It came down to the final day, but officials with the former Allen County Community Foundation (now known as Your Community Foundation) received enough in donations to qualify for more than $75,000 in grant funds from the Kansas Health Foundation.
Jeff Cokely, YCF executive director, said the clincher — a $200,000 donation — was deposited in the bank just hours before the end-of-year deadline.
Your Community Foundation acts as an account holder for 28 local groups, such as Farm-City Days, the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility and the Allen County Regional Hospital Equipment Fund.
Cokely said donations to seven endowment funds, including those to Allen Community College, the Iola High School marching band and United Methodist Church, also helped the local foundation meet their goal.
Cokely declined to identify Friday’s mega-giver until all the paperwork was complete.
“Needless to say, we’re very excited,” he said.
THE KANSAS Health Foundation’s roots date to the 1985 sale of Wesley Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital associated with the United Methodist Church, to the for-profit Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). The sale’s profits went to two organizations focused on improving health in the state — the United Health Ministry Fund and the Wesley Medical Endowment Foundation (Now the Kansas Health Foundation), which operate with a $200 million endowment.
For the past five years, YCF has qualified for $50,000 in matching grants from the Kansas Health Foundation, through targeted endowment drives each year.
The $50,000 grant actually exceeds $75,000 because the Kansas Health Foundation kicks in an additional $25,000 for such things as administrative expenses and training that YCF can utilize annually.
2016 was the fifth of six years Your Community Foundation is eligible for the grant.
