"We are no longer your grandfather's community foundation because when community foundations started, they were basically philanthropic granting organizations," Elizabeth Weese, executive director of the Community Foundation of Dickinson County, tells the Hutchinson News. "But that has changed."
That's because the foundation has set aside $500,000 of its own funds for its Invest Dickinson County Program, which is investing in the economic development of the county.
The foundation is guarantor on a $200,000 bank loan to the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad for a track upgrade and on a $200,000 loan to Soleyah Brittian, owner of Hapisoul Cafe and Juicery, which was in need of a loan to open.
"We would have been unable to put the ties in and probably not have operated this year, so basically it was a lifeline that we needed and they were able to help us make that happen," says Ross Boelling, general manager of the railroad.
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