The KACF Conference Committee
- Sandi Fruit
Committee Chair
Central Kansas Community Foundation - Angie Baur
Central Kansas Community Foundation – Butler County - Janie DeVore Gillis
Coffeyville Area Community Foundation - Theresa Hearn
Derby Community Foundation - Lynette Lacy
Supporting expert
KL Connections - Sharon Long
McPherson County Community Foundation - Aubrey Abbott Patterson
Hutchinson Community Foundation - Christy Tustin
Co-Chair
Golden Belt Community Foundation - Troy R Unruh
Western Kansas Community Foundation
The KACF Annual Conference is the place for community foundation connection and reflection. It’s an opportunity to learn, but it is also a space outside our daily work to celebrate just how far we have all come.
We kick start the conference with the legendary Lew Feldstein, former President of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and a world-renowned author who will deepen our thinking about social capital and community foundations.
We close with a performance by Voices of Nature from Canada and their Kansas partners that will present an inspirational model for educating kids and community on ecology, sustainability, and physical activity using arts and music.
The diverse concurrent sessions of various levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced will cover topics in
- asset development and sustainability
- programs
- marketing
- finance and technology
- governance and leadership
- public policy and advocacy
- legal and National Standards
This Conference boasts national speakers including Bryan Clontz, Kelly Shipp Simone, Diane Miller, Community Foundation Insights, Henry Bromelkamp and JT Mullen, regional speakers from the Department of Commerce, Kansas Leadership Center, Kansas Health Foundation, and many of your peers and other experts from Kansas and neighboring states.
It’s not all work, there is time for fun at the Ice-cream Social and at the KACF Annual Meeting dinner – following up on your feedback – we’ve planned for more networking and longer breaks.
We have also added a new feature “Doctor is in Consultation” for you to talk one-on-one with the Council on Foundations experts. A session on day 1 will offer opportunities to discuss your legal questions or concerns. On day 2, you will have a chance to talk about matters related to National Standards.
With six concurrent sessions to choose from, it takes more than one person to take in everything the KACF Conference has to offer. That’s why so many community foundations have seen the value of bringing their entire team, including staff, board members and other volunteers to the event.
The conference is also a great board development opportunity. Board members who attended last year’s conference commented that they not only learned a lot, they enjoyed networking with other board members.
Do not keep this event a secret, share it with your networks of people who might benefit from this opportunity designed to bring you practical sessions to help your foundation thrive, best practices and models to strengthen your community, thought provoking speakers to boost new ideas, and an opportunity to engage with and be inspired by your Kansas community foundation peers as well as experts and practitioners from other States.
The Kansas Association of Community Foundations has received a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation for this Conference. The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information visit the Kansas Health Foundation.
