stories & vision for the city through investments in regional assets, arts & culture, and community wide initiatives.

Prospering Communities: Increasing equity for all

• To support families through organizations and initiatives that take a holistic approach to reducing poverty and increasing equity and well-being.
• Communities prosper when there are equitable opportunities to access education, housing, employment, and health care. We prioritize investments that take systemic and comprehensive approaches to increasing opportunities for all to thrive in their neighborhoods of choice.
• Grantmaking focuses on economic inclusion – livable neighborhoods – healthcare – emergency and safety net services.

Growing Minds: Creating strong educational foundation for life

• We prioritize investments that improve outcomes and access to quality programming for children and their families in education.
• Grantmaking focuses on Pre-K, K-12, post-secondary, and wrap-around support services, in addition to out-of-classroom initiatives that address barriers to education and provide additional academic support.

Purpose

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative (KHFI) offers technical assistance and financing designed to increase access to affordable, healthy food to improve the health and economic development of communities in Kansas.

Projects should be:

• Committed to healthy foods
• Carried out in low-resource and underserved areas
• Led by experienced operators
• Integrated with community needs

Technical assistance may include:

• Funding options for grocery store improvements
• Business development resources
• Wholesale distribution contacts
• Produce and food safety
• Food access information for media outlets
• Point of sale and technology
• Food policy council connections
• Connections with other stakeholder groups and/or local projects

Loans, grants, and loan/grant mixes may be used for real estate acquisition, predevelopment, construction, rehabilitation, equipment, and infrastructure. 

Amount of Funding

KHFI provides funding in the form of loan/grant funding mixes, which are typically composed of 15% grant funding and 85% loan financing, with grant caps dependent on total request.

Loan financing terms:

• Up to $2.5 million
• 1-15 year terms
• Competitive interest rates, based on available collateral
• Flexible loan structure

Kansas Health Foundation

The Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) creates strategies and develops partnerships to improve health for all Kansans, by reducing health disparities and focusing on health equity. We envision a culture in which every Kansan can make healthy choices where they live, work and play.

Kansas Innovation Fund

Are you a visionary, a problem solver, or someone who is passionate about creating positive change in your community? Is your organization open to exploring new strategies and taking bold steps toward innovation? Have you come across ideas or projects from community members, youth or nonprofit staff that you are eager to implement but lack the necessary resources? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we invite you to consider applying for the Kansas Innovation Fund.

KHF will provide up to $5,000 for each approved idea/project. Our goal is to provide a funding opportunity for nonprofits looking to explore new strategies to solve complex issues.

How the Opportunity Works

To enable eligible Kansas nonprofits to test innovative ideas to address health and health equity, KHF is providing mini grants of up to $5,000. The mini grants will support a range of ideas from different sectors that address the underlying factors causing poor health outcomes and health disparities.

Criteria for Grant Selection

Does your funding request:

• Make it possible for more Kansans to have the opportunity to live a healthy life, or improve overall health?
• Propose a new and innovative project for your organization?
• Benefit Kansans or Kansas communities?

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

The REACH Healthcare Foundation and Wyandotte Health Foundation have partnered to launch the Rapid Equity Fund. This grantmaking initiative provides eligible nonprofit organizations up to $5,000 of unrestricted funds to support Black, Brown, Immigrant, Refugee, and rural-serving partners.Previously known as the Rapid REACH Equity Fund, the revitalized Rapid Equity Fund is aimed at accelerating the grant award process, thereby creating more funding avenues for organizations that serve highly vulnerable populations.

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

Since its inception, the Foundation, which is still led by Lester T. Sunderland's descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company. 

 The Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than for annual operating expenses. 

Grants for planning, design, construction, renovation, repairs and restoration of facilities are considered. Areas of interest include higher education, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects and energy efficient affordable housing projects sponsored by qualified tax-exempt organizations. 

Funding Areas

In recent grant cycles, the Board of Trustees has awarded the majority of grants in four broadly defined areas:

Higher Education

In 2022, the Foundation awarded $49 million to more than 35 educational organizations. Grantees included community colleges, private colleges, and public universities.

Human Services

The Foundation awarded $30 million to human service nonprofits in 2022, and many grants in this area went to groups that provide essential services to youth and families. Grantees included a range of youth-focused groups, including Reconciliation Services, the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska and the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation, Washington. 

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture projects received $23 million in 2022, including grants to the Springfield Art Museum in Springfield, Missouri, the Omaha Zoo and the Seattle Aquarium in Seattle, Washington. Health Care and Hospitals.

Health Care and Hospitals

This is a growing area of need in many communities the Foundation serves. In 2022, $65 million was awarded to hospitals and health-care groups to build and improve their facilities.

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

What does this program do?

This program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas.

How may the funds be used?

