Newsletter - February 2023 Edition |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Sponsor Spotlight: Evergy
- Housing Assessment Tool
- Reporting Observations
- PRIDE Community Happenings
- CDBG Roadshow
- 2023 Awards Season is Approaching
- Reminder - Community of Excellence Application Deadline Shift
- Continuing Opportunities Section
- External Funding Resources
- Funding Tip
- Up for a Community Visit? We Are, Too!
- Catch Us on Facebook & Facebook Live!
- K-State Garden Hour February Webinar
- Events Calendar
- Partner and Resource Links
- Sponsorship Opportunity
- 2023 Kansas PRIDE Communities
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Sponsor Spotlight: Evergy
We'll be highlighting Kansas PRIDE program sponsors and partners in the newsletter and on social media throughout the year. This time we're pleased to give a shout out to one of our "Partners in PRIDE" level sponsors: Evergy. Evergy is a long-time supporter of Kansas PRIDE going back to their days as Kansas City Power and Light and Westar Energy. Evergy invests in next generation infrastructure in order to bring reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy to its customers. They also invest in Kansas communities through their sponsorship dollars which help fund community grants and recognition awards, and by contributing time and knowledge by serving on the Kansas PRIDE, Inc. board of directors. Thank you, Evergy, for the many years of supporting our communities!
You can see other ways Evergy supports the communities they serve through their Community Investment program. Click on the logo above to learn more about Evergy as a whole.
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Housing Assessment Tool
The new and improved Housing Assessment Tool (HAT) is now available on the Kansas Commerce website. The HAT provides step-by-step directions to assess local housing data, engage stakeholders, and establish priorities for housing projects. It is designed to provide resources for communities of any size to analyze their housing data. The suggested timeline for completing the HAT is approximately one to three months but depends on the capacity and goals of each community.
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Reporting Observations
We've had some observations and recommendations from the field to pass on about reporting. Keep these in mind next time you get ready to submit your quarterly report:
- If you have a lot to type into your report, consider typing it into a word processor app first. You can then copy and paste it into the proper field within the report online. Long periods of typing without clicking through pages can cause the database to log a user out resulting in potentially lost entries.
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You might find that after you upload photos you want to go back and add more by editing your report at a later time. That is definitely doable, but keep in mind it will look like the photos uploaded previously have vanished. The database is showing you thumbnails of the new photos you just uploaded, and your previous photos are safe. You can confirm this by searching for your recent report and expanding it with the + sign. Click the typewriter to go to the report search function of the database.
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PRIDE Community Happenings |
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Anthony PRIDE has had some great fundraising success for their community Christmas decorations. You may remember back in June we had a story about the cookbook they produced. Since then, they've sold 552 copies. With sales, private donations and sponsorships they've raised $20,000 which will be used for lights and decor in 2023. Other activities include a community clean-up campaign and participating in the annual Lite Up Christmas parade.
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McFarland's PRIDE Committee reports a busy 4th quarter of 2022. They organized the Lighting Up McFarland event which included a tree lighting ceremony, downtown shop window decorations, a house decorating contest, and more. Earlier in the quarter was a Trunk or Treat and costume parade, a city hall beautification project, and a pop-up bakery/coffee shop fundraiser.
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Overbrook PRIDE shares some information about their 3rd Annual Fall in Love with Overbrook Fall Festival from October. The event brought vendors to the area to sell their products, horse-drawn wagon rides were hosted for free, and artists' giant hay bale creations were fun to see!
We collect stories and photos to share here from communities' quarterly reports, emails to us, and press releases that come our way. If you have a project or event you'd like us to highlight, send it to pride@ksu.edu.
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CDBG Roadshow
Kansas Commerce is excited to announce that CDBG is taking the show on the road!
CDBG has partnered with seven regional planning organizations across Kansas to sponsor opportunities for you to join peers and partners to learn about new CDBG programs that can strengthen your community.
Food will be provided.
Each CDBG Road Show is scheduled from 10AM – 2PM.
The CDBG team will discuss types of projects funded, eligibility, and requirements for successful applications in these areas: Youth Job Training, Early Child Education and Care Facilities, Community Facilities and Services (parks, libraries, sidewalks, and trails), and Architectural Barrier Removal. There will be time for project planning discussions and questions with Commerce staff and staff from regional planning agencies.
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2023 Awards Season is Approaching!
Just a quick note to let you know that the Kansas PRIDE Awards deadline for Round 1 of 2023 is May 1.
If you are in good standing (enrolled, resolution submitted, and quarterly reports up to date), feel free to peruse the award opportunities and apply!
For promotional awards, such as Project Excellence, Rising Star, and NEW THIS YEAR, Community of Excellence - CLICK HERE.
Best of luck to you all, and don't hesitate to reach out to pride@ksu.edu with any questions!
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CONTINUING OPPORTUNITIES SECTION |
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FIRST FRIDAY E-CALLS
K-State Research and Extension offers entrepreneurship webinars every first Friday of the month. Visit our Webpage for all past sessions. Registration information for upcoming sessions can be found HERE.
