Congratulations to the Round 4 Grant Award Winners:

 

Project Name: Jewell County: Healthy Habits, Healthy Lives

• Impact Area: Health and Wellness | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: Jewell County Community Development Association Inc.

• Lead Applicant County: Jewell | Counties served by project: Jewell

​Project Summary:

Jewell County Community Development Association Inc., Jewell County Community Foundation, and Jewell County Strong Inc. are partnering to launch a comprehensive wellness initiative aimed at improving the health and well-being of at least 10% of Jewell County’s adult population. This initiative will focus on active living, healthy eating, and mental health through a multi-faceted, community-based approach designed to be inclusive, engaging, and sustainable. The project will offer 222 adults a free 3-month membership to the Jewell County Community Wellness Center, removing financial barriers and encouraging consistent physical activity. Jewell County Strong Inc. is supporting the effort by donating one month of each membership. To complement physical activity, the program will offer at least 12 free health-related classes at the wellness center, presented by K-State Research and Extension’s Post Rock District. Topics will include nutrition, stress management, movement, chronic disease prevention, and other key aspects of wellness, promoting lifelong healthy habits and informed decision-making. The initiative will also address healthy eating by providing 150 families with access to fresh fruits and vegetables through the Simply Produce program. This will support improved nutrition and food security for households across the county. A direct mail campaign to all Jewell County households will raise awareness and encourage participation, ensuring equal access and broad community engagement. By combining physical activity, nutrition education, and fresh food access, this initiative offers a well-rounded approach to wellness and builds on strong local partnerships to improve health outcomes for rural Kansans.

 

Project Team: Republic County E-Community

• Project Name: How an Entrepreneurial Community Developments - Video Storytelling for Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference

• Impact Area: Data Collection and Storytelling | Project Type: Community Input

• Lead Applicant: Republic County Economic Development

• Lead Applicant County: Republic | Counties served by project: Republic

​Project Summary:  

This video storytelling project will spotlight key entrepreneurs and their stories who have helped build the Republic County Entrepreneurial community. These videos will be shown at the 2026 Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference in Courtland to share our story and give all communities within our county a chance to be showcased at the conference, even if the event is only held in Courtland.

 

Project Team: Common Sense Collective

• Project Name: CrossTalk: Common Sense Communications

• Impact Area: Entrepreneurship Support | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: Kansas Common Sense Fund

• Lead Applicant County: Shawnee | Counties served by project: Seward or Ford

​Project Summary:  

The Kansas Coalition for Common Sense (KCSF), in partnership with Ad Hoc Translations, proposes a new two-day in-person communications training, Crosstalk: Common Sense Communications, to strengthen communications capacity among Kansas nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs. This hands-on training will support staff, especially from small, rural, and under-resourced organizations, who manage communications without formal training. Topics include message strategy, storytelling, persuasive writing, digital media, public speaking, and earned media. To expand access, the session will be fully interpreted in Spanish by Ad Hoc Translations, enabling meaningful participation by Spanish-speaking nonprofit staff. The project aligns with civic engagement goals by helping mission-driven professionals more effectively connect with the public, tell their stories, and mobilize communities. This training will serve 15–20 participants and be evaluated through attendance, post-event surveys, and coaching follow-ups.

 

Project Team: Four County Entrepreneurship Network

• Project Name: Four County Collaborative: A Destination Marketing Summit

• Impact Area: Entrepreneurship Support | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: Coffey County, Kansas

• Lead Applicant County: Coffey | Counties served by project: Anderson, Coffey, Osage, Linn. Surrounding counties may also be served by this project, as the attendance for the Summit will not be limited to only businesses that reside in those four counties.

​Project Summary:  

This project is a cross-sector regional collaboration between economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, and a community foundation serving Coffey, Osage, Anderson, and Linn counties. Our goal is to provide accessible, high-impact training to entrepreneurs in our rural communities who face significant barriers to professional development. To address this need, our partnership will host a one-day regional training event with nationally-recognized speaker Jon Schallert, focusing on his acclaimed "Destination Business" methodology. To foster unprecedented collaboration, the summit will feature our innovative "Destination Discovery Passport." This gamified networking activity will guide attendees on an interactive journey to form meaningful connections with peers from all four counties, intentionally breaking down geographic silos and building a true regional network.

This event directly supports the grant’s Entrepreneurship Support impact area. The connections forged through the Passport will be foundational, creating the momentum and buy-in needed to launch our larger regional tourism and marketing initiative in 2026. By pooling our resources, we are creating more than a training day; we are building a stronger, more connected, and resilient regional business ecosystem.

