Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative’s Concern for Community Program

Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative’s Concern for Community Grants program is designed to support capital improvement initiatives throughout the cooperative's service area. This grant opportunity reflects Heartland's longstanding commitment to community enrichment and sustainable development. The program aligns with the cooperative's broader mission of providing value beyond electricity by reinvesting unclaimed capital credit retirement checks back into the communities it serves. The grants provide funding of up to $5,000 per project and are intended to address capital needs that enhance community infrastructure, educational institutions, and civic organizations. The program specifically focuses on categories including county fairs, schools, non-profit organizations, and other community-benefiting projects within or surrounding Heartland's service area. Projects eligible under the “county fairs” category should pertain to infrastructure enhancements that are typically outside the scope of conventional fair sponsorships. School projects must be part of capital campaigns for facilities that offer direct benefit to Heartland's consumer-members. Non-profit organizations must similarly demonstrate that their capital campaigns address education, the environment, culture and arts, or community development. Applications for the 2025 cycle open on June 1 and close on July 31. The application process is competitive and involves a multi-phase review. Initial scoring is conducted by Heartland staff, after which the highest-scoring applications are submitted to the Heartland Board of Directors for final selection. Award decisions will be made in August, and grant checks will be disbursed in September. Emphasis is placed on projects that demonstrate collaboration and receive support from other funding sources, in keeping with Heartland’s sustainability-oriented values. Funding for the Concern for Community Grants is sourced exclusively from unclaimed capital credit retirement checks, not from cooperative revenues. This ensures that community investments through the grant program do not impact electricity rates or member allocations. The use of these funds for grantmaking was authorized by the Board of Directors as a means to redirect otherwise idle financial assets into community-building activities. The grant is not rolling and follows a defined annual cycle. While no information was provided indicating formal pre-application requirements, Q&A periods, or letters of intent, applicants are encouraged to complete their submissions by the July 31 closing date. Interested parties may contact Doug Graham at (620) 724-5526 or via email for further assistance. The program is only available to eligible entities operating within Heartland’s service area, and it is not open to applicants outside this geographic boundary. Projects must clearly demonstrate their potential to positively impact Heartland consumer-members. The emphasis on capital improvement projects means that general operating expenses or programmatic funding are unlikely to be supported through this opportunity.