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External Funding Opportunities |
Want to put your new grant writing skills to use? Here are some opportunities for project funding outside of the Kansas PRIDE grants:
The Olive Tree Foundation provides grants for projects related to or providing basic necessities (food, shelter, medical services), youth or adult education development, community development and arts and culture. Applications will be accepted starting in March 2023 and the funder recommends checking back with the site later in February to find out application dates. Eligibility information and detail on how to apply can be found here: https://theolivetreefoundation.org/
The Leary Firefighters Foundation offers grants for training, equipment, and technology for fire departments (paid and volunteer) throughout the U.S. A letter of inquiry should be submitted by August 15th. Details about what the letter should include are on the site. If invited to submit an application, further instructions will be provided: https://learyfirefighters.org/grant/
Resilia Nonprofit Microgrants applications are due by March 17th. These $1,000 grants can be for, but not limited to, arts and culture, children services, education, environment, health, and human services. You can see the grant application and a list of previous winners here: https://discover.resilia.com/microgrant/
Walmart's Local Community Grants cycle should open up on February 1st for 2023. These grants, for up to $5,000, can be used for a variety of community projects. There are two key pieces of information here to take note of: 1. It is very important that you meet with your local Walmart's manager to talk to them about your project and upcoming application. They are the one who recommends your application for approval when it is sent to the Foundation. 2. Apply early! The funds may run out before the December deadline so the sooner you apply the better chance you have of there being dollars available. Check their page for any updates, changes, and official dates or dollar amounts: https://walmart.org/how-we-give/local-community-grants
Multiple news sources are reporting that Amazon is shutting down it's Amazon Smile philanthropy program by February 20th. If your organization relies on Amazon Smile for some of its funding, check your email for a letter from Amazon for confirmation and an explanation of the decision.
Additional Funding Resources
Is your Kansas PRIDE community looking for funding to help with certain projects? Let us know what the project is, how much you're seeking, and what your timeline looks like. We have access to an external grants database and likely can give you some links to potential funding sources. Just email us at PRIDE@ksu.edu with your request and project idea.
Not a Kansas PRIDE community? This resource is a great reason to join! You can also reach out to your local Extension office which should have access to the database as well. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu
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When writing for federal grants, ask your U.S. Representative or Senator if they would be willing to provide a letter of support. That support could strengthen your application's chance of being selected for funding! |
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Up for a Virtual, or in Person, Community Visit? We Are, Too! |
Our offer near the end of each newsletter is to engage your community remotely, or in person!
Our model has changed slightly - we prefer virtual for initial steps as our introduction videos can be shared widely throughout the community. We would be more than happy to host a Zoom meeting where your PRIDE group members, city council members, chamber participants, Masonic Lodge, or other groups could individually log in to see the presentation or discussion and ask questions. In person is a great way to get assessments or other community planning done, and we are happy to do a survey read out as a neutral party, or help you through a Strategic Doing session. Just e-mail us at PRIDE@ksu.edu to set up a schedule.
To view pre-recorded webinars giving an introduction to the program, step-by-step instructions on how to enroll or report, fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and more, head over to our Education page for more. Keep your eye on that page, as we will be updating our Toolkit soon! - Jan Steen and Jaime Menon, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinators, PRIDE@ksu.edu
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We often post items of interest on our Facebook page between newsletters. Grants, volunteer training, project ideas, and even the occasional Live stream will pop up. Click the button below to like and follow the program activity there: |
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Note: The K-State Garden Hour email list starts from scratch each January. If you were registered to participate in 2022 you will need to sign up again to receive emails about the 2023 series. |
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Quarterly Report Due Dates:
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April 15th, July 15th, October 15th, January 15th
Awards Deadlines:
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Partner and Resource Links |
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The Kansas PRIDE Program uses no state or federal dollars to fund community projects or recognition. Sponsors support communities participating in the program by helping to fund grants and awards and have the opportunity to serve on the Kansas PRIDE, Inc. Board of Directors. It’s not just the communities that benefit – the sponsors get a lot out of it, too! To see how your company's or organization's support can benefit communities throughout the state, visit our Sponsors and Sponsorship page to find out how to donate.
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2023 Kansas PRIDE Communities
The following communities have enrolled in the Kansas PRIDE program for the 2023 program year. Communities are added to this list each month (or this list more frequently) as they enroll for the current program year. To enroll your community, visit our Enrollment and Reporting page and click on the light blue "Enroll" button to get started.
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- Admire
- Alton
- Anthony
- Arlington
- Axtell
- Basehor
- Belleville
- Blue Rapids
- Burden
- Bushton
- Caney
- Columbus
- Conway Springs
- Delia
- Elk City
- Ellis
- Erie
- Glasco
- Grainfield
- Grinnell
- Harper
- Highland
- Humboldt
- Independence
- Iola
- Kinsley
- Lakin
- Larned
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- Lecompton
- Lenora
- Leon
- Leonardville
- Lincoln
- Lucas
- Luray
- Marion
- McFarland
- Nickerson
- Norton
- Olsburg
- Overbrook
- Ozawkie
- Perry
- Potwin
- Randolph
- Riley
- Riverton
- Russell
- Saint George
- Scranton
- Silver Lake
- South Central Neighborhood (Wichita)
- Vermillion
- Wilson
- Yates Center
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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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