The Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its $60 million, multi-phase initiative: Giving Resources to Our World (GROW).

GROW launched in 1999 and was created to help community foundations across Kansas build philanthropic assets in an effort to keep local Kansas dollars local. Funding allowed community foundations to establish matching challenges and to grow assets, create special health and wellness funds and become trained in philanthropic leadership. The initiative helped create a self-sufficient foundation field in Kansas supporting collaboration and idea sharing, as well as preparing foundations for the complexities and challenges awaiting them in the future.

“Twenty years ago, we understood how deeply Kansans cared about their hometowns, and we knew that if we built an infrastructure for people to give back to their communities, they would,” said Steve Coen, KHF president and CEO. “GROW created local philanthropic leadership and resources that have made the state of Kansas a better, healthier, more prosperous state.”

To learn more about this initiative, please view the Health Happenings video above.