Ellis County Legacy Fund

Goal: $100,000.00

Specific Need

Our goal is 200 donors for the Ellis County Legacy Fund because when more people give together, the impact reaches farther. Each year, Ellis County organizations bring forward meaningful ideas to strengthen education, community spaces, services, and quality of life, yet the need for grant funding consistently exceeds what is available. As Heartland Community Foundation’s unrestricted granting fund for Ellis County, the Legacy Fund provides flexible support that can respond to the county’s greatest needs and most promising opportunities. When the fund grows, the amount available for grants grows too—allowing more local projects to move from vision to reality, year after year.

Mission

Profile

The Ellis County Legacy Fund is Heartland Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment for Ellis County. Gifts to the fund are invested for long-term growth, and grants are awarded from the earnings—not the original gift—allowing the fund to support the community year after year.

Because the fund is unrestricted, grants can respond to Ellis County’s greatest needs and most promising opportunities as they arise. This flexibility allows support for a wide range of community priorities, from education and youth programs to nonprofits, community spaces, arts, and emerging initiatives.

Each gift to the Ellis County Legacy Fund is combined with those of other donors—neighbors past and present—creating a shared resource that has a greater impact than any single gift alone. As the fund grows, so does the amount available for grantmaking, ensuring Ellis County has a reliable source of support today and for generations to come.

View our 2025 annual report at www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.

2025 Heartland Community Foundation grant recipients included these agencies service Ellis County: Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Cancer Council, Catholic Charities, CASA of the High Plains, Child Care of Ellis County, City of Hays , City of Hays Parks, City of Hays Police, Comeau Catholic Campus Center, Community Foundation of Ellis, Company 5 Firefighters, Ellis County Historical Society, Ellis Kids Wrestling, Ellis Public Library, Ellis USD 388, First Baptist Church of Hays, First Call for Help, FHSU, Fort Hays Tech | North Central, Grow Hays, Habitat for Humanity, Hays Area Bicyclists, Hays Area Children's Center, Hays Arts Council, Hays Community Theatre, Hays Dog Park, Hays High School, Hays High School Athletics Hall of Fame, Hays Public Library Foundation, Hays Recreation, Hays Senior Center, HaysMed Foundation, High Plains Mental Health Center, Holy Cross Charities, Humane Society, Jana's Campaign, K-State Extension, Leadership Hays, Lovegrass Music Festival, Oktoberfest Hays, Play Hays, Sgt. Scott Heimann Memorial Fund, St. Fidelis Church, St. Joseph Parish, STEM Harvest, The Arc of Central Plains, The Bricks in Downtown Hays, The Society of Friends of Historic Fort Hays, TMP-Marian, United Way, USD 388 Childcare Center, USD 432 Victoria Grade School, USD 432 Victoria High School, USD 489, USD 489 Foundation, Victoria City Fire & ECFD Company 4, Victoria Community Coalition, Victoria Recreation , Women Who Lead