After attending several leadership retreats, Vern Henricks realized that the same barriers to economic development kept coming up: workforce, childcare and affordable housing.
The president and CEO of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation has served the organization for 10 years. He learned long ago that philanthropy can be the difference-maker in meeting community needs that general tax dollars can’t address.
GMCF has an excellent track record of making that difference. Its fundraising support has benefitted organizations and initiatives in diverse areas including basic human needs, education, mental health, programming and services for children/youth, arts and humanities, and more. A popular yearly Grow Green Match Day spurred 6,330 gifts in 2023 that raised more than $1.5 million for a long list of local charitable organizations from the Flint Hills Breadbasket food bank to the No Stone Unturned Foundation, which provides care to children with disabilities. According to the Community Foundation Research and Training Institute’s May 2023 figures, GMCF is the largest community foundation in Kansas* with over $300 million in total assets. From 2016 to 2019, GMCF grew by 60%. A remarkable 31% of that growth came in one year, from 2018 to 2019.
The pace of growth hasn’t slowed since then. CFRTI’s current report ranks GMCF as No. 162 in the nation, surpassing the likes of the Topeka, Wichita, Santa Fe, Waco and Pasadena Community Foundations. Henricks said that in the next report, he expects the foundation to be in the top 100.
Size matters, but so does channeling support to crucial areas that can address workforce issues and spur economic development. GMCF has proved astute at building the relationships required to connect needs with resources. Two relationships that GMCF nurtures are with the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Manhattan.
“The Chamber identifies and stewards the things that make this community grow, but they have limited funds. The City only has funds from tax dollars, and that’s where the community foundation comes into play,” Henricks said.
Childcare, recreation and affordable housing have long been at the top of the list of concerns for the region. Henricks decided that continuing to talk about the problems wasn’t enough. He challenged GMCF’s Strategic Initiatives committee to create action plans to finally address them.
“I said, ‘This is crazy.’ This is either a problem we can’t fix, or one that we can fix. If we can’t fix it, let’s quit talking about it. If we can fix it, let’s fix it!”
Addressing childcare and affordable housing — multifaceted problems at national, regional, state and local levels — has required the task forces to explore some innovative, long-term solutions to support private industry. Instead of opening a single new childcare center, for example, the childcare task force is pursuing grant funding and business partnerships to kick-start a $6.2 million childcare accelerator facility designed to bring more capacity to the area by helping those interested in starting their own childcare business get going. The project is modeled on a STEM business accelerator and aims to provide a facility, support staff, accounting services and other assistance to help individual childcare providers learn and prepare to move their business to an in-home or other location after 12 to 18 months. It will also provide ongoing support and programming for childcare providers.
“The only reason we have an issue is that we have never addressed it,” Henricks said, noting that a common-sense problem-solving approach was required. “I’m a farm boy. If you have a crop to harvest and your machinery is broken down, you’ve gotta fix it! If our harvest is workforce development and workforce retention, and childcare is the stumbling block, we need to address it.”
Organizers recently learned that they were awarded a $2.1 million Child Care Capacity Accelerator grant plus an Innovation Community grant for $250,000 by the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. More grant requests are pending.
Housing is also under further discussion. GMCF and community partners are exploring ways to provide more affordable housing in the community. Examples of these discussions are creating improvement districts to refurbish or rebuild older homes that have deteriorated, different financing or land purchase options, and working closely with developers to ensure quality, affordable housing is available. Henricks knows that when solutions are identified, good results will be worth the investment.
“If it’s in the holistic best interests of the community, you need to spend the money,” he said.
GMCF used the same can-do spirit to help address availability of recreational opportunities. When financial challenges in summer 2022 forced the City to close pools early and contemplate cutting popular adult and youth sports programs from its Parks and Recreation Department, the Chamber recognized the problem and established a task force to address it. The end result was the creation of the Manhattan Parks and Recreation Foundation through the GMCF. When fully operational, this foundation will work with its own board and help the City fill financial gaps to provide activities. Henricks and GMCF were happy to support the inspiration and passion demonstrated by the volunteer board.
“We pulled that together quickly. The pools have to be open, and our workforce needs recreational opportunities for their families,” Henricks said.
Jason Smith, Manhattan Chamber president and CEO, said GMCF has been a valuable partner.
“We are lucky to have the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation to provide support for nonprofits and meet other needs in our area. Without a doubt, GMCF has helped build the services and amenities that our business community requires to help retain and recruit the people it takes to help us succeed,” Smith said.
In addition to having childcare and a place to live, workers also need to be adequately trained. In spring 2022, Scorpion Biological Services, which has since changed its name to Scorpius BioManufacturing, announced plans to construct a commercial-scale biomanufacturing facility in Manhattan. Scorpius officials chose Manhattan partially because of proximity to logistics infrastructure, but they have also repeatedly cited partnerships with Kansas State University and Manhattan Area Technical College as crucial reasons for selecting Manhattan as the site for a facility that will employ more than 500 people and produce vaccines, therapeutics and biopharmaceuticals.
To meet the area’s growing demand for training, MATC developed a multiphase “Building HIRE Education” plan. The first phase includes construction of a 47,000-square-foot, $16.3 million Advanced Technology Center that will allow the school to expand programs in construction technology, industrial engineering technology and more, plus provide dedicated space for new biomanufacturing and plumbing technology programs. Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) simulation training labs are included. Funding for the first phase of the plan has come from federal and state grants, financing and private support.
GMCF stepped in to ensure that the facility had the funding it needed. Henricks personally met with community members to ask for their support.
“This was considered a priority by our board since Scorpius announced their intentions of coming to Manhattan. There was a crucial need to train a workforce for them, and MATC was identified as the source for that training,” he said.
As of early spring 2023, $3.6 million had been contributed to the total cost through a state grant. GMCF helped MATC raise more than $1 million in private funds to meet match requirements. The City of Manhattan is considering a request for an additional $1.4 million, and local banks have provided financing for project costs.
GMCF’s influence extends well beyond the Manhattan city limits. The Foundation also serves as a knowledgeable resource for community philanthropy in the region. GMCF has 17 partner organizations from other Kansas communities, and Henricks reports that two or three more will join before the end of 2023. Partner organizations include associates with their own 501c3 status, such as the Wamego Community Foundation and the Clay Center Community Foundation, and a number of affiliate organizations take advantage of GMCF’s investment management, fund accounting and administrative support to sustain local nonprofits. Frankfort, Dover and Marysville along with Geary and Jackson Counties are among affiliate organizations that rely on GMCF’s expertise.
Henricks said this “rising tide lifts all boats” approach is integral to GMCF. When Manhattan offers great support, more people in the area want to make gifts, and more relationships are built. Those relationships not only help GMCF continue to connect problem-solvers and givers with causes, but also enhance a collaborative approach to building the kind of regional capacity that attracts talent.
Smith said the value of an engaged community foundation is difficult to overstate.
“The climate of collaboration between the Chamber, the City, our regional business community, and GMCF is hard to beat,” Smith said. “We all accomplish more when we are able to work together, and although it takes time, everyone is willing to invest that time to get great results.”
Henricks and GMCF look forward to helping the area continue to help businesses and families find what they need in the Manhattan area.
“This is a job where you don’t go to work. You go to solve problems and help others. We’re here to help people," he said. "We want prospective new employers to understand we have arts, trails, recreation, entertainment, sports, social services and education so they can make a conscious choice. If they are a caring leader, they want to take care of employees and their families. At the same time, we want their employees to really enjoy their new lives in Manhattan. That’s what makes our relationship between local philanthropy and economic development so special.”
* The Greater Kansas City Foundation is headquartered in Missouri.
