Fairy Godmothers
Once upon a time, a group of Manhattan-area women had a dream of helping other women in need. In 2006, to make the dream come true, several women established the Fairy Godmothers Funds at the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. There are five funds: the Endowed Fund, Grants Fund, Operating Fund, Hand Up Grants (HUG) Fund, and the Fairy Grateful Fund.
Grants are made to meet local women's immediate and critical needs that are not being met by other local services.
Mission
Provide flexible monies to improve the health and well-being of Manhattan, KS women with limited resources who have immediate needs not met by traditional funding resources within the community.
“Visualize our community being made up of patio stones. Nonprofit agencies such as Salvation Army, Emergency Shelter, Crisis Center, Big Lakes, Shepherd’s Crossing... each a stone.
They cannot be all things to all people. Therefore, there are cracks that are not filled.
These cracks became apparent in 2006, and women were falling through the cracks.
The fix: a group of very dedicated women began the Fairy Godmothers fund. Because we are not funded by federal, state, or local agency dollars, FGM gets to make our own rules ourselves and adopt bylaws that give us great flexibility.”
- Polly Stoeckline, 2006
The Fairy Godmothers provide grants of up to $800 to local women needing assistance with vehicle repairs, dental care, minor home repairs or maintenance, and other expenses.
In 2018, the organization launched another assistance program: The Hand Up Grant (HUG). The HUG is a needs-based, one-time financial assistance grant meant to provide assistance to a woman who is accepted or enrolled in a course or courses at Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan Christian College, Bellus Academy, or K-State Global Campus. The applicant should have a personal goal of financial independence or job advancement through education. The first HUG recipient, Jennifer Garrett, is a single mother who received a Hand Up Grant to pay for the final semester of her Registered Nursing degree program. According to Garrett, “This has been HUGE in my life. I can’t wait to be a Fairy Godmother and give back by helping others.”