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Hillsboro Community Foundation
HCF First Public Presentation

On the evening of Tuesday, May 4, 2004, about 40 people gathered at the Hillsboro High School to hear the first public presentation about the recent formation of the Hillsboro Community Foundation.

HCF board members talked about how the foundation would provide a “vehicle to give back to the community,” for both current and former residents who “value the benefits they received while growing up in Hillsboro and are now in a position to give something back.”

Startup seed money of $2,250 was raised from 19 households to fund brochures and promotional materials.  These were used to announce the formation of HCF to more than 400 attendees at the Hillsboro High School All-School Reunion later that month.

Give $360

HCF established the Give $360 Fund as a way for donors to make recurring donations that compound with those of like-minded individuals to extend their impact.  The name of the fund is based on the idea of simply contributing $1 a day through monthly, quarterly, or annual contributions, although recurring donations of any size are welcome.

Give $360 contributions are divided equally between the Hillsboro Impact Fund and the Hillsboro Community Fund, to provide for both long-term and short-term grants to the community.

Automatic recurring donations may be set up through an employer payroll deduction program or by selecting the Recurring Donation Amount on the online payment portal for the fund.

Donate Online to Give $360

For more information, please contact the HCF director.

Impact Fund Campaign

The Hillsboro Impact Fund was established through a major capital fundraising campaign in 2006 and 2007.  The purpose was to create a permanent endowment fund in which the earnings could be distributed annually to benefit charitable groups and community enhancement projects.

The campaign was a success with contributions from 118 individuals, families, companies, and other groups.  By December 31, 2007, pledges and contributions of more than $265,000 were received, exceeding the goal of $250,000. 

The Impact Fund remains open to additional gifts and has continued to receive new contributions every year since the original campaign.  HCF thanks and recognizes all donors to the fund for their support, and especially that first set of “founding” donors who made it all possible.

Hillsboro Impact Fund Founding Donors

Gold Founders

Brent & Lynette Barkman

Richard & Joyce Barkman

Carl Calam Family

Central National Bank

Emprise Bank

Don & Pauline Greenhaw Family

Mike & Carolyn Kleiber

Richard Nickel

Silver Founders

Marcella Bruce

Delores & John Dalke

Darrell & Charlene Driggers

Gerald & Sharon Funk

Jared & Julia Jost

Albert & Vada Reimer

Layne & Nancy Reusser

Ennis & Dayle Unruh

Bronze Founders

Doris Arnold

Johnnie & Myrta Bartel Family

Betty Bernhardt

Bremyer & Wise, LLC

Lawrence J. & Rita Brennan

Kathy Decker

Gary & Becky Evans

Roger & Cynthia Fleming

Ray & Aldina Franz

Kenneth & Bonnie Funk

Glenn & Janice Goertz

Dorothy, Randy & Terry Hagen

Jayson & Jan Hanschu

Keith & Judy Harder

Hillsboro Hardware, Inc.

Hillsboro Free Press

Harold B. Jost

Marvin & Rosella Jost

Kiwanis Club of Hillsboro

Adam & Ashley Kleiber

Andy & Jenny Kleiber

The Lumberyard, Inc.

Phyllis Meisinger

Gordon & Vicky Mohn

Marvin & Marilyn Ratzlaff

Kirby & Kathy Rector

John & Eileen Unruh

Paul & Christine Unruh

Robert & Susan Watson

Wheatbelt, Inc.

Randy & Janet Whisenhunt

Foundation Friends

N. E. Abrahams Memorial

Ray & Sylvia Abrahams

Lyman & Marie Adams

Lee & Verda Albrecht

David & Sue Baker

Jim & Elaine Baker

Ruth Bartel

Ruth Bartel Memorial

Brad & Rita Bartel

Kenneth (Bud) Buller Memorial

Richard & Joni Calam

Lavonne Carrington

Concrete Products, Inc.

