The Sunderland Foundation — an 81-year-old private Kansas City philanthropy which in January announced its intention, by 2030, to gradually give away or “spend out” a significant portion of the $1 billion held in its charitable coffers — has given $2 million to Hope Faith, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Kansas City’s homeless population.
The gift of the unrestricted funds — the foundation has placed no conditions on how or on what the money can be spent — is the largest gift received by Hope Faith in its 22-year history.
‘Front door’ for the most vulnerable
Located at 705 Virginia Ave., Hope Faith’s homeless assistance campus is frequently seen as the first line of care for homeless people in Kansas City. It is a non-barrier shelter that, each day, provides both men and women hot meals, showers, eyeglasses, clothing, haircuts, laundry, mail services and, in the winter, beds at night, as it also connects them with longer-term mental health counseling, substance abuse programs, employment and housing services.
“It’s amazing,” Doug Langner, the executive director of Hope Faith, said Friday of the gift. “We are the front door for some of the most vulnerable people in Kansas City — those that you see on the street, holding the sign, living in a tent, not knowing what their next days will look like…