In October, several major Kansas City funders spoke about their giving strategies in 2020-2021. We gleaned key takeaways from two major events:
- Health Forward Foundation’s 15th anniversary celebration, presented by President and CEO, Qiana Thomason.
- A FRED-Talk Funder Roundtable, hosted jointly by the Kansas City chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Grant Professionals Association (GPA). Participating funders included Health Forward Foundation, The Mabee Foundation, The Sunderland Foundation, and a General Field Representative for the US Department of Agriculture: Distance Learning/Telemedicine Grants.
Several common themes arose among funders’ talking points:
- Application volumes have skyrocketed and their proposal pipelines are packed.
- In response, applicants must do their homework assessing if the funder is a good fit for the agency or program. Researching thoroughly and planning well are crucial before reaching out to open dialogue with a funder.
- Each of these funders is willing to have conversations with applicants before they submit—as long as agencies do diligent research first and prioritize agenda items and needs.
- Access to capital funding is fluctuating. The capital funders we heard from—The Mabee and Sunderland Foundations—are sticking to their physical infrastructure focuses. However, they acknowledged grantees are reporting many other funders normally open to capital funding have put that priority on hold during the pandemic.
- As an awardee, if an agency’s grant is not going as planned, funders encouraged grantees to reach out early and partner with the grantor before proceeding. The foundations are open, particularly during the currently chaotic times, to hearing how a project is really going and what changes may need to occur. A hiccup in a contract does not necessarily mean the funder relationship is doomed, but agency communication is crucial for ensuring trust.
Each funder provided specific insights into his or her own processes and priorities.
Qiana Thomason, President and CEO of Health Forward Foundation (HFF), provided crucial insights into the foundation’s priorities at both the funder roundtable and HFF’s 15th Anniversary Celebration. Ms. Thomason is wrapping up her first year in her position with HFF, and detailed how the foundation continues to evolve its role and strategies. Already in 2020, Health Forward has worked to become more partner-centric and trust-based in their philanthropic giving, including awarding more multi-year grants and more operating support. They have also relaxed funding and reporting restrictions during COVID-19. Moving into 2021, HFF will next undertake an internal process of purpose alignment. This discernment process will include planning for the foundation to “take a role as a national model for health equity through economic inclusion.” Ms. Thomason further illuminated the foundation’s considerations: ” We know the shared experience of our target population is poverty. And we know the underpinnings of poverty are income, wealth inequality, and structural racism.” As a result, HFF will spend 2021 moving “upstream to address economic inclusion and race equity as mission-critical imperatives.” The foundation will also examine inequities in philanthropic resources that result in agencies that serve or are led by people of color (and grassroots agencies) receiving lower shares of available community funding.
For The Mabee Foundation, Michael Goeke, Executive Director shared the foundation’s priorities. Mr. Goeke has been in his role since August 2019, and helped oversee relocation of the foundation’s main office to Midland, Texas, although an office remains in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The foundation’s geographic focus remains six states: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. They continue to primarily fund one-year capital challenge grants. This focus is vital, since other funders may be pausing their capital efforts for now to emphasize pandemic response. Maybee Foundation has updated their website and launched a new online portal to better facilitate submissions. Proposals are reviewed quarterly, with the next cycle scheduled for review in January 2021. Submissions are due the first business day of the month BEFORE the proposal review meeting (so for January 2021, all documents are due December 1, 2020). Since capital investments have waned during the pandemic, the foundation is willing to extend their standard 12-month challenge timeline for active grantees; however, eligible agencies MUST reach out to the funder to discuss options in advance. Finally, Mabee’s commitment to funding wide-ranging capital projects remains strong. They DO NOT expect agencies whose main work lies outside pandemic response make their ask “fit into” a COVID-19 framework. The Mabee team recognizes that capital needs are ongoing for agencies of all kinds, and that these needs do not end just because of COVID-19.
Randy Vance, President & Chief Operating Officer, gave key insights into The Sunderland Foundation’s priorities and approach. Mr. Vance has been in his current role with the foundation for one year, and was previously key in running Ash Grove Cement, the Sunderland family’s company. Early in 2020, The Sunderland Foundation supported the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, including programmatic grants. That said, in general, the foundation’s priorities almost exclusively focus on capital and renovation grants, which align with the family and company’s legacy. Geographic focus for the foundation includes the Midwest region surrounding Kansas City and the pacific northwest. Twelve states are prioritized between both regions. Funding priorities include (1) higher education, (2) human services, (3) arts and culture, and (4) healthcare and hospitals. Mr. Vance also noted that a foundation priority in the aftermath of COVID-19 could be infrastructure (capital) projects supporting post-pandemic workforce efforts, such as job training and education. The Sunderland Foundation recognizes that the ECONOMIC recovery from COVID-19 could be complex and take multiple years. The foundation’s turnaround time for proposals varies, depending on the size of the ask, with larger requests going before the trustee board on a scheduled basis several times per year. Shekinah Pepper, General Field Representative at US Department of Agriculture (USDA), offered a federal grantor perspective attuned to rural development distance learning & telemedicine grants. Mr. Pepper provides technical assistance and support for this singular USDA grant program, and while the competition is open nationally, he serves agencies in Kansas and Alaska. Mr. Pepper can also broker connections to the Missouri representative, as needed. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program, “helps rural communities use the unique capabilities of telecommunications to connect to each other and to the world, overcoming the effects of remoteness and low population density.” According to Mr. Pepper, USDA Field Representatives are happy to work with potential applicants in advance to explore a fit for the agency. They are also willing to provide significant technical assistance, since the majority of applications that have historically been declined were rejected due to technical errors or noncompliance with requirements. Competition for the fund was very intense this year, but another round is expected in 2021. While the grant centers around rural programming, an applicant agency does not have to be located in a rural community or serve a rural area exclusively. The grants are capped at $1 million and currently an agency can submit more than one grant or partner on multiple applications.