TOPEKA – Sunflower Foundation supported and hosted the first session of the Kansas Association of Community Foundations 2025 Learning Collaborative Series, which aims to help community foundations across the state with capacity building, technical assistance, skill building and peer learning opportunities.
KACF members came to the Sunflower Nonprofit Center in Topeka on Feb. 11 to network, learn from each other and listen to presenter Steve Alley, managing partner with EAC & Associates of Tucson, Ariz., speak about building sustainable community foundation business models and the fundamentals of asset development. EAC & Associates works with philanthropic organizations around the world.
The day before presenting to KACF members in Topeka, Steve gave the same presentation to community foundation leaders in western Kansas during a session at Garden City Community College.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of KACF, which provides high-quality programs, resources, and services in support of community foundations across the state. As KACF states on its website, community foundations often use their endowments to support initiatives related to health, childcare, education, housing, and economic opportunities.
Sunflower Foundation acknowledges the role community foundations play, said Kelli Mark, Sunflower’s director of Healthy Communities.
Community foundations are on the front lines and often are charged with responding first to issues that arise in their communities, Mark said. Community foundations also are important partners with local nonprofits, and Sunflower would not be as effective in its grantmaking without its partnerships with community foundations, she said.
The next sessions of the three-part Learning Collaborative Series, scheduled for May 12 at the Sunflower Nonprofit Center in Topeka and May 29 at Garden City Community College, will feature Laura McKnight, Kelli Cavey and Matt Darling of Embolden. They will be presenting on planned giving, working with professional advisors, donor stewardship and having “meaningful conversations” with target audiences.
The final session of the series, which will be held virtually from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 14, will feature Steph Balzar, of EAC & Associates, speaking on the fundamentals of storytelling, the stories foundations should tell and how to use those stories to enhance development efforts.
The learning collaborative series is open to and free for all current KACF members.
