Governor Kelly Announces 14 Grant Recipients for
Rural Champions Program

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today the 14 grant recipients of the Rural Champions program’s second cohort. The selected Rural Champions will join a growing statewide network of grassroots individuals tackling critical projects in their respective rural communities.

“Since day one, my administration has been focused on the needs of our rural communities and the quality of life in every region of the state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Creating the Office of Rural Prosperity was only the beginning of our support for rural Kansans and their needs. By developing the Rural Champions program, we are assisting communities to find local solutions to specific local challenges.”

Inspired by a Kansas Sampler Foundation report, the Office of Rural Prosperity, in collaboration with the Patterson Family Foundation, created the Rural Champions program as a way for rural communities to move the needle in areas where a lack of capital or other resources hinders necessary progress. The Rural Champions program provides a one-year wage stipend of $20,800 to each community, along with training and resources. Communities also will receive up to $25,000 at the end of the year to move into the implementation phase of their projects.

“The diverse challenges rural communities face are much easier to resolve when you have an individual specifically dedicated to their particular issues, which is why the innovative Rural Champions program is so important,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “Investing in our rural communities means investing in our people, which benefits the entire state and elevates their towns in ways that might otherwise not be possible.”

The 2024-25 Rural Champions include:

Organization

Community

Project area(s)

Cardinal Community Foundation

Nemaha County

Community/Economic Development

Cheyenne Community Development Corporation

Cheyenne

Housing

City of Herington and CVB

Herington

Downtown Revitalization

Comanche County Economic Development

Comanche County

Grant Writing/
ED Regionalization

Grinnell-Promoting Pride & Progress

Grinnell

Downtown Revitalization

Harvey County United Way

Harvey County

Childcare

Healthy Bourbon County Action Team

Bronson

Placemaking/ Recreation

Hodgeman County Economic Development

Hodgeman County

Housing

Lane County Community Foundation

Dighton

Food Access-Rural Grocery

Legacy Regional Community Foundation

Cowley County

Food Access

Rooks County Healthcare Foundation

Rooks County

Workforce Recruitment

Stafford County Economic Development

Stafford County

Childcare

The Building Community

Fredonia

Community/Economic Development

United Way of the Flint Hills

Emporia

Homelessness

“The first round of Rural Champions provided a great opportunity for progress and impact in the communities and organization. We again received many outstanding applications — making the selection of these 14 projects very competitive,” Director of the Office of Rural Prosperity Trisha Purdon said. “We are excited to continue the development of the program and add to our network of learning with the new group of Rural Champions.”

Rural Champions will work with the Office of Rural Prosperity through project completion. At that time, information will again be compiled in the form of guidebooks to add to the library of projects and be made available to provide learning and support to additional communities.

More information on the Rural Champions program is available here. The guidebooks developed by the first cohort of Champions are available to review here.

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