Honoring the legacy of Harvey Kay “Coach” Shank, his family established a charitable fund in his memory to benefit the Russell County area. Kay was a beloved teacher and administrator at Russell High School USD 407 for 25-years. He taught mathematics, coached and held the position of athletic director. Kay was honored as Kansas Boys All-State Coach of the Year and shared the title of Russell County Man of the Year. The highlight of his coaching career was leading the boys Russell Broncos basketball team to a 1979 4A State Championship. Kay’s years as an algebra and geometry teacher inspired many students to pursue careers in education and mathematics fields, and his guidance and determination to succeed influenced scores of student athletes. Kay was a beloved family man and avid community volunteer, serving on the Russell Public Library Board for several years.

Kay’s willingness to inspire generations of students to achieve their dreams has resulted in the Kay Shank Fund which will provide annual income to USD 407 Russell Jr/Sr High School for athletics and mathematics. Grants from this fund will ensure Coach Kay’s inspirational legacy continues to make a difference, forever.

Interested in adding to the Kay Shank Fund? Tax-deductible donations can be made at any time at www.rcacf.org or by contacting the Russell County Area Community Foundation at 785.445.3611.

The Russell County Area Community Foundation is accepting applications for spring grants. Online applications are due Sunday, March 30. This year, $50,000 is available for charitable community improvement projects within the Russell County area. This cycle will fund local community projects that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Programs and projects that address education, health care, community social services and security, conservation and environment, arts and culture, and community beautification.
• Projects that improve the health and well-being of children living in the Russell County area.
• Programs and projects that aid students enrolled in preschool and grade school in Russell County who need assistance in order to obtain their education.
• Programs and projects which directly benefit the students of the Russell schools and which would not be considered a normal or necessary budget item for basic education.
• Programs that benefit public health and safety.

Funding for the spring grant cycle is provided by the Dane G. Hansen Community Grant Fund, the Kansas Health Foundation, the Helen A. Hampl Student Aid Fund, the Russell Schools Apple Seed Fund, and the Russell Area Health Fund.

Nonprofit organizations including government and public entities, educational institutions, and churches are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on March 30. Complete funding criteria and the grant application are available at www.rcacf.org under Grants.

Thanks to a generous outpouring of contributions, the Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF) raised $109,707 in November, setting a new match month record. With matching gifts from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and Patterson Family Foundation, this will result in $279,707 to the community foundation for permanent endowment building and local grant-making.

“We live in a very generous area where so many friends and neighbors wish to support each other. Our goal was to raise $70,000 for the betterment of our communities and we are enormously grateful that so many local donors, business and government entities shared this vision to invest in Russell County. This helped us not only to meet our bold match month goal but exceed it,” said Angie Muller, RCACF Executive Director.

Monies raised will support the Fund for a Better Russell County Area, a permanent endowment that is the foundation’s community grant fund. The fund allows RCACF to make impactful grants to support the arts, education, park development, hunger relief, downtown revitalization, historical preservation, local music festivals, public safety, recycling and community clean-up, the hospital, libraries and more throughout Russell County area.

“We greatly appreciate the investment in Russell County by our partners at the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and Patterson Family Foundation who provided matching incentives,” said Muller.

Since Match Month began nearly a decade ago by the generosity of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, more than one million dollars total has been raised and invested in RCACF to widen community grant-making.

RCACF is celebrating 23 years of service in the Russell County area. As an affiliate of the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation, a tax-exempt 501c3 public charity, we join a collective of area community foundations aimed at increasing philanthropic giving in rural Kansas.

Our mission is to help donors leave a charitable legacy to improve our communities. Today, the foundation has more than 80 charitable funds created by donors for a variety of causes to make the Russell County area stronger. Funds come in all sizes. If you would like to create a charitable fund to ensure the things that matter most to you continue in the Russell County area, please contact RCACF Director Angie Muller at 785.445.3611 or visit rcacf.org.

The University of Kansas School of Business highlighted the success of RCACF’s $100,000 SPARC grant to Russell Regional Hospital to retain dental services in Russell County. We love it when community organizations come together to do good. Thank you, KU, for the shoutout and for your support in helping rural Kansas thrive.

The latest edition of Northwest Kansas Today magazine is stellar and tells the story how community foundations are offering residents an opportunity to help charities today and leave a legacy for tomorrow. Read about the Dean and Betty (Balloun) Boxberger Family Fund, our $100,000 grant to Russell Regional Hospital to retain local dental services, RCACF’s amazing scholarship program, and our cooperation with Russell USD 407 to make Russell Jr/Sr High School a state-of-the-art welding and CTE (career and technical education) center. Thank you, Dane G. Hansen Foundation, for the shout out and for partnering with community foundations in Northwest Kansas to make rural communities a great place to live.

The Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF) has awarded $79,195 in grants
to support a broad range of community projects, including the arts, education, recreation
and historical preservation.

