Submitted by

Jody Love

Rural Community Partners, Inc.

The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Inc.

President and CEO

620-215-2892

104 North National

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Book time to meet with me

Match Week is around the corner!  If you are willing and able, we are asking for your support of our work to build financial security, a key driver of long-term health and well-being.  Healthier local economies create healthier people and stronger communities.  Every dollar donated through SEK Gives is matched by the Patterson Family Foundation, meaning your dollar goes further.

Please see attached flyer we are sharing for the Match Week campaign.  We have seeded a small business support endowment at the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas with $10,000. And YES! non-profits, for profits, food business, artists, farmers…they’re all businesses!

If you would like to help us spread the word, we would love that support too.  We will be posting on our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn throughout the week as well…if you could comment like and share that will help us get the word out: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1APm6pkB7d/.

We have a goal to raise $25,000 for our local endowment that will support businesses in communities that have an LHEAT coalition (we would love to add more counties to this list!!): Bourbon, Crawford, Labette, and Montgomery Counties).  This way, we’re giving the decision-making authority and money to community and residents with lived experience while also building individual self-sustainability.

We’ve found our business support services to be highly cost-effective: increasing access to technical support and expertise, partnering with local, regional and state institutions like cities, economic development,  KU School of Business and WorkforceONE, and filling crucial gaps in capital so entrepreneurs can start earning revenue.

We hope to raise enough money in 3-5 years to start giving micro grants to businesses in our catchment.

• Goal: Raise $25,000 this year, growing to $250,000 within 3–5 years.
• Funds go directly back into small businesses, no administrative or payroll costs.
• Together we’ve already:

• Helped 160+ new business clients (up from 3)
• Generated $3.3 million in capital investment
• Done it with only $154,000 in micro-grants

Thank you for your consideration!

CFSEK Hosts New Rural Community Partners Fund to Support Local Businesses

At a time when funding is growing increasingly uncertain and hard to obtain, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) is stepping up in a big way! Jody Love, President and CEO of HBCAT, is a small business owner herself, and after renovating a downtown building in Fort Scott, she saw first-hand the limited support for small businesses in Southeast Kansas.

“I saw the need for economic development and growth across the region, and I knew that we just needed access to opportunities,” Love said. “People believe in where they live and want it to improve, so what can we do to help?”

Rural Community Partners (RCP), a subsidiary of HBCAT, is creating a new fund at the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas (CFSEK) called the SEK Entrepreneur and Small Business Support Fund, which will help empower small businesses across Southeast Kansas.

The grants will be managed by Small Business and Entrepreneurs (SBE) Council of RCP, which is composed of local business owners from five counties in Southeast Kansas, representing a diverse range of geographical locations, racial backgrounds, and includes low-income and women entrepreneurs. The grants will also serve as an opportunity for networking and mentorship with similar organizations facing similar challenges.

One local business that has already utilized these services is Bushel and a Peck in Girard. With Southeast Kansas connections and experience in Philadelphia restaurants, owners Michael and Kelley Gringas were equipped for success. HBCAT has started to build systems to connect restaurants like Bushel and a Peck to locally produced food.

“One of the recipients of our food producer grant was Freedom Farms, based out of Bourbon County, with the concept of creating a food co-op model,” Love said. “That has now come full circle, and we have been able to connect Bushel and a Peck with Freedom Farms to source local chicken and lamb!”

“Commerce is at the heart of every community,” Love said, “and this project from HBCAT is supporting our SEK communities, continuing their economic development for years to come! We are serious about it being a regional fund, which is why we are housing it at the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas.”

“We are excited to work with Jody and Rural Community Partners to create this endowment that will support our friends and neighbors who operate small businesses,” said Devin Gorman, CFSEK Executive Director. “Small businesses are crucial to rural economies, and Southeast Kansas has some incredible small businesses. We are delighted to try and help bring them more resources.”

Applications for the Entrepreneur and Small Business Support Fund are accepted via email to Jody Love at HBCAT. She can be contacted at [email protected].

The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas awarded over $2 million in grants from all foundation funds in 2024 and has facilitated over $25 million in total granting to Southeast Kansas since its inception in 2001. CFSEK serves the region by providing donors with various charitable interests and encouraging charitable giving, which addresses present and future needs in our area. The Columbus Area, Fort Scott Area, and Girard Area Community Foundations are affiliates of CFSEK. More information about CFSEK is available at SoutheastKansas.org