Honoring the Past, Investing in the Future: The Story Behind the Hunter Huntsman Fund
For generations, Hunter has been more than a place on the map. It has been home.
It’s where neighbors know one another, where generations of families have grown up and where people have stepped forward time and again to make their community a better place to live.
The newly established Hunter Huntsman Fund is creating a way for that spirit of community to continue for generations to come.
Established through the Solomon Valley Community Foundation, the fund was created to provide a lasting resource dedicated specifically to supporting Hunter, Kansas. As the fund grows, grants recommended by a local Hunter Huntsman Fund advisory committee will support projects and initiatives that enhance the quality of life for residents of the community.
Those projects could take many forms, including infrastructure improvements, economic development, educational programs, preservation of local history and other community initiatives.
At the heart of it all is a simple idea: investing in the future of Hunter.
A Gift Made in Memory
The founding donation to the Hunter Huntsman Fund was made in memory of Larry Cheney, honoring both his life and the community he called home.
Cheney grew up in Hunter and graduated from Hunter High School in 1965. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he returned home and spent years giving back to his community.
He served on the Hunter City Council, served as mayor, was commander of American Legion Post 77 and volunteered as a firefighter. His connection to Hunter became the foundation for a gift intended to continue serving the community long into the future. The hope is that as the fund grows, it will help current and future generations enjoy their lives in Hunter as much as Larry did.
A Fund Built for Hunter
The Hunter Huntsman Fund isn’t designed around one specific project.
Instead, it’s designed to grow alongside the community and respond to its needs over time.
A local advisory committee will help recommend grants from the fund, keeping local voices at the center of decisions about where those dollars can make a difference. Whether that means improving community infrastructure, preserving a piece of Hunter’s history, supporting an educational opportunity or investing in a new idea, the fund creates another tool for residents who want to see their community continue to thrive.
“Although the town of Hunter has declined greatly in the past twenty years, community members and alumni are working together to retain the services we have,” said Lucille Heller, co-chairman of the Hunter Huntsman Fund Advisory Committee. “With the help of both, we have been able to create the Hunter Huntsman Fund for future projects and activities. We are appreciative of the foundation creating this type of Field of Interest Fund, for our local people to administer and care for the needs of our community.”
The fund’s organizers chose to establish the Hunter Huntsman Fund with Solomon Valley Community Foundation because they believed in the power of local philanthropy and wanted to ensure gifts made today would be managed responsibly for the future.
Through that partnership, the fund has a permanent home and the opportunity to continue benefiting Hunter for generations.
Giving Back to the Place That Gave You So Much
The story of the Hunter Huntsman Fund is about more than one donation or one person.
It’s about what can happen when people decide the future of their community is worth investing in. A gift made in someone’s memory can help improve a park. It can preserve a piece of local history. It can create an educational opportunity. It can support an idea that hasn’t even been imagined yet.
And as more people contribute, those individual acts of generosity can grow into a lasting resource for an entire community.
For the Hunter Huntsman Fund, 2026 is focused on building that foundation so the fund can begin producing dollars for community improvements and projects in 2027. The goal isn’t simply to raise money. It’s to create something Hunter can rely on year after year.
Because honoring where we’ve been can also mean investing in where we’re going next.
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