“This grant season highlights the important role the foundation serves in helping Russell
County area communities thrive. To help us increase grant-making in future cycles, we
encourage people to give to our ongoing November Match Month campaign, where
donations are matched up to 300% and monies stay local to support the Russell County
area,” said Angie Muller, RCACF Director.

Funds available through RCACF are the result of generous donors and regional funders
since establishment of the foundation in 2001. Today the foundation holds $26 million in
endowments used to fund scholarship and community projects. Grant applications
typically span projects involving community revitalization, school education, cultural arts,
economic development, and quality of life.

The Russell County Area Community Foundation is pleased to award these grants to
organizations that benefit the Russell County area. Funding comes from the Kansas Health
Foundation Children’s Fund, Kansas Health Foundation Public Health Fund, and Dane G.
Hansen Foundation.

Crosspoint Church
Daycare Project, $5,000

Deines Cultural Center
ADA Front Door, $1,000

Lucas Public Library
Programming Support, $1,000

Russell Arts Council
Dream Theatre Marquee, $15,000

Russell County Historical Society
South Side Little Town Expansion, $8,595

Russell Community Thanksgiving
Community Celebration, $500

Russell Recreation Commission
Infield Renovation, $44,600

USD 407
3D Printer, $3,500

Applications for the next grant season open February 1 and close March 30. For more
information, contact Angie Muller, RCACF Executive Director, at 785-445-3611 or
[email protected]

The Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF), an affiliate of the Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation, is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Russell Area Youth Activities Fund. The fund was founded by John and Michelle Farmer on September 30, 2009 to help Russell area youth with a financial need participate in extracurricular activities, such sports, performing arts, visual arts, and literacy programs.

Over the years, the fund has helped hundreds of students afford athletic equipment, participation fees, sports uniforms, music, art and acting lessons as well as instrument rentals, camp fees and clinics. Primary consideration is given to pre-teen age children. Students with a financial need can apply for a grant at rcacf.org.

“The Russell Area Youth Activities Fund ensures everyone has a place on the team or in the school band. The fund has helped a generation of kids explore athletics and the arts, opening the door to new friendships and the thrill of learning something new. We are thankful to John and Michelle for doing good in the community that they love,” said Angie Muller, RCACF Director.

When you leave a gift to the community foundation, your life’s work and what you care about most live on forever, creating your legacy. The Russell County Area Community Foundation was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all residents in the Russell County area by encouraging philanthropy and providing a vehicle for donors to support their charitable interests.

We help donors create funds of all sizes directed at your favorite charitable purposes. Gifts to the community foundation are tax-deductible. If you would like to contribute to Russell Area Youth Activities Fund or create a fund of your own, please contact Angie Muller, RCACF Director, at 785-445-3611 or visit www.rcacf.org.

The Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF) is pleased to honor Russell County News reporter and photographer Albert Lin on the thirtieth anniversary of his journalism career in the Russell County area. RCACF Vice Chairman, John Farmer, IV, recently presented Albert with a leather portfolio to commemorate this milestone.

Albert has spent his career writing stories about the Russell County area and its people. In doing so, he’s brought us closer together in community and compassion for each other and made us realize that living in Russell County is special. The community foundation especially appreciates everything Albert has done to encourage philanthropic giving and show how giving back to others always makes a difference.

Thank you, Albert! You are one of the things we love about the Russell County area.

The Russell County Area Community Foundation (RCACF), an affiliate of the Greater
Northwest Kansas Community Foundation, is pleased to announce the establishment of
the Dean and Betty (Balloun) Boxberger Family Fund.

Honoring the legacy roots of Dean and Betty (Balloun) Boxberger, their family have
established a new charitable fund to benefit the Russell County area. Dean and Betty were
both born in Russell. After a 7-week courtship, they were united in marriage on May 16,
1954, in St. John Lutheran Church. From this union, they were blessed with five sons;
Matthew, Mark, Thomas, Timothy and Scott.

Dean and Betty shared 69 years of married life together. They loved the land, farmed and
ranched. Together, they were involved in church, 4-H, and volunteering, setting an example
for their sons of love of community and service. Grants from the fund will ensure that Dean
and Betty’s faithful stewardship continues forever to support their favorite charitable
causes in Russell County and beyond.

“The community foundation’s mission is to help families like the Boxbergers leave
charitable legacies. Their family has lived in Russell County for generations, doing good in
the community they love. This charitable donor advised fund will ensure that the causes
Dean and Betty loved the most will continue to be supported,” said Angie Muller, RCACF
Director.

When you leave a gift to the community foundation, your life’s work and what you care
about most live on forever, creating your legacy. The Russell County Area Community
Foundation was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all
residents in the Russell County area by encouraging philanthropy and providing a vehicle
for donors to support their charitable interests.

We help donors create funds of all sizes directed at your favorite charitable purposes. Gifts
to the community foundation are tax-deductible. If you would like to contribute to the Dean
and Betty (Balloun) Boxberger Family Fund or create a fund of your own, please contact
Angie Muller, RCACF Director, at 785-445-3611 or visit www.rcacf.org.