WICHITA, KAN. – The Kansas Health Foundation has awarded approximately $550,000 to 24 organizations across the state in an effort to build capacity to reduce health disparities through its Impact and Capacity Grants (ICG) Initiative.

KHF is continuing to accept ICG applications until all 2017 funds are awarded, or through September 15, 2017. This initiative replaced the Recognition Grant Program.

The organizations that have received grant funding for the first half of 2017 include:

Child Care Aware, Salina – $25,000:
Child Care Aware will work with content experts to analyze the organization’s current fundraising, marketing and communication strategies. In coordination with their strategic plan, this review will help the organization examine gaps and opportunities to reach and engage new populations.

Communities Creating Opportunity, Kansas City – $25,000:
Communities Creating Opportunity will build organizational capacity through specialized social media engagement and web development training for staff and volunteers. This technical training will help amplify voices in the diverse communities this organization serves.

Dress for Success Wichita – $25,000:
Dress for Success Wichita will use the funds for strategic planning expertise to enhance its marketing communications. It will also implement a new donor information database to help more south-central Kansas women obtain a job and succeed in the work force.

Family Service and Guidance Center of Topeka – $25,000:
This organization will address an existing access to care gap for children with autism by developing the “Children’s Autism Program.”

Flint Hills Community Health Center, Emporia – $25,000:
The funds will help Flint Hills Community Health Center build organizational capacity through a leadership and staff training program designed to equip participants with self-awareness tools, mindset changing tools and individual/team tools.

Kansas Association of Local Health Departments (KALHD) – $25,000:
KALHD will help pay for grant writing training for local public health department staff members. This training will better-position the departments when they pursue grants addressing public health needs.

Kansas Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics – $25,000:
The Kansas Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics will develop organizational capacity through specialized child health advocacy training for its staff and board.

Kansas Head Start Association – $25,000:
The grant will help Kansas Head Start Association build capacity by incorporating training and assistance in collecting and analyzing necessary data that will result in more targeted interventions for at-risk children, as well as impact child executive function.

Lawrence Community Food Alliance, dba Sunrise Project – $25,000:
Sunrise Project will improve its community engagement model by building organizational capacity to support specialized development for its board of directors, provide media training for staff and establish an effective evaluation plan.

Topeka Justice Unity and Ministry Project – $25,000:
Topeka Justice Unity and Ministry Project will work on building its program resource adaptability, program staffing and leadership sustainability capacities as it continues addressing the issues of poverty and injustice in Topeka and Shawnee County.

United Community Services of Johnson County (UCS) – $25,000:
The funds will help UCS increase access to care while equally distributing health and human services to Johnson County residents.

Via Christi Hospitals Wichita – $25,000:
Via Christi Hospitals Wichita will use the grant dollars to improve access to care for vulnerable populations in need of mental health services by funding a study that will inform treatment and incorporate best-practice models for collaborative work across industries.

Warrior’s Ranch, Wakefield – $25,000:
Warrior’s Ranch will use the funds for strategic planning expertise to better serve children and military veterans who have experienced trauma or abuse in Geary, Clay and Dickinson counties.

Integrated Behavioral Technologies, Basehor – $24,994:
Integrated Behavioral Technologies will work to build their organizational capacity to diagnose, re-evaluate and monitor children with signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as offer mobile assessment services to rural areas of the state.

Guadalupe Clinic, Inc., Wichita – $24,933:
Guadalupe Clinic will provide access to care for an additional 740 vulnerable patients over the next two years through volunteer recruitment by adding a volunteer coordinator position.

Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition – $24,486:
By having a strategic plan, a succession plan for the executive director and a full financial audit, the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition will be able to guide Kansas toward being a state where breastfeeding is normal and supported. This will be done by working collaboratively to promote, protect and support breastfeeding while addressing health equity needs.

Disability Rights Center of Kansas – $24,436:
The center will provide training for their organization and partners who are focused on advocating for the rights and enhanced overall wellness of Kansans with disabilities.

American Stroke Foundation – $24,371:
The American Stroke Foundation will establish a program for stroke survivors and their caregivers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties to assist with the successful navigation of the healthcare system and reintegration to home and community activities.

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Kansas (ACLU) – $23,950:
ACLU will host a nonpartisan, nonpolitical statewide summit for 150 Kansans to enhance civic engagement, citizen involvement and increase voter participation.

Kansas Elks Training Center for the Handicapped, Wichita (KETCH) – $23,760:
The grant will help KETCH achieve sustainable healthy outcomes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by assuring they eat the right foods in the right amounts. This project will implement a subscription-based meal planning, grocery shopping and meal preparation tool which guides direct care staff to prepare meals that promote the health of the group home residents based upon the individual needs of each resident.

Kansas Association of Community Action Programs – $17,693:
Kansas Association of Community Action Programs will build organizational capacity by providing funds for expert facilitation of their board and staff to develop a strategic plan.

Riverview Health Services – $15,610:
To assist Riverview Health Services in increasing access to care for indigent, uninsured and underinsured populations through a higher level of in-clinic integration and successful partnership with safety-net clinics, doctor’s offices, hospitals and community mental health providers in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties.

RSVP of Northeast Kansas – $10,205:
RSVP of Northeast Kansas will use the funds to build internal capacity by conducting a community needs assessment designed to identify needs and gaps of their target population.

Gove County Medical Center, Quinter – $9,700:
Gove County Medical Center will facilitate an on-site Cancer Exercise Rehabilitation training that will improve both access to care and quality of life for regional cancer patients.