Newsletter - February 2022 Edition
IN THIS ISSUE:

  • Awards Time!!!!
  • Assistance Available from the National Park Service
  • National Rural Grocery Summit
  • Rural Grocery Succession Planning Webinars
  • PRIDE Community Happenings
  • Continuing Opportunities Section
  • External Funding Resources
  • Sponsor Highlight: IdeaTek
  • PRIDE Sign Care
  • Up for a Community Visit? We Are, Too!
  • Catch Us on Facebook & Facebook Live!
  • K-State Garden Hour for February
  • Events Calendar
  • 2022 Kansas PRIDE Communities
Awards Time!!!!

Time to apply for some recognition, and some funding, for your more than worthy community projects!

Some quick reminders

May 1 and September 1. Those are the dates that award applications are due. May 1 is for Round 1, September 1 is for Round 2.

Community Folios - Community Folios are required, and are meant to help develop or build your capacity in the program and mechanisms to being a PRIDE community. Mechanisms include understanding how to handle dollars, how to recruit others, etc. While being in good standing (Enrolled, Resolution of Government Support, and Reporting) and the folios are required, doing all of the educational modules are not.

You might ask yourself: "Then why do them at all?" Here are a few reasons:

  1. The education will help your organization.
  2. If your community is a Community of Action looking to be a Community of Excellence, it gives you a nice roadmap and boost of what to do next.
  3. The more education you have, the more points go toward your application.

Only one Folio is needed per community that is applying for grants. You do not need to submit one per award...unless you have updated your education, then feel free to, it might as well count! CLICK HERE to get started on Education. You can access Folios HERE.

Recognition (ALL PRIDE communities can apply for these awards):

  • Project Excellence - you can still nominate an awesome project that your community has done for state recognition
  • Rising Star - you can still nominate (and get a guaranteed award - one per community per year) a person or entity that has gone above and beyond for your local PRIDE organization


Grants:

  • Community Emergency Grant - brought to you through our partnership with the Kansas Masons, this new grant can help your community after a disaster has occurred. These grants go up to $1,000 per project. The application is open throughout the year and ANY PRIDE community can apply for these grants, but there are limited funds, so when the funds are gone for the year, they're gone.
  • Community of Growth (Communities of Growth ONLY) grant - up to $200 of seed money for communities to start new projects/or support current projects
  • Community of Action grant - $500 - $2,000 grants to support community projects (Communities of Action and Excellence ONLY)
  • Community Promotion Grant - brought to you by our partnership with the Kansas Masons - $1,000 grants to help promote your community (Communities of Action and Excellence ONLY)
  • Volunteers Impact PRIDE Grants - for Communities of Excellence ONLY - up to $15,000 for larger scale projects and are only offered for Round 2 (September 1 deadline)


BUT, before you start applying, make sure you are in good standing (enrolled, resolution submitted, and reporting is up to date - CLICK HERE to visit our Enrollment and Reporting page in case you need to get caught up).

We are excited to see your applications - so don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions, we are here to help! Thank you for all you do! Alright then, Ready? Set? APPLY! -Jaime Menon, K-State Research and Extension PRIDE Co-Coordinator, jmenon@ksu.edu
Assistance Available from the National Park Service
The National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program (RTCA) supports community-led natural resource conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the nation. Their conservation and recreation planning professionals partner with community groups, nonprofit organizations, tribes, and government agencies. This partnership assists local communities in realizing their conservation and outdoor recreation vision and goals by providing a broad range of services and skills. National Park Service (NPS) staff share their expertise to help your team turn an idea into reality. This assistance is offered on an annual basis with extensions based on mutual agreement. No monetary grants are made. Applications are due March 1st: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/rtca/apply.htm
National Rural Grocery Summit
Mark your calendars for June 20-21, 2022 for the National Rural Grocery Summit to be held in Wichita. This is the premier networking and resource-sharing venue for independent grocers and rural food access stakeholders. This biennial summit brings together store owners, citizen leaders, food suppliers, academic researchers, healthy food access practitioners, policy makers, and funders to learn from and strategize with one another about sustaining rural grocery stores and improving rural access to healthy foods. Registration details will be available on the Rural Grocery Initiative website this spring.
Rural Grocery Succession Planning Webinars
Every 3rd Thursday at 1:30 PM CT is a free webinar focusing on a topic related to keeping rural grocery stores open. If you are unable to attend live, recordings and materials are provided at a later date.
PRIDE Community Happenings
Caney Community Betterment Group (PRIDE) reports a few ribbon cutting ceremonies for new businesses in town - Pretty Baked bakery, Lotus Property Services, and Canebrake Collective. Thornton Graphics opening in the near future. In addition to the great business activities happening in town, residents are repairing their homes and fixing up properties to rent or sell. Caney's PRIDE group has a housing improvement fund which was created to match funds for home repairs, demolition, rental properties, and infrastructure for new housing divisions.
Columbus PRIDE reports that members have been busy working in senior residents' yards to clean up leaves. Members have also continued their work with the community food pantry, hospital auxiliary, thrift store, and Christmas festivities.
Iola CITF/PRIDE has placed their historical signs back downtown after some refurbishing. They look nice!
Leon's Lion PRIDE Committee reports that their 4th quarter holiday activities were a great success. Their community trunk or treat event over Halloween saw over 200 kids stop by for candy (there was also chili, cinnamon rolls, and cocoa nearby). They mayor also brought in pumpkins for the kids to decorate. For Thanksgiving, PRIDE was able to use the elementary school to serve 150 people ham and turkey dinners - and they even delivered 25 meals. Christmas included a tree lighting, an angel tree which served 30 families and 86 kids, and the delivering of gift bags to about 25 seniors. Great work!
CONTINUING OPPORTUNITIES SECTION
From K-State Research and Extension

GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS
In 2021, K-State Research and Extension Grant-writing workshops went online. The online workshop is designed to be presented to participants in two 3-hour courses and will cost $60. Local Extension agents are the hosts for the workshops, but since workshops are online, you can attend any workshop in the state. There are two ways to participate: go to our website (https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/community/) and under "Events" on the right side you can register at a scheduled workshop or ask your local extension agent to host. For more information, contact Nancy Daniels nkdaniels@ksu.edu
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.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Ever wonder what people visiting your town think? First impressions are important as the community works to improve the overall quality of life and develop its sense of place. Interested in First Impressions for your community? Visit our Webpage to learn more.
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:

Kansas Tourism has a new Task Grant program for offering tourism attraction sub-grants. These grants are a one-time opportunity for the enhancement of Kansas attraction assets. The intent of the grants is to spark economic recovery by providing strategic economic assistance to public and not-for-profit groups in the development of new, or enhancing existing, tourism attractions in Kansas. This is a 50/50 reimbursable grant. The grant application deadline is March 11th, 2022 at 5:00 PM. To find out more about the new Task Grant and other Kansas Tourism grant offerings, visit: https://www.travelks.com/travel-industry/programs-and-resources/grants/

Yamaha offers the Outdoor Access Initiative. This is a grant program that supports communities, groups, land conservation organizations, and others, with an interest in protecting, improving, expanding, and/or maintaining access for safe, responsible and sustainable use by motorized off-road vehicles. Projects for which funds may be used: land management and conservation; trail development, restoration, maintenance, and signage; staging areas and facilities; safety and education; outdoor recreation. Deadlines to apply are March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 15. Find the application and guidelines here: https://yamahaoai.com/

The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission is offering funding through its Reimagined Spaces program. Funding is provided for communities to activate publicly accessible spaces for the purposes of artistic use and public programming. The maximum grant amount is $10,000 and the total project cost must be at least twice the amount of the request, with a 1:1 match requirement. Match must consist of at least 25% cash expense provided by the applicant; in-kind, non-monetary donations and volunteer hours may be counted up to 75%. For Letter of Intent form, guidelines, and additional application materials, visit: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/kcaic/reimagined-spaces/

Bank of America has two planned requests for proposals this year. The first is for Economic Mobility projects focused on the needs of individuals and families, and the second is for Economic mobility projects focused on the community. The family/individual funding opportunity deadline is February 18, 2022 and the community window is 5/30/2022-6/24/2022. For more information on what types of projects are eligible and how to apply, visit: https://about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-impact/charitable-foundation-funding#fbid=-xZZc_ru3w5

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 a 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
Sponsor Highlight: IdeaTek
We'd like to introduce IdeaTek as our newest sponsor of Kansas PRIDE. Headquartered in Buhler, KS, IdeaTek is a broadband service provider that works to bridge the broadband gap in rural communities. They've built nearly 3,000 miles of fiber throughout Kansas as part of their mission of "fighting for internet freedom." Welcome, IdeaTek! Thank you for your support of communities throughout the state! We look forward to working with you in the coming years. Click on IdeaTek's logo to visit their website for more information about what they do.
PRIDE Sign Care
We like to remind communities that have Kansas PRIDE signs about a little tip we learned from looking back in the newsletter archives. To keep those signs looking bright and prevent fading, apply a coat or 2 of your preferred brand of car wax. Do this every 6 months or so and it should extend the life of your signs. If you don't have a sign, or would like to replace one you currently have, drop us an email at PRIDE@ksu.edu and we'll fill you in on the details. - Jan Steen, Kansas PRIDE Program Co-Coordinator, jmsteen@ksu.edu
Up for a Virtual, or in Person, Community Visit? We Are, Too!
Our offer at 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
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:
EVENTS CALENDAR
Quarterly Report Dates:
  • January 15th, April 15th, July 15th, October 15th

Awards Deadlines:
  • May 1st, September 1st

2022 Kansas PRIDE Communities
The following communities are currently enrolled in the Kansas PRIDE program for the 2022 program year. To enroll your community visit our Enrollment and Reporting page and click on the light blue "Enroll" button to get started.
  • Admire
  • Alton
  • Anthony
  • Ashland
  • Blue Rapids
  • Bushton
  • Caldwell
  • Caney
  • Columbus
  • Conway Springs
  • Delia
  • Elk City
  • Ellis
  • Erie
  • Florence
  • Fort Scott
  • Glasco
  • Grainfield
  • Grinnell
  • Harper
  • Highland
  • Humboldt
  • Kinsley
  • Lakin
  • Larned
  • Lecompton
  • Leon
  • Lewis
  • Lincoln
  • Lucas
  • Marion
  • McFarland
  • Melvern
  • Moran
  • Ozawkie
  • Perry
  • Portis
  • Potwin
  • Randolph
  • Riley
  • Riverton
  • Rozel
  • Saint George
  • Scranton
  • South Central Neighborhood (Wichita)
  • Vermillion
  • Wakefield
  • Wilson
  • Yates Center
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