Last fall the Western Kansas Community Foundation received a $25,000 capacity building grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to guide the board in a year-long strategic planning effort. The funds will be used to pay for strategic planning services and implement the plan in WKCF’s 15-county service area through 2019. The program’s rationale is well explained by our board chair elsewhere in this newsletter. In addition, I’d like to explain a little bit more about the process that we will be following. Currently we’re in the middle of our first phase which is to create an informed context for strategic planning. To that end WKCF staff has gathered 5-year lookout data on all operational functions of the Foundation for further analysis by our consultants. This is followed by internal and external stakeholder interviews. Individual phone interviews were conducted recently, and we’re now gearing up for 4 focus group meetings in Garden City, Leoti and Hugoton. The facilitated meetings will focus on individual donor needs as well as the economic and social needs in the various communities we serve. One of the questions our board seeks to answer is how the Foundation can balance its role as grant maker and donor service provider with its leadership role as place maker and catalyst for change. Our community foundation serves a large geographical area, from Greeley to Morton County, and Lane County to Meade. In order to reach and serve all the people of Southwest Kansas, we need to have a better understanding of the wants and needs in each community. Will you help?
 

Please join us at one of the focus group meetings below. Meetings will last app 1.5 hour, refreshments will be served. RSVP at the WKCF office at 620-271-9481 or email me at conny@wkcf.org.   

Garden City

Date: March 7

Time: 8:30 am and 11:30 am 

Where: Finney Co. Historical Museum, 403 S. 4^th Street, Garden City

Hugoton

Date: March 7

Time: 4:00 pm

Where: Stumpy’s & Co, 839 E. 11^th St., Hugoton

Leoti

Date: March 8

Time: 8:00 am

Where: Business C.A.R.E. Center, 102 W. Broadway St., Leoti

Be part of the conversation that will help shape the future of the WKCF and by extension, anyone who calls Southwest Kansas home.