Best Wallace County Grants for Nonprofits in Kansas

Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation

The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation goes beyond food aid to create lasting change. Through innovative programs, strategic partnerships and volunteer action, Stop Hunger tackles the root causes of food insecurity.

In 2025, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and the Hunger Center awarded grants to 131 programs representing 118 communities in 37 states plus the District of Columbia. Collectively, these programs provided an estimated 22,000 backpacks full of shelf-stable food items for students to take home for the weekend or holidays when school meals are not served.

Since 2006, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has been a driving force behind weekend and holiday hunger relief for students across the U.S. Through support of food backpack programs, the Foundation partners with local food banks and schools to discreetly provide K-12 students with backpacks filled with nutritious, shelf-stable meals. These backpacks are distributed in safe, familiar settings – typically on the last school day before a weekend or school break – ensuring that all children who rely on free or reduced-price school meals don’t go hungry when school is out.

K-12 Backpack Grant

The K-12 Backpack Grant is an initiative launched by the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and administered in partnership with the Congressional Hunger Center to support community backpack programs. Grants of $1,000 will be issued to community organizations with established backpack feeding programs that provide students with shelf-stable, nutritious meals when school is out of session.

Across the United States, small and micro businesses (SMBs) play a critical role in driving economic opportunity, job creation, and community prosperity. Yet many entrepreneurs continue to face challenges accessing the training, resources, and support needed to grow and remain competitive in an evolving economy. To help address these needs, Visa Foundation is committing $2M to launch an open-call grant program that will support nonprofit Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) that provide direct services to SMBs. Through this program, Visa Foundation aims to strengthen the capacity of high-impact organizations that help small businesses build greater resilience, expand economic opportunity, and contribute to thriving local economies. 

About

Founded in 1971, the Mensa Foundation was established by members of American Mensa to extend the organization’s impact. While connected by a shared purpose, the Foundation operates independently, guided by its own Board of Trustees, strategic plan, and initiatives.

Awards

Mensa Foundation Prize

The Mensa Foundation Prize celebrates exceptional achievements that redefine our understanding of intelligence and creativity.

Awarded biennially, this distinguished honor highlights transformative scientific discoveries that elevate the understanding of intelligence.

Details

One of the most prestigious honors in the field, the Mensa Foundation Prize highlights exceptional contributions that elevate the understanding of intelligence.

Award Components

Criteria for Entry

Kansas Office of Apprenticeship

The Kansas Office of Apprenticeship (KOA) supports the development and expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs across the state and administers the Kansas Apprenticeship Council (KAC), which ensures programs meet state and federal apprenticeship standards.

Mission: To meet the needs of the Kansas economy and its citizens, the office of Apprenticeship will actively grow a robust system that supports our apprenticeship stakeholders, sponsors, intermediaries, and apprentices. We do this by strategically empowering partnerships that serve a diverse and inclusive workforce through occupational proficiency, for generations to come.

Rural Apprenticeship Innovation for a Stronger Economy (RAISE) Grant

Overview

The Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship are committed to meeting Kansas’ high-wage, high-demand workforce needs by expanding Registered Apprenticeship programs in counties with populations under 50,000 residents. This grant provides direct operational support to new and existing programs—such as business support, marketing, and training equipment—to help them grow, expand services, and reach more Kansans.

Purpose

The purpose of this grant is to provide seed funding for long-term investments in the expansion of new or established Registered Apprenticeship programs in rural Kansas with populations under 50,000. Registered Apprenticeships are a sustainable and economical way to connect residents to meaningful training for long term careers, retain talent in rural areas, and keep Kansas competitive.

Goals

• Support expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs in rural Kansas counties.
• Increase Registered Apprenticeship enrollment by at least 10% year over year in high-wage, high-demand occupations

Kansas Department of Transportation 

KDOT delivers transportation that keeps Kansans moving forward.

We maintain thousands of miles of roadways to keep people and goods moving smoothly across the state. Our dedicated team plans, builds, and maintains highways, bridges, and other infrastructure with a focus on safety and innovation.

By working closely with local communities and stakeholders, KDOT aims to enhance the quality of life for all Kansans, support economic growth, and improve travel experiences. 

Kansas Safe Route to School (SRTS) Grants

Grants and funding opportunities are available to support Safe Routes to School planning, programs, and infrastructure improvements. These include the Kansas SRTS Planning Grant, Kansas SRTS Programming Grant, and Transportation Alternatives (TA) Program.

Planning Grants

Planning Grants provide technical assistance to help communities develop SRTS Plans. No local match is required, and KDOT's consultant team works directly with communities to create a plan that guides future SRTS improvements.

What is in a SRTS Plan?

SRTS Plans include an analysis of existing conditions, summary of public outreach, and identification of potential infrastructure and non-infrastructure solutions to help more students walk, bike, and roll to school. See our completed plans here.

How many schools can be included in one plan?

SRTS plans can be developed for one (1) school or up to eight (8) schools within a single school district. Elementary, middle, and high schools are all eligible for SRTS plans. For districts with more than eight schools contact KDOT’s SRTS Coordinator for assistance with selecting schools for the application.

If selected, grantee should be prepared to support plan development by meeting regularly with the project team (KDOT and their consultant), providing information, surveying parents and students (with online tools provided by the consultant team), helping to arrange and publicize public workshops, and participating in identifying local issues and solutions. Additionally, the grantee should be able to demonstrate a commitment to implementing the plan once it is complete.

How to Use Your Completed SRTS Plan

A completed SRTS Plan can be used as a communication and visualization tool for grant applications and to support SRTS programs and activities in your community. It can also be used as a catalyst for broader community conversations about walking, biking, and rolling.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5430 - Unlocking Value and Opportunities from Carbon Flows in Water Utilities

Grant Information

• Identify carbon flows across drinking water, stormwater, wastewater, and advanced treatment systems. Carbon flows may include source water, stormwater, process emissions, process inputs, residuals, and biogas.
• Identify the most relevant carbon recovery, capture, conversion, storage, and avoidance opportunities.
• Evaluate value creation pathways, including products, avoided costs, and environmental attributes, and mechanisms and partnerships needed to put them into practice.
• Assess how opportunities vary across system types and local contexts by focusing on more common scenarios for utilities.
• Provide practical, research-based insights to support identification, prioritization, evaluation, and advancement of carbon management opportunities under site-specific conditions and constraints.
• Evaluate implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, environmental attribute claims, and other potential benefits across pathways.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5411 - Practical Playbook for Adaptive Utility Capital Improvement Planning Under Deep Uncertainty

Grant Information

• Assess current utility practices for incorporating adaptive or flexible decision making into capital improvement planning (CIP) at the portfolio or programmatic level.
• Identify where deep uncertainty most affects CIP decision points, including investment areas prone to lock-in or points of no return.
• Document the institutional processes, frameworks, and governance structures that have enabled utilities to embed adaptive and flexible investment strategies.
• Quantify how adaptive capital strategies compare to traditional CIP approaches in terms of lifecycle costs, rate stability, financial risk exposure, and avoided or deferred capital investments across a range of plausible future conditions.
• Establish practical criteria to help utilities determine which types of capital investments are well suited for adaptive approaches.
• Develop a practitioner-focused playbook that equips utilities to apply adaptive CIP in practice, including case studies, decision trees, trigger points, vulnerability assessment tools, financial and risk insights, and governance guidance.
• Produce tiered recommendations that allow utilities to adopt adaptive CIP practices incrementally.