Two projects undertaken by organizations serving Allen County residents will soon be closer to reality thanks to funding from Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative’s Concern for Community grant program.
Fairview Chapel, a historical building managed by Osage Township and located at the Fairview Cemetery, received $2,500 for a new restroom. The restroom is among the final pieces of an ongoing renovation project at the chapel, which is used by families when a burial occurs at the cemetery.
Meanwhile, Moran-Marmaton/Osage Fire Department received $2,500 to purchase new hoses and nozzles.
“I often say that we’re not in the business of selling electricity, we’re in the business of powering rural lifestyles,” said Mark Scheibe, Heartland CEO. “Part of that is supporting the communities our consumer-members live in and around. This grant program is a great way to do just that.”
The Concern for Community program provides grants of up to $5,000 for capital improvement projects throughout the Heartland service area, which covers parts of 12 counties in eastern Kansas. Capital improvement projects are those that involve investment in structures or equipment that will last for many years.
As a non-profit, member-owned cooperative, Heartland issues capital credits to members each year, but sometimes those credits go unclaimed. Because the money was intended to be returned to the communities from which they came, Heartland’s Board of Directors decided to use those unclaimed funds for community grants and started the Concern for Community program in 2019.
This year, 10 applications out of 26 received were approved for funding by the Heartland board. Heartland distributed a total of $37,000 in Concern for Community grants this year.
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. serves more than 11,000 locations in eastern Kansas. Heartland’s service area includes consumer-members in 12 counties, including Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson.
