2013 First Quarter Competitive Grants Awarded

Free Press Report

MUNCIE, IN - The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. has announced that 19 grants totaling $382,196 have been awarded to local nonprofit agencies and groups in the Foundation’s first competitive grant cycle of 2013.

The grants are awarded in five areas of interest:  arts and culture, human services, economic development, education, and community betterment.

First quarter grant recipients include:

• A Better Way Services, Inc. received $35,000 (from the Jeanne & John Smith Fund and the Bassett Family Fund) to provide crisis services including a 24-hour suicide hotline, advocacy for sexual assault victims, and shelter and support to victims of domestic violence and their children.
• Animal Rescue Fund received $6,000 (from the Faye Wingate Fund) to defray the cost of spaying/neutering pets of low-income families and for the vaccination of dogs and cats in ARF’s care.
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters received $6,000 (from the Gordon & Pam Cox Fund) to support and expand the reach of its one-to-one mentoring services by recruiting, screening, training and supporting new volunteers who will be matched to children on the waiting list.
• Boys and Girls Club of Muncie received $10,000 (from the Hamer D. & Phyllis C. Shafer Fund) to defray the cost of programming during the school year as well as summer programming at Heekin Park in collaboration with the city of Muncie and Muncie Parks and Recreation Department.
• Daleville Community Library received $4,000 (from the Louisa & Waldo Beebe Named Fund) to defray the cost of hardware and software upgrades for staff and library patron use.
• Delaware Advancement Corp. received $100,000 (partial funding from the Economic Development Fund, John & Janice Fisher Fund, Mary Kate Pingry Fund, Joseph & Janet Wilson Fund, Jane Harrell Buckles Fund, and Charles & Claudia Sursa Fund) to implement the Vision 2016 Economic Development Plan, which seeks to create 2,000 primary income jobs.
• Delaware County B5-Early Childhood Education Initiative received $50,000 to defray the cost of the developmental phase of a multi-year project which will foster the development of Delaware County’s children to ensure full preparation for kindergarten.
• Habitat for Humanity received $30,000 to carry out five home rehabilitation projects in 2013.
• Ivy Tech Foundation, Inc. received $50,000 (from the Ball Community Betterment Fund and Edmund F. & Virginia B. Ball Fund) to support Ivy Tech’s capital campaign to provide a high quality learning environment.
• LEAD-ECI, Inc. received $3,000 (from the Martin & Helen Schwartz Fund) to defray the cost of scholarships for the staff of nonprofit organizations to participate in the Emergence Leadership Program. 
• Motivate Our Minds received $20,000 (from the Morris Youth Fund) to defray the cost of supplemental academic programming and to provide scholarships for students at Motivate our Minds.
• Muncie Alliance for the Prevention of Self Abuse (MAPA), Inc. received $5,000 (from the Stefan & Joan Anderson Fund) to defray the cost of roof repairs in the organization’s transitional home.
• Muncie Civic Theatre Association received $30,000 to defray the cost of the restoration of the organization’s historic building.
• Muncie Symphony Orchestra received $6,000 (from the KAKATU-David & Joanna Meeks Fund) to defray the cost of the 2013 Festival on the Green, an annual festival celebrating arts and culture in the Muncie community.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana received $10,000 (from the Gordon & Pam Cox Fund) to defray the cost of providing donated food and grocery products to food insecure residents of Delaware County through member agencies and the Tailgate Program.
• Women in Business Unlimited, Inc. received $3,000 (from Mutual Federal Foundation Fund) to allow 100 women from local nonprofit agencies to attend the 2013 Catalyst for Empowering Women and a pre-event seminar on business etiquette. 
• Yorktown - Mt. Pleasant Twp. Community Library received $3,000 (from the Mutual Federal Foundation Fund) to implement a new wireless printing system and self-serve printing kiosk for library patrons.
• Youth Opportunity Center received $11,196 to defray the cost of the After School Arts Program, an initiative that collaborates with Cornerstone Center for the Arts, Goldspace Theater, and Zumba instructors. The program exposes youth to the arts while developing self-confidence and pride.

In addition, the following grants were awarded by the Kitselman Fund, a donor advised fund administered by The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc.  Harry and Janet Kitselman were residents and civic leaders in the Muncie community.  Per their wishes, the Kitselman Fund was created to award grants for the good of the people of Muncie and the surrounding community.  Grants are awarded in the areas of fine arts, recreation, children, and the history of East Central Indiana. 

• Cornerstone Center for the Arts received $15,000 to defray the cost of programming support for the organization’s Art Education Program, including scholarships for underserved families to participate in arts classes.
• Delaware County B5-Early Childhood Education Initiative received $7,000 to defray the cost of the developmental phase of a multi-year project which will foster the development of Delaware County’s children to ensure full preparation for kindergarten.
• Muncie Parks and Recreation Department received $20,000 to purchase a heater for Tuhey Pool, thereby allowing the pool to have a longer swim season.
• Muncie Symphony Orchestra received $10,000 to defray the cost of the 2013 Festival on the Green, an annual festival celebrating arts and culture in the Muncie community.
• Youth Opportunity Center received $15,000 to defray the cost of education and wellness classes to approximately 160 residents on campus for a six-week period during the summer.

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. is a publicly supported philanthropic institution governed by a volunteer board of local citizens.  The Foundation manages contributions donated by individuals, businesses and corporations as a permanent community endowment.  Distributions from these funds are given back to the community in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations and agencies.  To date, over $35 million has been awarded to enrich the lives of the residents of Muncie and Delaware County.

The next application quarterly competitive grant application deadline is April 13, 2013.

Grant guidelines and applications, as well as post-grant reports, are available online at www.cfmdin.org.  For more information, contact Suzanne Kadinger, Community Foundation Program Officer, at skadinger@cfmdin.org or by calling 747-7181.