It's Competitive Grants Season at Truman Heartland Community Foundation. This is the time of year that reminds us of the power of endowed funds created by charitable people who want to make a positive impact on their community.

This year, we will have approximately $300,000 available to award for Community Grants and $140,000 for the Jelley Children's Education grants, approximately $440,000 in total. 

There are 23 endowments that provide funds for our competitive grants process, and most were created through generous gifts that community members made through their estate to create endowed funds to support charitable organizations. 

At Truman Heartland, we specialize in helping fundholders shape an endowment that serves their particular interest. 

Some of these endowed funds are focused on a particular type of charity that the donor seeks to support. We refer to these as a field of interest funds and, for instance, have the Marge Pollard Hospice Fund, which supports hospice care. 

Others are focused on a particular geographic area, like the J.D. Browning Endowment that supports organizations in Lee’s Summit. 

Other endowments can be utilized more broadly and are not focused on a particular interest of the donor. A good example is the Willa Fancher and Martha Taggart Endowment, created in November 2020 with an estate gift of $2.8 Million.  This endowed fund, in just 4 years, has made grants of $502,000 to charities in our community while the balance of the fund due to investment returns has grown to $3.3 Million.  It’s a great example of how an endowed fund works. 

The board of Truman Heartland Community Foundation is charged with managing these endowed funds and ensuring we are using them as the donor instructed so that the spirit of their giving is honored, even as organizations evolve or change throughout the years. 

By working with a Community Foundation donors can be confident that grants from their endowment will be supporting the organizations making an impact in our community today as well as 20 years from now. It’s our privilege to work with many charitable individuals in our community to create and serve their legacy. 

Urge Your Nonprofit Neighbors to Apply for our Grants

We have two grant application processes: The Jelley Family Foundation Endowment for Children’s Education, with $140,000 available, applications due March 10.  The Community Grants, with $300,000 available, and applications due March 24. 

If you know of Nonprofits serving the Eastern Jackson County and Cass County area, please encourage them to apply by going to https://www.thcf.org/grant-seekers for more information.