Program areas at THCF
Truman Heartland Community Foundation (thcf), with $91.4 million in assets, has been a key player in promoting private giving for the public good in suburban eastern jackson, cass, and lafayette county communities for more than 40 years. The Foundation saw generosity thrive through donor advised fund (daf) grants, competitive grants, and scholarship funds. In 2023, the total grants and scholarship payments from all funds totaled more than $7.3 million, marking a $1 million increase from the previous year. In 2023, thcf provided 501 scholarships from 169 scholarship funds to 349 students, demonstrating a growing commitment in our Community to supporting higher education through the establishment of scholarship funds. In the last five years, the amount available through the Foundation's scholarship program has increased 145%, from $319,000 in 2019 to $784,355 in 2023. Since the program began in 1982, more than $6.7 million in scholarships have been awarded to students. The Foundation's grants committee awarded 62 competitive grants totaling $454,433 to nonprofit organizations in impact areas such as health and welfare; arts, culture, and historic preservation; Community betterment; adult/non-traditional and children's education; and Missouri wildlife conservation in 2023. Of the total, $413,000 came from endowed funds held at the Foundation, while $41,234 was made available through the Foundation's "fill the gap" campaign, which allows current fundholders and other partners to make additional funds available to those organizations not fully funded by the competitive grants process. The jelley family fund, one of the Foundation's competitive grant options, celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2023. The fund has grown from a substantial endowed gift of $1.6 million to a $2.9 million fund. Despite disbursing more than $1 million in grants, the fund continues to impact the lives of numerous local children through support for innovative programs and projects aimed at assisting underserved youth.since 2020, thcf has been dedicated to supporting adult education and job training. Thanks to substantial multi-year funding from the kauffman Foundation for the great jobs kc program, the Foundation shifted its initiative focus in 2023. Moving forward, the Foundation will work to address the issues of affordable housing in the area. Thcf remains committed to making a positive impact and is eager to see the transformative results of this new initiative.the thcf youth advisory council (yac) comprises students from 10 local high schools. The council provides students with hands-on experience in fundraising, grantmaking, and volunteerism. In 2023, the annual fundraiser, "strike in the night a fool's delight," successfully raised funds for the yac endowment fund, reaching a balance of $100,000 for the first time. The students awarded three grants to local nonprofits from their fund totaling $3,801. The students also organized a "fill those trucks" food drive, which collected non-perishable food items to benefit several local nonprofits. Thcf remains committed to promoting private giving for the public good.