Grant Slam Fills the House
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Four Douglas County nonprofits made their pitch in front of more than 150 United Way and community supporters October 21at Maceli’s for a share of $30,000 in United Way of Kaw Valley grant investments. All four were guaranteed to leave with at least $2,500 for their chosen project and had a chance to earn an extra $1,500 as the audience’s favorite presentation.
Taking home the night’s grant investments were:
- Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas (SACK): $13,000
Program: Douglas County Self-Advocacy Center of Excellence - Just Food of Douglas County: $8,000
Program: Cruising Cupboard: Bringing Healthy Food Where It’s Needed Most - LRM Foundation (Formerly Life Restoration Ministries): $5,000
Program: Lives Remembered, Lives Protected - Eudora Schools Foundation: $2,500 + $1,500 People’s Choice winner
Program: Stability for Success
A panel of local celebrity judges interacted with each nonprofit’s representative(s) and added their scores to the finalist ratings from the volunteers who serve on United Way’s Douglas County Advisory Council. This year’s judges were:
- Bonnie Lowe, CEO of the Lawrence Chamber
- Kansas Representative Barbara Ballard
- Stephen Maceli, Owner of Maceli’s
Curtis Marsh served as emcee for the inaugural event, and attendees enjoyed music from DJ Steve Holzman. Finalist presentation coach Professor Matt Tidwell was unable to attend but sent a video note of congratulations for the program. Tidwell teaches marketing communications at the graduate and undergraduate levels at KU's William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
United Way will be following up with all of our Grant Slam finalists over the next year to learn how your investment makes a difference for the people each organization serves. Here is a little about this year’s finalists from their Grant Slam applications:
Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas (SACK)
“Our self-advocacy group is innovative because it transforms people with lived disability experience from passive recipients of services into active leaders who identify issues, make decisions, support one another, and drive meaningful change in their communities.”
“More than 77% of people with disabilities are outside the labor force and rely on Social Security benefits as a primary source of income. Because Social Security benefits are limited, many individuals also rely on minimal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. For those fortunate enough to secure accessible, affordable housing, rent may still consume up to 30% of their limited income. These financial barriers make self-advocacy and community leadership even more important, giving people with disabilities a voice in shaping the systems, policies, and communities that directly affect their lives.”
LRM Foundation
“Lives Remembered, Lives Protected is a community-centered initiative that consists of two parts: Retrospective Fatality Analysis (RFA) and Living Forward: Community Conversations on Suicide, Loss & Hope. The project will generate locally informed information about suicide risk, protective factors, barriers to care, service-system experiences, grief, and postvention needs that can help strengthen Douglas County's behavioral health continuum. Through RFA, the project will examine the circumstances surrounding suicide deaths to identify patterns, barriers to care, protective factors, and opportunities to strengthen prevention, intervention, and postvention efforts across Douglas County.”
“Complementing this analysis, Living Forward: Community Conversations on Suicide, Loss & Hope will create accessible spaces for community members, loss survivors, service providers, and historically underserved populations to share experiences, increase understanding of suicide risk, and strengthen connections to resources and support.”
Just Food
“The Cruising Cupboard is an established program with a current annual operating budget of $12,000, funded entirely through community donations. United Way funding would provide an important expansion investment. The program primarily serves individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, including ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households. These are working households who may earn too much to qualify for some forms of assistance but still struggle to afford groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and other necessities. For an ALICE family, a $50 grocery bill can be the difference between keeping the lights on and having enough food for the week. The Cruising Cupboard helps close that gap. The program also addresses a key priority identified in the Douglas County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP): food security and a healthy built environment. Douglas County's Community Health Plan identified food security as one of the community's priority health issues, recognizing that access to healthy food is directly connected to health and well-being.
Eudora Schools Foundation
“Stability for Success expands the Eudora Schools Foundation's (ESF) existing ability to provide rapid, flexible financial assistance when an urgent family need threatens a student's stability and ability to succeed in school. Assistance may address housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, hygiene, or other essential needs based on the individual circumstances of the family.”
“The need in Eudora is significant, even if it is not always visible. Local data shows that nearly one in four Eudora households lives below the ALICE Threshold, including households living in poverty and those who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. For many ALICE households, employment provides enough income to remain above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to build the financial cushion necessary to weather an emergency. With little margin for the unexpected, one emergency expense can quickly escalate into housing instability, utility disconnection, loss of transportation, food insecurity, or another crisis.”
“Economic vulnerability is particularly acute for families headed by single mothers. Across Douglas County, 64% of single-female-headed households with children fall below the ALICE Threshold. This population is specifically identified within the Douglas County Community Health Improvement Plan's Anti-Poverty priority.”
Our Grant Slam Sponsors
Thank you so much to our inaugural Grant Slam sponsors for taking a chance on this bold new event in Douglas County! And remember, it's never too early to grab a sponsor spot for next year!
Platinum Sponsor: Auto-Owners Insurance/CEK Insurance
Gold Sponsor: LMH Health
Silver Sponsor: KU SChook of Social Welfare
Bronze Sponsors: Stephens Real Estate, Truity Credit Union, Sigler Pharmacy, Antioch Investors LLC, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
