Overview

The Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) is launching the Sedgwick County Groundwater Contamination Grant Program in response to advocacy and collaboration with state, county, and city officials. The initiative aims to address exposure to contaminated groundwater—particularly from the 29th and Grove contamination plume—by investing $3.5 million into the northeast Wichita community.

This competitive grant opportunity supports organizations that can provide:

• Medical testing related to exposure to trichlorethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and/or
• Health communication that educates residents affected by groundwater contamination in Sedgwick County, primarily those residing in or near the area of the 29^th and Grove plume and informs them about all testing opportunities provided by through this grant program.

Grant awards will range from $250,000 to $1 million.

How the opportunity works

Eligible organizations for these grants must be 501(c)3 organizations, however the following types of organizations are ineligible:

• 501(c)(3) subclassification 509(a)(3) supporting organizations
• 501(c)(3) private foundations
• 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations
• 501(c)(6) business leagues

Timeline:

• Applications must be submitted by midnight on July 15, 2025.
• Final funding decisions will be made by August 30, 2025.
• Grant funds will be dispersed no later than October 30, 2025.
• Grant funds must be spent by the grantee by December 31, 2026.

Ineligible uses of grant funds include:

• Indirect costs (e.g. telephone bills, printer ink, facility rent or lease, utilities)
• Treatment of any kind.

Eligible uses of grant funds include:

• The purchasing of materials and supplies such as comprehensive metabolic panels, complete blood count with differential tests, routine comprehensive urinalysis with microscopic examination, and alpha fetoprotein tests.
• Equipment (e.g. ultrasound, MRI) that will allow for the long-term testing of residents.
• The training of staff to learn how to operate purchased equipment.
• Staff time to oversee the screening/testing of the affected population.
• The development of strategic communication plan, in coordination with selected medical testing providers.
• Costs associated with dissemination of messaging (e.g. radio, mailings, billboards).

Criteria for grant selection

This competitive grant opportunity supports organizations that can provide:

• Medical testing related to exposure to trichlorethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and/or
• Health communication that educates residents affected by groundwater contamination in Sedgwick County, primarily those residing in or near the area of the 29^th and Grove plume, and informs them about all testing opportunities provided by through this grant program.

We are looking for grant applications that:

• Have a history of working with communities facing inequities and health disparities.
• Involve collaboration with other organizations also concerned with this issue.
• Prioritize the greater 29th and Grove community in Northeast Wichita. Applications need to describe how funds will first be designated for priority use within the 29^th and Grove contamination site and can be extended to include individuals potentially affected by groundwater contamination in Sedgwick County.
• Won’t allow the exact boundaries of the contamination plume to limit service to other potentially affected residents.
• Include quality, coordinated, and transparent communication to residents related to this initiative.
• Show enthusiasm for working with KHF to co-create a unified data collection framework, helping ensure consistency and rigor in measuring the initiative’s overall impact.
• Are from organizations with a history of strong fiscal management and experience with administering, communicating, and reporting on community health initiatives.
• Clearly articulate how your organization and partners will mitigate potential barriers/obstacles to the project implementation.

Specific Criteria for Testing Oriented Applications

• Provide a compelling plan that details how the organization plans, during the grant period, to offer and facilitate testing services at no cost to Sedgwick County residents self-identify as being exposed to groundwater contamination, with no stipulation of requiring individuals to become patients.
• Explicitly describe how equipment purchases, if applicable, would be used to test residents related to groundwater contamination and improve the lives of potentially affected community members.
• Describe a long-term sustainability plan for providing the testing services your organization plans to offer to residents of Sedgwick County affected by groundwater contamination.
• Convey a plan to track and report project expenditures, the number and types of tests conducted, and other requested de-identified data.

Specific Criteria for Communication Oriented Applications

• Provide a compelling plan that details how the organization plans to develop a strategic and comprehensive health communications plan to educate affected community members and inform about testing opportunities.
• Detail how the organization would coordinate messaging with multiple medical testing providers selected for this opportunity.
• Describe how the organization would disseminate health communications to potentially affected community members, possibly including previous residents.
• Convey a plan to track and report project expenditures, data related to the communications initiative’s reach and effectiveness, and other requested data.

Examples of possible submission ideas

• A clinic might use funds to pay for supplies necessary to administer testing services.
• A clinic might use funds to build its capacity (e.g. equipment, staff training) to offer testing services that previously would have been contracted to other healthcare organizations, thus reducing costs of services to the clinic and patient community.
• A coalition of healthcare organizations might use funds to hire a communications agency to develop and implement a strategic and comprehensive health communications plan to educate affected community members and inform about testing opportunities.
• A coalition of healthcare organizations might use funds to create a single website for residents that becomes a “one stop shop” for scheduling testing at a patient’s preferred clinic.
• An organization might use funds to bring a proven innovative testing solution to scale in the 29^th and Grove community.
• An organization might use funds to create a comprehensive strategic communication strategy to ensure residents are aware of the contamination and where to go for help related to testing.

How to apply

To apply, please scroll down on this page and complete the application form. Before you begin completing the form, please note the following:

• The application cannot be saved once started; we recommend preparing a Word document in advance for offline reference.
• Beware of timing out of the form. Once you begin a form submission, the form “times out” after three (3) hours if not submitted.
• You will be asked to upload a copy of your IRS determination letter (a letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service confirming your organization’s non-profit status/tax exemption). You will also be asked to upload a copy of your organization’s most recently filed IRS Form 990. Please have these documents ready prior to entering your application information online.
• One of the questions on the application form asks for which regions of Kansas will be served by the initiative. For the purpose of this application, please refer to the Economic Development Districts outlined by the Kansas Department of Commerce. Which counties fall into which regions are indicated on this map.
• You must have the contact information of a legally authorized signatory for the applying organization. Signing authority is restricted to an organization’s CEO, President, Executive Director, or School District Superintendent. Please have your legally authorized signatory’s name, title, and e-mail address ready and available.

When the application form is complete, please hit the “Submit” button. You will receive a confirmation after submission. If you have questions regarding the application, please contact applications@khf.org. If you have any technical questions while completing the application, please contact help@khf.org.