The Kanokla Forever Fund: Investing in the Future of Our Rural Communities

Jill Kuehny
Oct 29
2 min read

As a member-owned cooperative, Kanokla believes success is measured not only in the connections we build, but in the communities we strengthen. Since our founding in 1951, we’ve proudly invested in the towns and people we serve—supporting education, local development, and projects that improve quality of life across our region.

To ensure this legacy continues for generations to come, Kanokla’s Board of Directors has established the Kanokla Forever Fund, a Community Development Fund structured as an endowed Field of Interest – Donor Advised Fund. This fund will grow in perpetuity, providing long-term support for the same programs we have supported for decades: scholarships and community development initiatives. By separating our benevolent giving from regular operations, we are reaffirming our cooperative commitment to self-fund and expand the long-term impact of our shared success—building stronger rural communities together.

Kanokla is uniquely positioned to reinvest directly into our own communities, leveraging our broadband infrastructure investment which already sparks incentives to live in our beautifully sparse areas. The Kanokla Forever Fund will allow us to make meaningful, difference-making investments that empower local leaders and support community-defined priorities – each with its own needs, goals, and opportunities.

Community development is one of our core cooperative principles.

The Kanokla Forever Fund will help us tackle some of the biggest challenges our small towns face—aging infrastructure, declining populations, and the need for matching dollars to unlock state and federal programs. The fund will expand our current program to help fund grant writers, fill gaps, and pursue local initiatives that keep our communities vibrant. And it will help us support projects that spark renewal—revitalized downtowns, strong schools, and more opportunities for families who want to call rural Kansas and Oklahoma home.

Broadband has already eliminated the need for many to commute—people can now live and work wherever they choose. Our fiber-fed Little Gig Cities are robustly connected for future generations, built with resiliency and capacity to withstand the test of time. The next step is helping our communities leverage this connectivity to attract residents, incent housing development, grow families, and create opportunity.

In Kanokla country, rural truly means rural-- the places we call home: our communities and the farms and ranches between. While national definitions of “rural” may vary, we know what it means to live deeply rural. And we are committed to ensuring these small, vibrant communities not only survive—but thrive.

Through the Kanokla Forever Fund, we aim to remove the barriers of “too small to make progress” or “too small to compete.” Together, we’ll change the narrative for the next generation—so they can find their way back home, build families, and live their best lives in our beautiful rural towns and the farms and ranches between.