Flint Hills Regional Council

Goal: $70,000.00

Specific Need

The Flint Hills Regional Council’s goal is to stretch our local dollars further by using donations from Wamego Match Day and for operational costs and applying these dollars toward grant match requirements for our Economic Development Administration Grant ($70,000) and for annual general operating funds not covered by grants.

Most of our funding comes from restricted grant funding. Your support of the Flint Hills Regional Council not only empowers Pottawatomie County and the region overall, but it also enhances our ability to use your donation for matching dollars. This year, the Flint Hills Regional Council has been managing a total of eight active grants totaling $5M in federal, state, and private foundation funds, which was made possible with only ~$122,000 in members dues!

Our largest challenges are two-fold: 1) We have limited access to funding to meet match requirements; 2) The use of grant funding is significantly restricted, and unrestricted funding is required to meet basic operational expenses.

Active Grants & Projects

This year, Department of Defense Installation Resilience grant assists the defense communities surrounding Fort Riley with Comprehensive Plans, such as the City of Wamego and a regional Table Top exercise with Fort Riley.

The Flint Hills Regional Council serves as an EDA Economic Development District, which enables us to apply for invitation-only/ non-competitive funding through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in support of our region and implementation of our regional economic development plan (CEDS) serving Pottawatomie, Chase, Geary, Lyon, Morris, Riley, and Wabaunsee Counties. The EDA required Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) will be updated in 2026.

In 2024, our Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield grant provided more than $1,500,000 for environmental assessments for commercial property owners interested in revitalizing or selling their property. In 2025 we have worked with USD 322 on their buildings in Onaga to provide an environmental assessment of the buildings in order to assist with future development decisions. In 2025/2026 we will prepare Area Wide Plans for Downtown Onaga and St. George as part of this grant. We also provide Brownfield Cleanup Loans to assist owners with the cleanup of their properties at low interest rates.

In late 2025, we will unveil a new grant award for a Regional Entrepreneur program to serve Pottawatomie County with loans and entrepreneurial services to Pottawatomie entrepreneurs. Stay tuned!

We cannot do this alone! Your Match Day donation would help support our overall operations and mission to enhance economic vitality and improve quality of life in the Flint Hills. The Flint Hills Regional Council exists to collaborate, advocate, and empower communities.

You can help support this important work taking place in our communities with a gift to the Flint Hills Regional Council. Your gift is tax-deductible. Consider donating today to take advantage of the Wamego Match Day benefits so we can stretch our local dollars further and keep applying for additional grant funding!

Please take our comprehensive plan survey here: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fkstate.qualtrics.com%2Fjfe%2Fform%2FSV_6AwM0Xyy7eOJtD8%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgVicmlkETFDeEVHbG5WeVJsOFBxMDJ1c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrrM9GASr8R1fWQpFEnfzrHLwX5jfmp_9vsdDIorGKcBk26Z6Hsr-_iOEM0e_aem_Ry18gXI-6lVSKEiDTtExdQ&h=AUARTJq3JvRlNy_wSaVNBaeIHWGVeQH8j48yCCY_zHga_gLUcWpCwUimmKnSZDyUwPZ48Not14i8HFV_31EdFQl7hF91Qnn1CywVhy_0zhMdRa09S3VYmJqE4dAyCJ2F0t6p9qxfr8kO&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AUCJRECp5InFJbudzugTWuQXB8TIJa8iCJEZAUNqC3GBQcxT4MAP7bAKKl-4fdSs8YrUnSYo2XtaFWvdXAJIQrw2ln8dW1s9UMTZ7Baoz518mNRn918b_m65OmULlUv_Vi--5dEHIC6gq7cYUoRfqcfmCDtE3vKGxxQhE8llUg

Mission

Enhancing the economic viability and improving the quality of life through regional collaboration in the Flint Hills.

Profile

The Flint Hills Regional Council is a voluntary service association consisting of 24 member jurisdictions working in partnership to enhance economic viability and improve the quality of life in Pottawatomie, Geary, Riley, Morris, Wabaunsee County, Chase, Lyon and beyond. The Flint Hills Regional Council brings in millions of external dollars to support our region, with the vast majority of the funding being applied toward projects that directly benefit the region. We serve as an official economic development district, which means we are able to access non-competitive funding from the Economic Development Administration to implement our regional economic development plan.

We also provide community planning, free grant writing, and technical assistance to our member jurisdictions. We understand and value the importance of working collaboratively, as we are stronger together and more effective. Industry markets, workforce, public health, access to healthcare and mental health services, emergency services, and environmental issues do not stop at jurisdictional boundaries. These issues require cooperation and coordination between communities. The Flint Hills Regional Council exist to support the facilitation of collaborative efforts that bring mutual benefit to the region.