• Funds may be used to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of:
• Drinking water sourcing, treatment, storage and distribution
• Sewer collection, transmission, treatment and disposal
• Solid waste collection, disposal and closure
• Storm water collection, transmission and disposal

In some cases, funding may also be available for related activities such as:

• Legal and engineering fees
• Land acquisition, water and land rights, permits and equipment
• Start-up operations and maintenance
• Interest incurred during construction
• Purchase of facilities to improve service or prevent loss of service
• Other costs determined to be necessary for completion of the project
• See 7 CFR Part 1780.7 and 1780.9 for a complete list

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

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

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.

The Helen S Boylan Foundation

The mission of the Helen S. Boylan Foundation is to enhance the quality of life in our communities of Carthage, Missouri, the Greater Kansas City Area, and Lindale, Texas. We actively distribute quarterly grants to local non-profit organizations serving arts & education, women & children, health & wellness and the beautification of our communities.

Grant Guidelines

The Helen S. Boylan Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1982 to continue the family tradition of commitment to enhancing the quality of life of the community through grants to qualified charitable organizations. In carrying out its mission, the Foundation considers a wide range of proposals within the following areas: arts, education, health, human services, environment, and public interest.

Our Mission

The Kerr Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable and educational Oklahoma corporation, established to identify and support 501(c)3 organizations, programs and institutions that provide new or enhanced opportunities for those within the granting areas, particularly the young.

Program Categories

Education - Institutions of elementary, junior high, pre-collegiate, along with institutions of higher learning to include health science centers and medical research done by educational institutions

Arts and Culture - Organizations in the visual arts and performing arts areas, museums and libraries

Health - Institutions providing health care, doing medical research, or outreach organizations employing primarily professionals from the allied health area

Human Services - Organizations providing services in diverse areas to the public, and specifically to the disadvantaged, people with special needs and the elderly

Project Categories

Capital - Bricks and mortar projects, including equipment

Program - Programs having an objective and specified time span

Operating - Funds to be used to cover basic ongoing administrative and personnel expenses

Who We Are

Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) is a member-owned electric cooperative headquartered in Hooker, Oklahoma.

We are a not-for-profit distribution cooperative owned and controlled by our members.

We are proud to be owned and governed by those we serve, and we are committed to enhancing the quality of life for all of our member-owners.

Mission

The mission of the TCEC Foundation involves accumulating and disbursing funds for charitable purposes within TCEC's service area. The foundation achieves its mission by providing funds to community-based organizations for charitable, educational, or emergency service purposes.

Operation Round Up

Operation Round Up is an ongoing charitable fundraising program to benefit worthwhile community projects. TCEC members who round up their electric bill to an even dollar amount donate those funds. While an individual member’s donation amounts to pocket change each month, the program allows TCEC to collect an average of $6 for each participating meter annually. Together, those donations add up.

Operation Round Up supports community-based organizations for charitable, educational, or emergency services purposes. 

Disbursements annually per organization are limited to $5,000.

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

The Golden Belt Spring Community Building Grant supports a wide-variety of needs and Barton, Pawnee, Rush, and Stafford Counties and serve the community at large including but not limited to: quality of life improvement; arts and culture; enhancing community destinations points; charitable economic opportunity; planning and development. 

We support projects that are:

• Collaborative: leverages resources and builds partnerships
• Measurable: research driven with reliable data
• Sustainable: creates a lasting impact

Grantmaking

Our grantmaking will be aligned to our strategic priorities and focus areas, driving toward our goal of equitable economic mobility for Kansas Citians.

Capacity Building Grant

Capacity Building grants are designed to strengthen the organizational capacity of nonprofits by fostering sound leadership, strong boards, professional development for staff, technology, evaluation, strategic planning, communications, and sustainability.

Rather than funding a charity’s specific program or singular service, Capacity Building grants look for opportunities to support an organization’s focus on internal effectiveness and long-term stability. These one-time, short-term grants will be awarded to charities that demonstrate a specific capacity gap and who are aligned with our strategic priorities and focus areas.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive and additional capacity needs may qualify for these funds.

• Board governance & leadership development
• Collaboration development
• Communications & marketing
• Data & evaluation
• Financial planning & fundraising
• Human resource planning
• Information technology planning & digital security
• Operating systems
• Strategic planning Funding

Funding available: $100,000 – $250,000

Community Ties Giving Program

As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today.

As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, we prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur.
  • *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment programs.
• Build the capacity of workforce development-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
• Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
• Revive neighborhoods and main street areas, especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
• Ensure residents’ basic needs are met and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
• Offer youth development and educational opportunities to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
• Build the capacity of community vitality-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Preserve and restore nature, including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
• Reduce waste through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
• Develop environmental stewards through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
• Advance a sustainable economy by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
• Promote environmental justice through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
• Build the capacity of sustainability-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

Kansas Health Foundation

Mission

To improve the health of all Kansans.

Goals

We operate with a three-part purpose statement that explains our overall goals and highest aspirations:

• To empower Kansas to lead the nation in health
• To eliminate the inequities that lead to the greatest health disparities
• To be THE model of philanthropic impact

Hunger Free Kansas Mass Action Grants

KHF is providing mini grants of up to $5,000 to eligible Kansas nonprofits to test innovative ideas to address hunger and food insecurity.

