At your Community Foundation (Truman Heartland Community Foundation) we celebrate the generosity of our fundholders. Our new record for total grants to hundreds of nonprofit organizations and scholarships to students in our community totally blew the doors off our previous record last year.  The total in 2025 is $18 million compared to $8.4 million in 2024, more than double. 

Grantmaking

We had some extraordinary grants made this year - grants of a lifetime -  from several of our Donor Advised Funds. Grants from our Donor Advised Funds totaled $10.3 million compared to $4.5 million in 2024. 

More than 1,800 separate grants were made from these Donor Advised Funds, and every one of them tells a story about the passion a fundholder has for a nonprofit and their compassion for those served by the organization.  The generosity of our Donor Advised Fund holders is truly inspiring. 

Scholarships

We set a new record of $970,000 in scholarships to area students compared to $828,000 in 2024. These 516 scholarships from 175 scholarship funds will enhance the education opportunities of the 392 students who received scholarships. We look forward to surpassing the $1 million scholarship milestone in 2026, with applications now open on our website. 

People in our community who have a passion for education and compassion for those who can use some support to achieve their educational dreams made this possible. Their generosity is truly inspiring. 

New Fundholders

We are pleased that we added 42 new funds in 2025 and welcome these new members to our foundation family. We also had 6 families join our Heartland Legacy Society by including their charitable fund at the Foundation in their estate plans. It’s our pleasure to work with these families (now totaling 209) to enable them to leave a legacy through their charitable giving.

Board of Directors

I am also very grateful for the members of our Board of Directors and our 4 Advisory Boards for all their support and efforts this year. These volunteers are crucial to our work, and we could not accomplish our goals without them. At our December Board Meeting, a new 5-Year strategic plan was approved that I will share more about in a future column. It’s an exciting time for your community foundation. 

As we look forward to 2026, I hope that the care and concern that our foundation family has for the community inspires others to be generous. And we can work together to build a stronger community through compassion for our neighbors. Happy New Year!