 

Project Team: Plainville Wellness Coalition

• Project Name: Children's Cupboard

• Impact Area: Food Access | Project Type: Community Service

• Lead Applicant: Plainville Wellness Coalition / Plainville Community Foundation-Fiscal Agent

• Lead Applicant County: Rooks | Counties served by project: Rooks

​Project Summary:  

For the past five years, food access and food insecurity have been key priorities in our community outreach efforts. While we are fortunate to have a weekly food pantry and access to a local grocery store, gaps in consistent, healthy food access remain—especially for children and families. This is especially evident in our school population: 43% of students at our local school qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, highlighting significant economic hardship. Additionally, five families currently receive weekend food backpacks to help bridge the gap. To address these ongoing needs, we propose launching a Kids Cupboard within our local public library. This initiative will build on our existing food programs and focus on children who may not have reliable access to meals outside of school hours. The Kids Cupboard will offer:

• Nutritious afterschool snacks, ensuring kids have food during the critical hours between school and dinner.

• Simple, take-home meal kits, designed for children to prepare on their own or with minimal adult help. These will emphasize nutrition, ease of use, and kid-friendly appeal.

• A mix of pantry staples and fresh produce, with fresh items sourced from our local grocery store and farmers market, supporting both child health and the local food economy.

• Placing the Cupboard in the library offers a discreet, welcoming, and centrally located access point for families. It also opens the door to educational tie-ins such as nutrition literacy, cooking demos, and afterschool reading or homework clubs supported by healthy snacks.

 

Project Team: Harvey County Breastfeeding Support

• Project Name: Strengthening a Culture of Breastfeeding through Public Park Spaces

• Impact Area: Community Development | Project Type: Community Service

• Lead Applicant: Harvey, County of aka Harvey County Health Department

• Lead Applicant County: Harvey | Counties served by project: Harvey

​Project Summary:  

Breastfeeding duration is one of the many protective factors to reduce infant mortality. Harvey County, unfortunately, continually remains with a high infant mortality rate. Through this Strengthening a Culture of Breastfeeding through Public Park Spaces project, the Harvey County Breastfeeding Support team will encourage longer adoption of breastfeeding and continue to reduce public objections. This project includes the manufacture and installation of a breastfeeding bench in a City of Halstead park and education component for the public. Signage on the breastfeeding bench will include QR links to the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition's Local Resource Directory and the Harvey County Breastfeeding Coalition Breastfeeding Friendly Spaces map.

 

Project Team: Storytime Village

• Project Name: Building the Village: Community Outreach Leading to the Storytime Village Literacy Center Launch

• Impact Area: Community Development | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant:  Storytime Village Literacy Center

• Lead Applicant County: Sedgwick | Counties served by project: Sedgwick

​Project Summary:  

Storytime Village, Inc., a Kansas-based, minority-led nonprofit, is launching a yearlong cross-sector community outreach initiative titled “Building the Village: Community Outreach Leading to the Storytime Village Literacy Center Launch.” This project will engage residents across Wichita’s under-resourced 67214 zip code to prepare for the Fall 2026 grand opening of the Storytime Village Literacy Center—a vibrant hub for literacy, health, childcare, and workforce readiness. With support from NetWorked for Change, Storytime Village will host monthly neighborhood pop-up events—Build the Village Saturdays—in collaboration with a diverse group of trusted partners: HealthCore Clinic (health education and screenings), Wichita Public Library (mobile literacy and book access), OneCommunity (early learning and family engagement), Workforce Alliance (career readiness support), and Hutton (community-informed design integration). Events will rotate through libraries, parks, schools, and community spaces, offering literacy stations, wellness check-ins, early learning resources, workforce booths, and interactive feedback walls to capture residents’ vision for the new center.

Goals include: (1) strengthening community involvement by engaging 1,200+ residents and collecting 500+ inputs; (2) expanding access by distributing 2,000+ books and connecting 100 families to essential services; and (3) deepening cross-sector collaboration by engaging 6 anchor partners and 10+ community organizations to co-design and promote inclusive engagement.