Funding is intended to be flexible and allow you to fund projects most needed in your area. Staff time is allowed as an expense.

Selection Criteria

Your idea should fit into one of four categories of work identified by Hunger Free Kansas: 

• Cross-Sector Learning: 
  • Increase shared understanding, shared vision and shared momentum between the private, nonprofit and government sectors. 
• School-based Nutrition Programs: 
  • Opportunities to work with schools to maximize nutrition programs.
• Alternative Food Systems: 
  • Addressing gaps in access, production, processing, distribution, or food recovery.
• Social Services Access: 
  • The need to connect charitable food efforts to other social services and safety nets in a community.

Project Examples

Below are a few sample ideas in each of the four categories of work.

• For Cross-Sector Learning: 
  • Convene stakeholders from the nonprofit, government, and private sectors and facilitate cross-sector learning on food insecurity.  Use the Hunger Free Kansas data walk as a part of this experience! 
  • Take on storytelling!  Create success and challenges stories to be shared at a cross sector convening. 
  • Help a group of cross-sector partners apply for a grant initiative; provide grant writing support and capacity.
• For School-based Nutrition Programs:
  • Host a series of meetings with local school officials and food service directors to better understand opportunities/needs for summer meal sites, greater free and reduced lunch participation, farm to school opportunities, etc.
  • Work with a local higher education institution (community college, college, university) to take steps towards a “Hunger Free Campus” designation
  • Support a school district’s work to enroll families in Free and Reduced Lunch or Summer EBT.
• For Alternative Food Systems:
  • Launch/support Incubator/Community Kitchens, including connections to community meals. (This could include first steps such as a feasibility study).
  • Design a local food recovery system. Explore what software might make this happen.
  • Implement or adapt the Kitchen ReStore project for your community.
• For Social Services Access:
  • Consider stationing a Community Health Worker at a food pantry or community meal sites.
  • Work with a local Public Health Department, Federally Qualified Healthcare Center, or Hospital to begin conversations to explore or connect to existing Food as Medicine Produce Prescription opportunities.
  • Help a local food pantry enhance operations with best practices (ex. incentives for nutritious choices at food pantries or assessing and reducing barriers to food pantry access.)

About the Foundation

The Deluxe Corporation Foundation focuses on long-term solutions that help people, businesses and communities thrive and grow. Since 1954, the Foundation has awarded $109 million to charitable organizations.

In every grant the Foundation awards, we seek to bring meaningful, lasting change to communities across the country. Our grants have empowered Americans to understand the basics of entrepreneurship and help communities ease the burden during a time of crisis.

Grant Focus Areas

Financial Literacy

• Focus Areas: Youth Achievement

Education, Entrepreneurship & Empowerment

• Focus Areas: STEM/STEAM, Women’s/Entrepreneurs Organizations, Achievement Gap

Community

• Focus Areas: Veterans, Disaster recovery, Human Dignity

Employee Resource Group (ERG) Grants

In 2024, the Deluxe Foundation introduced a new grant strategy to foster diverse and inclusive environments by harnessing the collective power of employee resource groups (ERGs) to create authentic, community-led impact. Their insight into specific issues can ensure that grant funding is directed to deserving initiatives that are meaningful to ERG members, employees and the commuities in which we live and work.

Each of Deluxe’s 10 ERGs will identify and establish a partnership with a nonprofit organization working on social issues relevant to their cause, and award one $25k general operating grant to the selected nonprofit organization.

Deluxe’s 10 ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups brought together by a common interest, membership in a protected class, or shared experience.

• African-American
• AVID (Awareness for Visible & Invisible Disabilities)
• Hispanic
• Parents
• PIMA (Pacific Islander Middle-Eastern Asian)
• Pride+
• Veterans
• Women

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Mission

We make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Vision

A healthier future for all — inspired by faith, driven by innovation, and powered by our humanity.

Values

Collaboration, compassion, excellence, inclusion, integrity.

CommonSpirit Health Equity & Advancement Fund

The CommonSpirit Health Equity & Advancement Fund, soon to be the CommonSpirit Mountain Region Community Health Improvement Grant, was launched in 2021 in support of CommonSpirit’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across our vibrant communities in Colorado, Kansas, and Utah. Our commitment to social justice lies in CommonSpirit’s Core Values, and advances our Mission to make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Applicants should ensure their proposed work/project:

• Serves a specific diverse, underrepresented, or underserved community (either based on geography or lived experience).
• Addresses specific Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
• Integrates members of communities being served (community participatory approach)
• Builds community capacity, with an emphasis on utilizing community health workers
• Identifies specific objectives that will be measured and reported.

What are the 2026 funding focus areas?

• Mental health/Substance Use
• Access to Care
• Food Security/Nutrition
• Proposals otherwise advancing social justice and health equity