MATCHING GRANT INITIATIVE
The Hansen Foundation recognizes that residents are the most knowledgeable about the needs of their own communities. Providing the opportunity for a community to create or build a sustainable pool of dollars that would be available to meet both current and future needs, enables community members to confidently plan for the future of their hometowns. The matching grant initiative provides opportunities for Northwest Kansas residents to define and address community concerns which should in turn keep residents invested in not only determining and addressing needs but also planning for growth.
With that in mind, the Hansen Foundation offers an opportunity for community foundations in its service area to raise funds for a permanently endowed, unrestricted community grant fund, and for a permanently endowed administrative fund.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Participation in the matching initiative is by invitation. The Hansen Foundation has extended an invitation to every county in its 26-county service area. Participation is optional.
For every dollar raised by local donors, the Hansen Foundation will provide a 100% match, up to a maximum of $50,000 per county for the community foundation’s endowed countywide unrestricted grant fund.
In addition to matching the donor gifts at 100% for the grant fund, the Hansen Foundation will also award the local community foundation an additional match – up to $20,000 for a permanent operating endowment and up to $5,000 for immediate administrative needs.
That means community foundations that raise the full $50,000 for the grant fund will receive a 150% match. All matching grants are prorated for community foundations that do not raise the full amount.
Beginning in May 2022, the administrative portion of the match will increase to up to $45,000 for a permanent operating endowment and up to $5,000 for immediate administrative needs. Again, these matching funds will be prorated for foundations who do not raise the full amount.
That means that beginning in May 2022, community foundations that raise the full $50,000 for the unrestricted, endowed countywide grant fund will receive a 200% match, half for future grants and half for operational support. All matching grants are prorated for community foundations that do not raise the full amount.
The participating community foundation must submit an application to the Dane G. Hansen Foundation outlining the strategy for its matching “event.” Applications are available online through the Foundation’s website.
Each community foundation will select the time frame for the matching program. Any month on the calendar is available. Participating Foundations can host a one-day event, a month-long campaign, or something in between.
Once the application is approved, the Hansen Foundation will award a $1,500 grant to the applying community foundation to help with campaign costs.
Each county will select one month to host its event. Participating Foundations can host a one-day event, a month-long campaign, or something in between.
A grant report will be due at the end of the month following the matching event. The matching grant will be disbursed following receipt of the report.
An important aspect of the initiative is the opportunity for community foundations to market their community grant programs to donors. It is not the intent of the initiative that contributions be received or limited to current donors or friends of the foundations, however there is no limit on the amount a single donor can contribute and still qualify for the match.
Each participating community foundation will receive a $1,500 grant to be used to promote the matching program to donors and the community.
Participating community foundations, together with the host foundations, will be responsible for communicating the opportunity to donors, collecting contributions and reporting back to the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
A final report will be due by the last day of the month following the community foundation’s matching month. Once the report is received, the matching grant will be processed.
For counties that may have more than one community foundation, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation will work with the foundation where it has an established relationship for the pass-through community grant funds. Only one community foundation per county will be eligible to participate.
For the purpose of this initiative, endowment is defined as a permanent fund designed to generate annual income. In this case there will be two separate funds, one for community grants and one for operational support. Foundations can define the targeted percentage for the annual distribution (such as 5% of the annual fund balance).
For the purpose of this initiative, community grant fund is defined as a permanently endowed fund. Income from the fund will be used to award grants, at least annually, to meet community needs. Grants are determined by a board or committee made up of local citizens. Distributions are not intended for the foundation’s own administrative support.
The matching initiative will sunset on April 30, 2026
The match opportunity was first introduced in May 2016. The Hansen Foundation will have invested nearly $17 million in the matching initiative at the end of the 10-year program.
Not immediately. The pass-through funding is currently promised to countywide community foundations through September of 2025. However, the amount of those funds will reduce from $100,000 per county, per year, to $50,000 per county, per year, beginning in April of 2022.
Since 2014, the Hansen Foundation has provided funding through local community foundations to re-grant in each of the 26 counties of Northwest Kansas. By September of 2025, the foundation will have granted nearly $21 million for this re-granting program.
The Matching Grant Initiative was created as an opportunity for the local community foundations to create an independent source of grant funding– in essence– to create a multitude of “mini-Hansen Foundations” across Northwest Kansas. At the end of the 10-year matching initiative, community foundations should have both a grant fund and operational fund to help support its own operations.
Read all of the criteria before applying.
The button below will take you to the grant application page. Select Community Foundation Matching Grant. This is an invitation only application requiring a password to access.
If you still have questions, contact Betsy Wearing, Coordinator of Programs, Communications and New Initiatives for the Foundation at betsy@danehansenfoundation.org, or 785-452-8888.