Cooperative Grain & Supply

Len & Brenda Coryea

Warren & Ruby Dalke

John & Carol Dick

Jim & Karen Elliot

Emprise Bank Employees

G. George & Evelyn Ens

Willis & Marilyn Ensz

Norman & Rosella Epp

Harris & Debra Ewert

Fast Realty

Robert G. & Darlene Franz

Ray N. Funk Memorial

Steve & Michelle Glahn

Lowell & Judy Goering

Gaylord & Peggy Goertzen

Steve & Lou Greenhaw

Loren J. & Lois Groening Family

Celia Gross

Larry Hatteberg

James & Leanna Hefley

Ed & Margaret Hein

James E. & Darlene Hiebert

Hillsboro Community Hospital

Hillsboro H.S. Class of 1950

Hillsboro State Bank

Paul & Elaine Jantzen

Bruce & Kimberlee Jost

Kim & Delora Kaufman

Pearl Koch

Menno Lohrenz

Carl & Jane Long

Raymond & Eunice Matz

Larry & Elaine Nikkel

Michael & Shelly Padgett

Dean & Sandi Patterson

Kermit & Ruth Ratzlaff

Edith Rempel

Michael & Meredith Ryan

Clint & Ev Seibel

Robert Sextro

Randy & Ann Smith

Southwest Distributor

Elva Suderman

Wilmer & Hildegard Thiessen

Lou & Lori Thurston

John & Hilda Vogt

Rubena Wiebe

Raymond F. Wiebe

Clark & Anna Marie Wiebe

David & Susan Wiens

Eldon & Lavonne Wiens

Randy & Lindy Wiens

Evan & Rebecca Yoder

Pioneering Vision

From an early Hillsboro Community Foundation promotional brochure:

Pioneering a Vision

The year is 1879.  Quiet but enterprising Scottish immigrant John G. Hill purchases 80 acres of land in Marion County and launches a flourishing trade center he names Hillsboro.

The year is 1887.  William F. and Ida Schaeffler invest their financial future to build a large, two-story building along Hillsboro’s fledgling Main Street.  Schaeffler Mercantile Co. eventually prospers into the largest department store in the county and enables the family to contribute widely to the musical and religious life of the community.

The year is 1907.  Two young dreamers, McPherson College senior Henry W. Lohrentz and farmer J.K. Hiebert, plant a seed of starting a Mennonite Brethren college in Hillsboro.  A year later, Tabor College is born.

The year is 1918.  Thanks in part to the effort of Russian-born physician and druggist Jacob J. Entz, a fledgling Salem Home and Hospital moves from its rural origin into a new three-story facility along Main Street, where it faithfully serves the health care needs of the community for almost 40 years.

The year is 1968.  Nine local businessmen form the Hillsboro Development Corporation board and purchase 160 acres of land east of Hillsboro.  The land is used to create an industrial park that will draw significant new businesses to the community.

These “pioneers” are just a few of the men and women of Hillsboro who envisioned possibilities for their community.  Their passion was imperative.  Their vision was vital.  Their contributions were crucial.

Creating a Community

Today, Hillsboro enjoys a statewide reputation as a progressive community rising above the rolling prairie – a tribute to the labor and vision of its pioneers through the decades.

For current residents, it’s a community with so much to offer:

As impressive as this list is, it is far from finished.  In any community, needs must be recognized, good programs and services must be pursued and possibilities for growth must be explored.  And everyone plays a part in envisioning the future.

Is there something you want to see happen to ensure Hillsboro grows and flourishes for years to come?

We can help.

Return to Our History Page

Adobe House Museum Fund

The David F. Wiebe Memorial Fund for Hillsboro Pioneer Adobe House and Museum was established in 2012 by David’s brother, Raymond Wiebe.  Earnings from the fund are used for museum exhibits, operating costs, and other projects recommended by the Hillsboro Museums Board.

Although David taught high school in several towns around Kansas throughout his life, he came back to Hillsboro each summer to work in the museum.  From 1984 to 2002, he served as the Director of Museums for the City of Hillsboro.

