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.”

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.

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.

by Hillsboro Free Press

Residents can leave a legacy for future

Residents of Hillsboro may be wondering where all those ‘Leave a Legacy’ signs came from, and what do they mean?

Those of us who represent local nonprofit organizations and serve on the Leave a Legacy steering committee each year believe we know what it means on a personal level.  Our organizations, by providing housing for the poor, helping the mentally disadvantaged, serving the elderly, protecting children, beautifying our community, and providing medical care, positively impact the quality of life in our communities.

But in order to continue these programs, we depend on generous people who recognize that their contributions are vital to our continuing success.  The Leave a Legacy program is designed to motivate those same individuals to make a gift that makes an impact both today and tomorrow.  By supporting the charitable causes that have been important to your family through a bequest or a planned gift you can make a difference.

The recent transfer of wealth study indicated that in Marion County alone more than three hundred million dollars will transfer from one generation to the next by the year 2020.  If each of us designated a mere 5 percent of our estate for charity we could build a community endowment of more than $15 million over the next 11 years.  Think what that would mean to all of us.  Imagine if more than $500,000 was available every year to fund special projects and meet emerging needs locally.

In essence, you would be building an independent source of wealth and prosperity for Marion County, guaranteeing that your quality of life will be maintained and enhanced for generations to come.

You don’t have to be wealthy to make an impact.  People often shy away from “estate planning” and all the emotional and financial considerations it can involve.  Think of it as “legacy planning.”  How do you want to be remembered?  What is your legacy to your children, your community, and the world?  By involving your children in philanthropy, you can provide a wonderful opportunity to reinforce your family’s values.

You can contact your favorite charity, the Hillsboro Community Foundation, the Greater Newton Community Foundation or the Central Kansas Community Foundation to learn more about Leaving a Legacy.  Visit with your attorney, accountant or financial planner.  They can tell you about the tax benefits of planned gifts and help you determine what will work best for your family.

Together we can make a difference.

Jared Jost, chair
Hillsboro Com. Foundation

Sandra Fruit, exec. director
Greater Newton Com. Foundation

Since 2012, Hillsboro Community Foundation scholarship funds have awarded a total of $114,000 in scholarships to 80 deserving high school graduating seniors.  Donors have established 10 scholarship funds to date, amounting to over $420,000 in endowed assets. 

The scholarship funds reward general scholarship and citizenship, as well as support students interested in specific areas of further study, such as math, journalism, and vocational studies.

Student applications are evaluated in the spring of each year by a review group for each scholarship.  The group typically consists of the donor or sponsor, a school official, and other community members.

Fifty-nine individuals from the community have served as Hillsboro Community Foundation Board Members or Director over the past 20 years.  Representatives from local government, education, faith groups, business, and other backgrounds have all participated on the Board.  Each volunteer may serve up to a six-year term.

The Board is responsible for overseeing and promoting the foundation in the community, and acting as Fund Advisor for certain funds such as the Impact Fund.  A part-time Director position was established in 2010 to handle operating activities and provide a single point of contact for the public.  Five individuals have held this role and been instrumental in the growth of the foundation.

In 2018, the Hillsboro Community Foundation established the Hillsboro Community Response Fund to support both emergency preparedness and disaster recovery efforts.  In 2020, the fund was used to provide Covid relief, with grants made to local charities and city emergency services during the shutdown period. 

Through our affiliation with Central Kansas Community Foundation, HCF participates with other community foundations in the Philanthropic Preparedness Resiliency and Emergency Partnership sponsored by The Funders’ Network.  More information, including disaster support resources, may be found at the CKCF website under the Events heading.