 

Project Team: Mindful Living is Active Living

• Project Name: Coming Home to the Heart

• Impact Area: Health and Wellness | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: Retreat Inside Out

• Lead Applicant County: Sedgwick | Counties served by project: All

​Project Summary:  

Coming Home to the Heart is a two-day gathering rooted in deep presence, connection and healing. This unique event brings together Global Mindfulness Teachers from the Mindful Teacher Community Network and residents of Wichita, KS – the heart of the heartland – for a shared experience that prioritizes authenticity, compassion ,and community.  On the first day participants will convene not as professionals or roles, but as fellow human beings, intentionally leaving behind titles and name tags to lead with their hearts, in this unstructured, heart-centered space, we will explore what emerges when diverse lives intersect in presence, silence, story and shared humanity.  It is a space of discovery of each other of ourselves, and of what it truly means to come home. The second day will offer a retreat experience, integrating mindful awareness skills and contemplative practices drawn from a variety of global traditions.  These practices will support participants in cultivating inner stillness, resilience and clarity while nourishing. Interpersonal connection and collective wellbeing. Through breathwork, movement, guided meditation, reflective dialog and communal rest, this event aspires to awaken a shared sense of belonging and care. “Coming Home to the Heart” is both a call to remember and a practice of returning to what matters most to each other, and to the inner wisdom that guides meaningful change in our communities and beyond. 

 

Project Team: Lawrence Music Week Project Team

• Project Name: MixMaster2025 + Lawrence Music Week

• Impact Area: Engaging Broadly | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: Creative Impact Alliance

• Lead Applicant County: Douglas | Counties served by project: Douglas, Johnson, Shawnee, Leavenworth, Jefferson, Wyandotte

​Project Summary:  

MixMaster2025 + Lawrence Music Week 2025 is a first-of-its-kind community-wide initiative designed to celebrate and elevate the vibrant music scene of Lawrence, Kansas. This inaugural event will brand a concentrated week of music activities, including concerts, workshops, networking opportunities, and community-driven programming. Lawrence Music Week (LMW) will begin with two free outdoor public concerts on Sept 12th and 13th and culminate in the MixMaster2025 Music Conference on Sept 20th, a capstone event for industry professionals and emerging creatives, and an annual project of Lawrence Music Alliance. The core objective is to empower community members to participate in a shared community effort supporting our music industry, fostering widespread engagement and providing enhanced marketing exposure across the city and region. The Lawrence Music Alliance and the LMW team will lead a collaborative marketing campaign that will highlight several major musical events, including three free outdoor concerts, multiple showcases, networking opportunities and the MixMaster2025 conference. A project website will allow community members to submit their own events, expanding the reach and impact of the project. The goal is to amplify the activities of the Lawrence Music Alliance, the artists, venues and businesses in the local music industry, and create the infrastructure for a well-marketing community event, to the benefit of the creative economy and the entire community.

 

Project Team: Wichita County

• Project Name: WC Community Health Needs Assessment

• Impact Area: Data Collection and Storytelling | Project Type: Community Input

• Lead Applicant: Wichita County Economic Development

• Lead Applicant County: Wichita County | Counties served by project: Wichita County

​Project Summary:  

The project seeks funding to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for Wichita County Health Center, a Critical Access Hospital located in Leoti, Kansas. Serving the residents of Wichita County, the hospital provides acute care, long-term care, and outpatient services. The CHNA will identify priority health concerns, service gaps, and social determinants impacting this rural health population, many of whom face geographic isolation and limited access to healthcare resources.

 

Project Team: NXTUS

• Project Name: Amplifying Voices of Community Health Innovators

• Impact Area: Data Collection and Storytelling | Project Type: Community Outreach

• Lead Applicant: NXTUS

• Lead Applicant County: Sedgwick | Counties served by project: All

​Project Summary:  

This storytelling initiative will spotlight powerful examples of future-minded Kansas communities implementing new technology tools to improve population health and community vibrancy. By capturing and sharing success stories of pilot projects forged during the first four years of the NXTSTAGE Community Health & Vibrancy Pilot Competition, this project will celebrate changemakers and embolden more Kansas communities to become proving grounds for community health innovations offered by startups from around the world. Through documentary-style media and intentional storytelling outreach, the project will drive these outcomes:

• Highlight tangible health improvements and community change driven by innovative solutions.

• Elevate partners such as Thrive Allen County/Thrive Kansas, LiveWell Northwest Kansas and various Kansas County economic development organizations as national models for rural transformation and leaders in implementing innovative solutions to grow and improve their communities.

• Showcase NXTUS-supported startups as trusted partners driving meaningful change and spread awareness of this annual innovation program, through which NXTUS and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas are offering to improve the health and vibrancy of Kansas communities.

• Strengthen engagement around health equity and the role of innovative entrepreneurs, so that organizations in our ecosystem believe in innovation and seek tomorrow’s solutions for today’s community health and growth challenges.