What happened to the KC Strong funds? Here’s when Chiefs rally victims will get payments

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Victims wounded in a spray of gunfire at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally will begin receiving payments from a special fund at the end of June, charity organizers said.

The KC Strong fund was established three months ago by the United Way of Greater Kansas City in partnership with the Chiefs. By the time the donation page closed on April 30, the fund had reached $1,870,111, with the proceeds awarded to some of the victims of the mass shooting.

Violence prevention organizations and first responders will also receive some of the money.

Organizers said more than 100 people contacted the KC Strong fund through an email, seeking assistance for physical injuries and emotional trauma.

The United Way worked with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to verify who would be eligible.

They reviewed police reports, spoke with victims and witnesses, and verified medical records.

“The process has taken some time just because of the magnitude of what transpired,” said Kera Mashek, a United Way spokeswoman. “But we feel really good about where we are today and that this process has been dealt with in a really responsible way.”

On May 1, shooting victims verified through the prosecutor’s office were given claim forms to fill out and return to the United Way by May 15.

Shooting victims claiming funds

Shots rang out outside of Union Station on Feb. 14 as the Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally was wrapping up. As the crowd began to disperse, two groups of armed men argued about “why they were staring at each other,” prosecutors said. They then pulled out guns and opened fire, prosecutors alleged.

A melee ensued.

Elizabeth “Lisa” Lopez-Galvan, 43, was killed, and 22 others suffered gunshot wounds. Several others were hurt in a stampede.

Three men and three juveniles have been charged.

Several of the surviving victims say they continue to suffer physical and emotional trauma. KC Strong funds would help pay outstanding medical bills, some lost wages and other expenses.

Mashek declined to say how many victims made KC Strong’s final list of beneficiaries.

The United Way will release the number of recipients as well as organizations that receive grants from KC Strong in a July report, she said.

Initially, anyone who was harmed in any way was encouraged to reach out for assistance from the fund. Later, organizers limited eligibility to those who were shot.

Those victims were the easiest to verify through medical records and the police investigation, Mashek said. She also said $1.8 million raised through the fund would help a limited number of people.

“It sounds like a lot of money, but when you have surgeries, multiple days hospitalized, lost wages for those who were out of work … it can add up,” she said.

Emily Tavis was one of those victims who applied for help. Tavis shared her story with The Star the day after the shooting.

The United Way confirmed Tavis was one of the injured.

Tavis said she was asked about the extent of her injuries, when and where they happened, and how the injuries have affected her life.

She was asked to list her losses — health care costs, mental health care, lost wages, pain and suffering — for lawyers to determine how much money she was entitled to.

“I took that question very seriously,” Tavis said. “Because I’m someone who likes to dig deep about emotions, and I answered very honestly.”

Tavis, 32, recounted the day when she and her family were celebrating their favorite team and gunfire rang out mere yards away.

She wrapped her arms around her 7-year-old son to protect him, and frantically looked around for her 14-year-old stepson who had fled.

It was later on when Tavis realized she, her husband and her stepson had all been shot.

Her husband, Jacob Gooch Sr., 37, has been out of work since the shooting, recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. He planned to return to work after 12 weeks, but doctors extended his physical therapy to June 15.

Tavis has been able to work, but emotional scars remain. And on May 10, a doctor’s visit revealed her calf wound had become infected.

Her stepson, Jacob Gooch Jr., has healed well and the bullet that went into his foot is still there, Tavis said. She said doctors chose not to remove it.

But hospital bills have been piling up, especially since Tavis was without health insurance at the time of the shooting.

“I was leaving one job and going to the next,” she said. “My insurance from my new job finally kicked in, and then I found out about the infection.”

Tavis said she hopes the KC Strong fund will help her family pay her medical debt and other expenses.

How were victims verified?

The United Way worked with its legal advisers to create claim forms that helped verify who would be eligible for the financial assistance.

They verified the victims by taking witness statements, interviewing victims and reviewing medical records. Prosecutors cross-checked those findings with the criminal investigation.

The prosecutor’s office provided the United Way with a list of shooting victims, Mashek said.

“We wanted to be really careful about how we undertook this process and to arrive at a really good verified victim list,” she said.

“And work through a legal process as well to determine the amount of money people would be awarded, because we (the United Way) are not experts in what someone’s lost wages are worth, for example,” Mashek said.

Mashek said she does not remember anyone making a false claim for KC Strong funds.

Many of those who initially reached out for assistance were determined to be ineligible because they claimed an injury other than a gunshot wound. Suspects charged in the shooting were also ineligible.

United Way did not notify those who were determined ineligible.

Victims were verified while Kansas City police investigated the mass shooting. Prosecutors said it was one of the largest criminal investigations the agency has undertaken.

“It’s not surprising that it takes time,” said Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. “This is not that unusual with what’s being done, but what’s unusual is that it’s so large. There were so many people involved, so many people to talk to and so many things to check.”

Mansur said it took a lot of resources and time to ensure the accuracy of the claims.

“We see victims every day who have a multitude of problems that have been put on them at no fault of their own,” he said. “So, it’s good that the community can reach out to support victims in this case.”

What will the KC Strong funds pay for?

The KC Strong funds will be distributed to victims and their families, gun violence prevention programs, mental health services and first responders.

Lawyers are expected to work through June 25 to figure out how much money each victim will receive.

“We had no anticipation or idea of how much money would be raised, so we didn’t know what we could commit in terms of how much dollars or what percentages would go where,” Mashek said.

On June 26, the United Way Board of Directors will meet to sign off on payments to victims and grants to community organizations and first responders.

Payments will be issued starting June 27.

Victims were given a choice for how they would be paid. Most chose a bank-to-bank transfer, and some will receive a paper check, Mashek said.

The United Way does not require certification of how the funds will be used by the victims. The organization trusts that the money will help make up for the losses victims listed on their claim forms, she said.

“As part of our core belief in trust-based philanthropy … we know they will be using the dollars to be made whole from costs incurred as a result of the shooting,” Mashek said.

Chiefs, players among top donors

Among some of the top donors to KC Strong were the Kansas City Chiefs. The team, the Hunt Family Foundation and the NFL made a combined donation of $200,000.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, through their 15 & the Mahomies Foundation also donated $50,000. Several Kansas City businesses and organizations followed their lead and donated tens of thousands of dollars.

Several Chiefs players promoted the cause, including a mention on the podcast “New Heights” with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason, who retired from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mashek said through the KC Strong campaign, the United Way connected people who were in a time of need to other community resources.

Some people were out of work with injuries and planning payments on large medical bills. By way of 211, a 24/7 resource help and referral line, community partners helped meet needs like rent and utility bills.

Even though the process to get victims financial help from KC Strong has taken months, Mashek said she was encouraged that they could meet people’s immediate needs, too.

“At the end of the day, people in the community were giving us very large sums of money; we had a donation (of $250,000) that came in a week before (the fund) closed,” Mashek said.

“So when you have entities in the community that are giving gifts of that size, we have a great deal of responsibility to ensure that all of those dollars are being (spent) in the best way possible,” she said.

While Tavis and her family have been recovering, they experienced something similar where they live in Leavenworth.

People brought them cash and gift cards and took donations to help pay bills while her husband was out of work. For about four weeks, the family did not have to buy or cook any food. Their meals were just provided for them.

“I didn’t ask for anything, you know, all these people just gave,” Tavis said.

Tavis, who made the United Way’s final victim’s list, isn’t looking forward to taking antibiotics for her infected calf.

But she is thankful for the things that have made life a little easier. The promise of relief from KC Strong is one of many on that list.

“It’s going to really help secure us some relief for the future,” she said.