Hometown America

A community recipe for thriving on the Great Plains

story and photography by KELSEY STEMEL

Just north of Prairie Dog Creek, where the Smoky Hills give way to the expansive high plains and amidst a sea of fall sorghum and cornstalks, lies the tightknit community of Norton, Kansas.

Grain trucks make their way to the elevator. People smile and say hello. The local cafe, Destination Kitchen, is bustling at noon. On Main Street, you’ll find a mix of historic buildings standing proud with their modern renovated interiors alongside strikingly bare storefronts. It is the epitome of small-town rural America.

News throughout the Midwest continues to echo U.S. census reports detailing an exodus from western Kansas. The population in most rural western counties reached its peak 50 years ago and has steadily declined as young people fled farms and small towns for the allure of big-city jobs and the promise of greater economic opportunity.

Norton is a resilient community, firmly grounded in its past and keenly focused on the future. The Norton County Community Foundation (NCCF), led by executive director Tara Vance, is changing the exodus narrative, rallying resources and collaborating with state and local organizations and thought leaders to rewrite the playbook on living and thriving in rural American.

“We have to be more creative,” Vance said. “We must be innovative, visionary, and tap into as many revenue sources as possible. We’re fortunate here that the community foundation board has always been thinking outside the box.” It’s a robust model for any foundation.

The NCCF plays many roles in the local community, fulfilling the mission statement, “dedicated to serving today for tomorrow, to make our community a better place in which to live.” In her role, Vance facilitates donor recruitment, she’s a community convener and leader, and she’s working in economic development and legislative affairs to advocate for new jobs and opportunities.

The NCCF has grown from approximately $227,000 in assets when Vance stepped into her role in 2016 to nearly $4 million today, including commercial real estate investments.

The NCCF functions as an investment holding group for community nonprofits. The foundation awarded $212,514 in grants locally in September 2018 to August 2019. Of those funds, $100,000 is pass-through funding from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. “Their thought process at the Hansen Foundation is brilliant,” said Vance. “They empower other foundations to give locally, knowing that the community foundations know their community inside and out. They know what the community needs so they can give where it will make the most difference,” said Vance.

In Norton, the breadth of projects impacted through these grants is extensive, ranging from the Storefront Renewal Project to promoting a family-friendly workplace initiative to expanding public transportation. The foundation has also provided gifts to the Protect Seblius Lake, the largest tourist attraction in Norton county; to local schools, hospitals, and to support community celebrations.

“We are much more than fundraisers,” said Vance. “We are community leaders who bring people together from all areas, extrapolating ideas from everyone, not just CEOs and presidents. We include people from all walks of life in our community who want to make a difference.” The NCCF was invited to participate in the Kansas Community Philanthropy Innovators Network, a pilot project this year spearheaded by the Kansas Health Foundation and Network Kansas to build community capacity to address economic development. The focus of the $820,000 initiative is on building skills of community teams through coaching, technical assistance, economic development, and impact investing. Each participating community foundation has identified short-term action plans and established long

term goals, including revitalizing downtown cores, strengthening local entrepreneurship, and leveraging technology to retain and attract businesses.

“NCCF was chosen because they knew our capacity for work and innovation,” Vance said. “One of the things we’ve identified from our work with KCPIN is the gap in our entrepreneur infrastructure.” Vance and many others see entrepreneurs as the key to both Norton’s future and its past. In Norton, there is a large manufacturing base – one of the reasons the community has remained economically stable over the years. These businesses grew from the ground floor with one or two people and now employ more than 300 people. Manufacturing and big businesses are essential for jobs in rural communities, but there is also a need for mom-and-pop businesses as well. For a region to thrive, there needs to be a healthy mix of entrepreneurs with the capacity to envision what success means for them and their community.

In many ways, the need for diverse businesses and collaboration throughout the community is similar to Fort Hays State, explains Vance. “At FHSU, there’s a culture of cross-collaboration and bringing different people together with different ideas to make big, impactful things happen. Here, we are identifying opportunities and collaborating to grow for the good of the community,” Vance said.

People working together to share ideas, support each other, and meet the common goal of a thriving community is easy to see in Norton. Vance cites the NCCF’s success with impact investing as one of the many innovative ways it has created community excitement and economic growth in Norton. Impact investing provides opportunities for community members to invest resources locally. Instead of participating in traditional investment opportunities, people can put those resources into bringing new businesses to town that need support and capital. It provides an opportunity for

philanthropists to become investors in the business and partners with the community foundation.

The beauty of this model is that many business ventures make sense in a small rural community that maybe don’t look great on a traditional cost-benefit analysis for a bank or traditional lender.

The Heaton Building, in particular, is a quintessential example of foundation and economic development work in rural Kansas. It is a social purpose real estate project envisioned and backed by Gloria and Norman Nelson, with support of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation as well as many community volunteers. It is a marvel of renovation and collaboration well worth a visit and a physical reminder of the success and promise for the future of Norton.

“A successful grant program has touchpoints to all different areas,” Vance said. “Our environment in the Heaton Building makes us a unique creature, giving us visibility, viability, and it provides a constant reminder that we are engaged in the community.”

The Heaton Building was renovated to preserve its historical detail but also includes the modern touch of new materials – such as aluminum stair risers produced at a local manufacturing company and detailed chandleries handmade with reclaimed light fixtures.

Inside the beautifully renovated building are 16 local businesses and organizations, including the NCCF, a coffee shop, massage therapy, chiropractor, law office, retail space, construction office, the Gloria A. Nelson Cultural Arts Center, and more.

When Shopko Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed the doors on the store in Norton this year, the community responded. The NCCF and local community leaders and organizations rallied to support the opening of The Nest in the Heaton Building. The Nest offers clothing, pet food and supplies, sporting goods, gifts, and more. It is an essential business for the sustainability of a rural community.

The Heaton Building will also soon be home to Cozy Co-Working, a collaborative workspace with scalable capacity for 10 to 15 members. The airy, light-filled space in the heart of the town will provide flexible work options, connect local entrepreneurs, and serve as an energetic environment for business growth and peer-to-peer mentoring.

With the success of these many programs, it’s easy to see why other community foundations frequently seek Vance’s advice.

“I’m in the business of building relationships, and I know that matters,” Vance said. “I am passionate about this community and Northwest Kansas. Much of what the foundation does isn’t apparent at the moment, but it is vital for the future. I know a sliver of what the future looks like and it’s phenomenal.”

Vance spent much of this fall on the road, sharing the work and success of the NCCF and inspiring others. Kansas has an incredible support system for rural communities, but there is a challenge in matching those resources with the physical needs of small towns. She is working to facilitate conversations that focus on finding better ways to match resources with the support, intellect, and people that need it most. She wants to empower other community foundations to collaborate and write their own small town economic development success stories on the high plains.