Wheatland Electric has had a busy summer awarding Sharing Success grants throughout our service territory. A few recent grants are highlighted below.
Child Abuse Prevention Education, Great Bend
Child Abuse Prevention Education’s (CAPE) mission is to aid in the reduction of child abuse through education, increased public awareness, advocacy, program development and collaboration and to serve as a resource to all communities served by the organization. The group was founded in 1984 to address the needs of children in Great Bend.
During the 2019-2020 school year, 3,399 preschool through sixth-grade students in 22 attendance centers and 458 adults that work with those students heard CAPE’s message and learned about physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. This was an increase of 400 students and 100 adults from the previous year.
CAPE plans to use the Sharing Success grant money to continue expanding their programming into other attendance centers in this area, while continuing to serve all Great Bend public and private schools. CAPE’s program is offered to schools and preschools at no cost.
Ogallala Commons, Finney County
Ogallala Commons is a nonprofit education organization that reinvigorates the commonwealth to build vibrant Great Plains communities. The grant will be used to support two internships in Finney County.
Since 2007, Ogallala Commons has created and managed a successful Community Internship Program as part of a Workforce and Leadership Development Ecosystem designed to better equip youth and adults who wish to live and prosper on the Great Plains. To date, over 500 youth and adults have completed the Ogallala Commons Community Internship.
Caldwell Art Brigade, Caldwell
The Caldwell Art Brigade will use Sharing Success funds to combine with a recent grant received from the Kansas Creative Arts Industry Commission (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) for a community development project in Caldwell.
Together, the City of Caldwell and the Caldwell Art Brigade will use the funds for this project to help define their cultural identity through new community branding, including a new flag, logo, signage, and seven murals that the community will be invited to help complete.
Scott County Farm Bureau, Scott County
It is the mission of Farm Bureau to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service. The Sharing Success grant will be used to help purchase a weather station for Scott County and be part of the group of weather stations known as the Kansas Mesonet.
These weather stations record climate and provide essential weather data for Kansas industries — specifically the state’s largest industry and primary user of the data, agriculture.
Salter House Museum, Argonia
The Salter House Museum was home to Mrs. Susanna Salter, America’s first elected woman mayor. The museum preserves the historic home and the artifacts within it, as well as the history of Argonia while honoring the life of Salter. The Sharing Success grant funds will be used to make roof repairs to help preserve the artifacts within this one-of-a-kind historic site.
Quivira Council (Boy Scouts of America), Harper and Anthony
The Boy Scouts of America units in Anthony and Harper include more than 60 boys and young men. The Sharing Success grant money will be used to help fund program registrations and camperships so that more youth can join the organization and existing Scouts can remain in the program.
How to Apply for Sharing Success Funds
The Scott Community Foundation began formally accepting applications for grants from the Wheatland Electric Sharing Success Fund from nonprofit organizations on Dec. 1, 2012. Wheatland Electric and CoBank have each increased their contribution amounts to the fund over time. Beginning in 2020, each organization will donate $10,000 annually, for a total of $20,000 to be awarded to projects in the Wheatland Electric service territory.
The application process for the Sharing Success program requires a brief description of your nonprofit organization, the project details, and costs for which you are requesting the grant. Nonprofit groups interested in receiving funding from the Wheatland Electric Sharing Success Fund should contact Alli Conine, manager of member services and corporate communications, at 620-874-4563 or aconine@weci.net.