The purpose of the endowed fund is to help ensure the future of the Adobe House Museum and preserve the history of the Mennonite culture.  As an open fund, additional contributions may be made by anyone with an interest in reminding us of our heritage.

Scholarships Awarded by HCF Donors

Scholarships totaling $16,200 were recently awarded to ten graduating seniors for the 2023-24 school year from donor funds held by the Hillsboro Community Foundation.

The scholarships were awarded from the following funds:

A scholarship is an investment in the future. HCF congratulates each of the scholarship recipients as they take the next step in their journey and wish them continued success.

Early HCF Board Members

The early success in getting the Hillsboro Community Foundation off the ground was made possible through the dedicated efforts of a small group of people serving as volunteer Advisory Board members.

Members of the original planning group formed the initial Board in 2004 with Mike Kleiber as Chair, Brad Bartel as Vice Chair, Steven Garrett as Secretary/Treasurer, and Delores Dalke and Kirby Fadenrecht as members.  Within months, Marcella Bruce and Wilmer Thiessen joined them on the Board.

In the fall of 2005, the board was expanded in advance of the Hillsboro Impact Fund campaign with the addition of Jim Brennan, Jayson Hanschu, Kim Kaufman, and Gordon Mohn.  The success of that campaign firmly established the foundation and helped HCF grow into what it is today.

HCF Founding Date

The Hillsboro Community Foundation was formally authorized on April 12, 2004 to begin operating under the legal authority provided by the Newton Community & Healthcare Foundation (now the Central Kansas Community Foundation).

A five-member planning group had met regularly for about two years, gathering information and discussing a vision for a successful foundation.  The group was made up of Delores Dalke and Steven Garrett from the City of Hillsboro, and Brad Bartel, Kirby Fadenrecht, and Mike Klieber from the Hillsboro Development Corporation.

Delores Dalke later said the creation of HCF grew out of informal conversations among the civic and business leaders, “We saw that it needed to be done, so some of us just started meeting.”

HCF Celebrates 20 Years of Accomplishments

by Laura Fowler Paulus (Free Press)

April 10, 2024

Front Row: Marisa Javier, Jayson Hanschu. Back Row: Kelly Groening, Max Heinrichs, Mike Kleiber, Brad Bartel, Cord Cunningham

While most people know the Hillsboro Community Foundation (HCF) is an organization that helps with money for projects in some way, they often have no idea what HCF does exactly or how much they have accomplished.

HCF was formally authorized as an affiliate of the Newton Community and Healthcare Foundation—now the Central Kansas Community Foundation—on April 12, 2004, after a group of Hillsboro residents (Delores Dalke, Steven Garrett, Brad Bartel, Kirby Fadenrecht and Mike Klieber) had been meeting for about two years trying to come up with some kind of community foundation. It was established to give interested donors a way to make a lasting impact in Hillsboro and the surrounding communities through long-term endowments and the funding of community projects.

“We were called together by Delores Dalke. She was really pushing to have it come together to see what we could do. We met at 7 a.m. at Olde Towne every week to talk about what we can do to get this thing moving forward. And fortunately we didn’t realize how big the project was, or we probably would’ve quit meeting,” said former board member Bard Bartel. “Because in our minds we thought we can get this started. We can do something to have a vehicle to have investment, community legacy gifts, those kinds of things go through.”

The group kept plugging along even though they were initially so short on funds that they chipped in from their own pockets to pay postage for various campaign mailing and other business they needed to do to get established. They had their first presentation to the public on May 4, 2004, and began raising seed money.

Efforts continued and were successful enough to award the first grant by mid-2005. HFC delivered its first-ever gift to the community by raising more than $10,000 toward the purchase of a thermal imaging camera for the Hillsboro Fire Department. The camera was later credited with helping save the hospital from a near-disastrous fire on New Year’s Day in 2006.

Since that initial gift, HCF has continued to support and enable donor contributions to community emergency service needs including water rescue equipment, police dash cams, EMS training mannequins, a drone for the fire department, the purchase of armor vests for the police department and more.

