Southwick House, formerly known as Plumb Place, has been awarded a Capacity Building Grant of $18,000 from the Sunflower Foundation.
In an email to Southwick House earlier this month, the organization was notified of the award. Based in Topeka, Kansas, Sunflower Foundation is a statewide health philanthropy with a mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansans.
The grant falls within Sunflower Foundation’s Capacity Building Program, “Strengthening our Sector: Stronger Nonprofits for a Healthier Kansas.” A record number of applications, over 300, were received in October 2023 for this highly competitive program.
“Capacity building is not just an investment in a nonprofit’s ability to effectively deliver on its mission now and in the future, it’s also an investment in the health of a community,” said Billie Hall, President and CEO of Sunflower Foundation.
Susan Brinkman, Executive Director of Southwick House indicated the funds will be used for website, donor, and board development initiatives among other capacity building activities. “These types of grants are so rare,” Brinkman said, “and the funds are a perfect fit for our continued work to put the foundational pieces into place for Southwick to serve the housing insecure in our community.”
The flexibility of a capacity building grant allows recipients to augment their budgets for meeting structural goals not often covered by traditional granting foundations.
Southwick House board president, Jeremy Dorsey appreciates the many opportunities presented by this grant.
“Southwick House is grateful to the Sunflower Foundation for recognizing the importance of capacity grants to start-up non-profit organizations. These dollars will allow us to create communication channels with community partners, donors, and most importantly with our future residents to ensure safe and supportive housing in our community." Dorsey said.
Executive Director, Susan Brinkman, believes this is a very important grant for Southwick House.
“For 100 years, Carrie Southwick Plumb’s vision to assist women in need has been met in our community. The Sunflower Foundation grant allows us to further our work in building and sustaining supportive housing for women & children for the next 100 years,” Brinkman said.
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