WICHITA, Kan. – Since the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) launched the Kansas Community Investment Fund (KCIF) in January 2019, 17 community impact projects have received a total of $1 million in loans and $27,700 in grants.

KCIF loans/grants are for for-profit and nonprofit organizations improving community health in under-resourced areas by enhancing access to care, educational attainment, civic and community engagement, and promoting healthy behaviors.

“Impact investing is a new way for foundations to invest with community development financing to improve the health and economic vibrancy of Kansas communities,” said Jeff Usher, KHF senior program officer. “With these loans, we can address critical community and economic development challenges related to our KHF impact areas.”

Community projects approved for KCIF loans/grants, include:

ACCESS TO CARE

• Emporia Memory Care: $44,100 loan for a new inpatient nursing/rehabilitation facility for individuals with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease (Emporia, Lyon County) (Funded Feb. 2019).
• Integrated Clinical Health: A $45,000 loan will be used to create a behavioral health care practice offering mental health and substance use services (Lawrence, Douglas County) (Funded Nov. 2019).
• Jayhawk Pharmacy: A $40,000 loan will help the pharmacy expand to a second location inside Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s new west campus, and will be used for medicinal inventory and medical equipment (Lawrence, Douglas County) (Funded April 2020).
• McNary Chiropractic $28,000 to build McNary Chiropractic, which will offer various chiropractic services for all ages (Manhattan, Riley County) (Funded Oct. 2019).
• Molly Reynolds, DDS: A $65,000 loan has been approved to purchase an existing dental practice and create a new building (several local dentists are retiring or closing their doors) (Cherryvale, Montgomery County) (Funded April 2020).
• Visionaries Eyecare: A $90,000 loan will be used by Dr. Miller to create an optometry practice with the future addition of 2-3 staff (Hutchinson, Reno County) (Funded Dec. 2019).

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

• Courtland Building Venture: $45,000 loan to remodel an existing building for a co-working space that is rented by people who can work remotely, telecommute or are home based (Courtland, Republic County) (Funded March 2019).
• IdeaTek Telecom: A $225,000 loan and $25,000 grant to expand broadband service to rural, low-resource communities who don’t have access to the internet (Hutchinson area, Reno County) (Funded Oct. 2020).

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

• Bright Minds Academy: To help fill a community need for daycare services, a $30,000 loan was approved to start up a new daycare center in Hays, with initial capacity of 36 children and expanding to 59 in the future (Hays, Ellis County) (Funded Dec. 2019).
• Cornerstone Childcare Center: A $27,300 loan and $2,700 grant to help expand a newly purchased childcare center by adding a sprinkler system within the multi-floor building (Abilene, Dickinson County) (Funded Aug. 2020).
• Cozy Corner Learning Center: A $41,000 loan will be used by Cozy Corner as it expands to a second commercial location to respond to additional child care needs(Concordia, Cloud County) (Funded Jan. 2020).
• Sunshine Daycare: $62,048 to refinance an existing loan and cover construction costs for expansion to Sunshine Daycare to accommodate 20 additional students (Winfield, Cowley County) (Funded June 2019).

HEALTHY BEHAVIORS

• Up & Away Indoor Play: A $45,000 loan to offer a new, safe indoor play place for children (Lawrence, Douglas County) (Funded Oct. 2019).
• Clearwater Wellness Center: $60,000 loan to expand the wellness center by adding additional weight-lifting capacity and more classroom instruction space (Clearwater, Sedgwick County) (Funded March 2020).
• High Jinks Recreation Club: $45,000 loan to renovate an existing vacant space into a community center and gym (Ellsworth, Ellsworth County) (Funded Aug. 2019).
• SWFIT: $15,000 loan to purchase and expand Southwind CrossFit, a local CrossFit gym (Hays, Ellis County) (Funded Aug. 2019).
• Watts Fitness: A $65,000 loan to help the fitness center expand (Fort Scott, Bourbon County) (Funded Aug. 2019).

Of the $2.1 million KCIF initiative, $1.5 million is available for loans, and NetWork Kansas will contribute an additional $1.5 million to this revolving loan fund, which is available through 2021. Loans that are repaid will also be used for new KCIF loans. As manager of the KCIF process, NetWork Kansas has received approximately $310,000, and the remaining funds are being used for loan support and administration, marketing and communications.

In Oct. 2020, KHF and NetWork Kansas were pleased to welcome Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas as the first corporate sponsor of KCIF, with a Blue Health Initiative Trailblazer grant totaling $150,000 annually for the next three years.

“The Kansas Health Foundation is excited to bring on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas as the first corporate sponsor of KCIF,” said Deanna Van Hersh, KHF interim executive vice president. “Their commitment to invest in businesses and non-profits across Kansas will help improve the health of Kansans and also strengthen our communities.”

KCIF loan financing is still available for eligible community impact projects. For more information about KCIF, please contact Network Kansas.

Note: This news release has been updated to reflect newly funded projects. The initial release, published April 9, 2019, highlighted the first three KCIF projects.

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ABOUT THE KANSAS HEALTH FOUNDATION
The Kansas Health Foundation is based in Wichita, but statewide in its focus. With a mission to improve the health of all Kansans, KHF envisions a culture in which every Kansan can make healthy choices where they live, work and play. To achieve this, KHF focuses its work in four impact areas: access to affordable health care, healthy behaviors, civic and community engagement and educational attainment. During its 30-year history, KHF has provided more than $500 million in grants to Kansas communities and organizations and looks forward to working toward its mission and vision for many years to come.

ABOUT NETWORK KANSAS
NetWork Kansas, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is dedicated to making entrepreneurship a priority for economic and community development in the State of Kansas.  NetWork Kansas connects aspiring entrepreneurs, emerging and established businesses, to a deep network of business-building and community development resource organizations across the state.  NetWork Kansas is also the home of e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (e2).  e2 provides best practice solutions to entrepreneurial ecosystem building in Kansas and nationally. NetWork Kansas facilitates the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem within participating communities through the E-Community Partnership. Contributing factors to successful development include availability of financial capital, support by local leadership and development of educational resources. All of these factors combine to increase entrepreneurial activity in participating towns, leading to increased startup activity, business expansion, job creation and more.