The Dane G. Hansen Foundation announced on July 10, 2017 that there is approximately $80,000 in unused Clean-Up Grant Funds earmarked for a 10-county area which was not granted during its initial award period ending June 1, 2017. These unused funds are now being made available to applicants in the area on a first-come, first-serve basis for an amount up to $10,000 per applicant through the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation until the funds are exhausted.
“This Hansen Clean-up Grant Initiative funded 17 clean-up projects totaling more than $121,000 to date,” said Darci Schields, Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation Director. “The Hansen Foundation had originally allocated $200,000 in funds for this purpose; allotting $20,000 for each of our ten counties. With the extension on this initiative, they’re goal is to see all of those grant dollars utilized within our ten counties.” Volunteer driven clean-up projects can request funding to help pay for landfill and/or dumpster fees, tree-trimming, paint, tools and supplies, equipment rental, and labor costs for professional services, if needed.
Grant applicants must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, educational, governmental or religious Institution. Applicants previously awarded a Hansen Clean-Up Grant may apply again for funding provided the previous awarded grant project has been completed and the final report submitted.
Applications will be accepted until all Clean-Up Funding is awarded. Eligible counties include Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Logan, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas and Wallace.
Applicants in the 10-county area can apply online at www.gnwkcf.org.
Pass-through grants
In addition to the clean-up grant extension, the Hansen Foundation announced in May that they had renewed another round of grant funding for each of the 26 northwest Kansas counties in their service area; offering $100,000 funding for pass-through grants. It was in 2015 when they first established this “Hansen Community Grant” initiative; making this their third year in providing these grant dollars for the counties and communities to utilize for projects.
Local community foundation boards or grant review committees meet each month to review the incoming applications for their specific county and weigh the applications according to the Hansen Foundation guidelines. They advise over the local Fund(s) and make the decisions regarding how the grant dollars are best spent for the betterment of their counties.
The Hansen Foundation has already provided a total of $5.2 million in pass-through grants since 2015. An additional $2.6 million will be awarded this year.
The county-specific funds are administered in partnership with the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation and the Greater Salina Community Foundation. Both of these partner foundations offer online grant applications to make the process easier for applicants.
For more information on either grant opportunity, contact the Greater Northwest Community Foundation at 785-734-2556 or by sending an email to [email protected].