News Releases

Public vote will determine three winners for grants up to $10,000

Kansas City, Mo. - March 16, 2026 – Evergy selected 10 finalists from a record number of applications for the 2026 Connecting for Good Hometown Grants Program. The finalists are now up for public voting through Evergy’s Facebook page. The three agencies with the most votes on Evergy’s original post will receive up to $10,000 each to support a project or program for their organization.

This year’s Connecting for Good Hometown Grants will support a new or expanded project or program for organizations that focus on providing basic needs to the community. Examples include, but aren’t limited to, food insecurity, housing, hygiene products and bill payment assistance. The one-time grant is geared toward expanding capacity or special projects outside of normal operations.  

Online voting will take place March 16 – 25. Evergy will announce the three Hometown Grant recipients on March 31. Finalists and their projects are:

• ICT Food Rescue, Wichita, Kan.: The Food Recovery Program links surplus food to neighbors in need.
• Child Advocacy & Parenting Service, Inc., Salina, Kan.: The Family Mentoring Program provides comprehensive, professional support for overburdened families.
• Urban League of Kansas, Wichita, Kan.: The Community Teaching Program connects families to knowledge, resources and food.
• St. Joseph Safety and Health Council, Inc., St. Joseph, Mo.: The Ready, Set, Safe! Program provides free essential home and utility safety items to households across the Evergy service area.
• Sedalia – Pettis County Unted Way Inc., Sedalia, Mo.: The United to Help Our Neighbors Program provides housing assistance to families to prevent homelessness.
• Just Food of Douglas County, Inc., Lawrence, Kan.: The Cruising Cupboard delivers free food across the county, connecting residents to nutrition.
• reStart, Inc., Kansas City, Mo.: The Family Lodge will provide essential supplies to families during their shelter stay.
• Care Cupboard Hygiene Pantry, Parsons, Kan.: The Hygiene for Hope Program connects families to hygiene, dignity and stability through community care.
• Urban Produce Push, Kansas City, Mo.: The Powering Produce: Cold-Chain Reliability Kits for Community Food Parters Program keeps rescued produce fresh from pickup to pantry so families can count on it weekly.
• Junior League of Topeka, Topeka, Kan.: Period Packs for Period Poverty are feminine hygiene packs that are assembled and distributed to community organizations for those in need.

We encourage people to go to Evergy's Facebook page to vote for the winners. Voters can “like” the photo of their organization of choice for it to count as a vote. The three projects with the most “likes” as of 5 p.m. March 25 will win.

Evergy’s Hometown Grants is a competitive grant program and is just one way Evergy supports our customers and communities. Additionally, Evergy provides about $7 million annually to local nonprofits and offers customers with an array of face-to-face support, bill payment and energy savings resources.   Customers can visit our Energy Assistance page to find the best option for assistance.