On Nov. 6, 2006, the group kicked off the Impact Fund allowing the foundation to expand and add board members. It is believed that the success of that campaign firmly established the foundation and helped HCF grow into what it is today.

In January 2008, the first managed endowment of HFC was established to create a city park endowment fund for the Lehigh community. Proceeds received from the sale of the Lehigh Senior Center building were placed with HCF for the future maintenance and improvement of the park.

In 2010 HCF received their first planned estate gift (Marga Ebel) which has been used to support children’s health. That year, HCF also received a matching grant from the Kansas Health Foundation GROW II program allowing for assets to reach near the $1 million mark and for the foundation to hire its first part-time director.

The foundation has continued to grow and flourish. Over $1,150,000 has been given to the following areas: arts and history, child care, city services, community projects, education and youth programs, health and recreation, local charities, senior living and care and student scholarships. In fact, since 2012, HCF scholarship funds have awarded a total of $114,000 in scholarships to 80 high school graduating seniors. Donors have established 10 scholarship funds amounting to over $420,000 in endowed assets.

As of the beginning of this year, HCF had $3,483,000 in managed assets, 890 donors and 54 grantees and 80 scholarship recipients.

“In celebrating our 20th anniversary of service to Hillsboro, we are so grateful to the “founding fathers” of HCF, such as Delores Dalke, Brad Bartel and many community members that followed. Their vision and success in creating a way for needs to be met in the community through charitable giving continued with all who served on the board for the past 20 years. HCF has been successful in funding many needs and projects with the outstanding generosity and support from the people who live and work here,” said current HCF Board President Marisa Javier.

59 individuals from the community have served as HCF board members or directors over the past 20 years. Many quickly credit others—from former mayors and other key community people such as Joel Klaassen, Don Ratzlaff, Clint Siebel and many more to the people who chose to donate to the foundation.

“Through the generous support of individuals, families, businesses and other organizations, HCF has distributed more than $1,150,000 through the foundation to organizations in local communities over the past 20 years,” said current HCF Secretary-Treasurer Kelly Groening.

Current HCF Director Max Heinrichs is about to hand over the reins to whoever is hired as the new, first, full-time director since the foundation can finally afford one. As he wraps up his time, he is focused on educating everyone about HCF and talking about growth for the foundation.

“We want to celebrate 20 years. A lot of great things have happened and it’s all because of the original group that had a vision and put it together. We’re just trying to follow that vision now,” said Heinrichs.

While the foundation has many ongoing projects they are working on, two main projects have the most focus.

“We have two real big ones going on right now that will significantly drop us [financially] when they are done. The Bartel Stone House, which is an area museum fund. It’s about $230,000 I think. And then that we have there is H4C (Hillsboro Community Childcare Center) which will be started here pretty quick,” said Heinrichs. “Potentially by the end of the year, we could throw $600 to $750,000 out from our funds to get those projects going.”

Javier is also very excited about the future of the foundation.

“With the upcoming addition of a first-time-ever full-time associate director for HCF, the future holds exciting promise as we continue to grow by connecting caring donors to causes that matter,” said Javier.

To give to one of the Hillsboro Community Foundation’s many interesting projects or for more information, please go to hcfoundationks.org or call 620-947-0170. There will also be information about the foundation in the Free Press every week of 2024 in honor of the 20th anniversary.

First Managed Fund – Lehigh City Park

The first managed endowment of the Hillsboro Community Foundation was established in 2008 to create a city park endowment fund for the Lehigh community.  Proceeds received from the sale of the Lehigh Senior Center building were placed with HCF for the future maintenance and improvement of the Lehigh city park.

The fund is an example of a designated endowment with a specific purpose for the use of the earnings from the fund.  As a managed fund, members of the Lehigh City Council serve as the Fund Advisor, with the authority to make decisions for the fund.

It also represents HCF’s commitment to serving the broader area of our region, generally defined as the USD 410 School District.