Kansas Leadership Center partners with Kansas Health Foundation to launch a mass action campaign supporting Hunger Free Kansas
Up to 70 mini grants of < $5,000 awarded
Wichita, Kan. – The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) is launching a mass action campaign on hunger and food insecurity to support the Kansas Health Foundation’s (KHF) Hunger Free Kansas initiative.
Through May 16, KHF is accepting applications from Kansas organizations and community partners with innovative ideas for making a difference on the issue. KLC will select up to 70 submissions to receive a mini grant for as much as $5,000 to put the project in action with support and training provided by KLC.
“Through this partnership with the Kansas Health Foundation, KLC aims to inspire Kansans to do more to combat hunger and food insecurity and honor that different people, situations and communities require different ways forward. We have the experience and infrastructure to facilitate a process that encourages experimentation and action that will make a difference on this critical issue as well as track and share stories of progress,” Kaye Monk-Morgan, president and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center.
Feeding America states that 1 in 8 Kansans are classified as food insecure and 1 in 5 Kansas kids don’t know where their next meal will come from. Hunger Free Kansas was created by KHF as a way for organizations to collaborate and work toward a shared goal of ending hunger in Kansas.
“Ending hunger in Kansas is the first major health challenge KHF is investing in under our new strategic framework,” said Ed O’Malley, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. “The Kansas Leadership Center is an ideal partner for catalyzing mass action to bring our goal to fruition.”
KLC’s role with Hunger Free Kansas involves recruiting organizations to apply for the grants by activating its network of hundreds of civically minded organizations around the state. Once they have selected recipients, KLC will host a one-day “Strategy Lab,” a full-day workshop and software training to equip grantees with leadership and engagement skills to implement their experimental solutions for making progress on food insecurity.
“KLC’s mass action strategy is built on the belief that progress happens when folks from a variety of backgrounds, each with unique ideas, unite in a shared direction—learning, challenging, supporting and inspiring one another to take action,” said Shaun Rojas, senior director of civic engagement at KLC.
Project ideas for the Hunger Free Kansas mini grant should fit into one of four categories:
- Cross-Sector Learning: Increase shared understanding, shared vision and shared momentum between the private, nonprofit and government sectors.
- School-based Nutrition Programs: Opportunities to work with schools to maximize nutrition programs.
- Alternative Food Systems: Addressing gaps in access, production, processing, distribution, or food recovery.
- Social Services Access: The need to connect charitable food efforts to other social services and safety nets in a community.
Applications must be submitted by midnight on May 16. KLC will select the grantees by the end of June and invite them to the Strategy Lab on July 25. This interactive session is designed to strengthen plans and provide hands-on tools for effective collaboration.
To learn more about Hunger Free Kansas and how to submit a grant application, watch the video recording below from a recent virtual information session or visit hungerfreekansas.org.
Ideas for action projects can be submitted here through May 16.
Watch a video recording from a recent informational webinar.
About the Kansas Leadership Center
The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit educational organization with a civic mission, national reputation and global reach. Founded in 2007 to foster leadership for stronger, healthier and more prosperous Kansas communities, KLC receives core funding from the Kansas Health Foundation (a private, philanthropic organization). It partners with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, businesses and communities to build cultures that are healthy, productive and well-positioned to make measurable progress on daunting challenges and emergent opportunities. KLC Press publishes leadership books and The Journal, a nationally recognized, award-winning civic issues magazine.
Over the past 17 years, KLC has built a strong and respected institution in Kansas designed to deliver leadership development and culture change at unparalleled scale. Now, organizations across the country and around the world look to us to provide resources and consultation to support their own aspirations for mission-driven leadership education. Learn more at www.kansasleadershipcenter.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Carrie Lindeman
316-393-1076
carrie@lindemancollective.com
