MCCF Celebrates 2020 Grant Recipients

It was a beautiful day at Pike Place as we gathered grant recipients, donors, and friends to congratulate all of our 2020 grantees! Guests enjoyed treats from 1832 Brew and the Warehouse Bakery during our "socially-distanced" celebration.

The program began with Cycle 1 grant recipients, who were unable to be recognized in March. A total of $136,112 was awarded to eight organizations in a variety of areas. They are as follows:

ARTS & CULTURE

• Sugar Creek Players received $50,208 for a new roof on the theater building, one new furnace and three air-conditioning units.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

• Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County received $18,476 to upgrade 10 outdoor dog runs with concrete pads and new fencing; install an outdoor power supply; purchase three computers, an additional workstation, and storage shelving.
  
• Wayne Township Community Improvement received $7,500 to compete the construction of a monument to the old Waynetown School, including new sidewalk and flagpole.

EDUCATION

• New Hope Preschool received $6,948 for classroom equipment and supplies so that they could add 10 preschool seats in existing space.
  
• North Montgomery School Corporation's Early Learning Academy received $11,340 for student scholarships for four-year-old students, specifically those with risk factors detrimental to academic and social/emotional success.

HISTORY

• Montgomery County Cultural Foundation received $21,235 to install a new smoke/fire detection and alarm system at the Rotary Jail Museum.

HUMAN SERVICES

• New Beginnings Child Care received $15,000 for to offer scholarship to families qualifying for free and reduced lunched, according to CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program), and to those with temporary need.
  
• Trinity Mission received $5,405 to support its Family Ministry program. Topics include Intervention, Word View, and Conflict Resolution. Confident Kids will also be offered to children to support them through change.
  
  

MCCF CEO Kelly Taylor then explained to the crowd that as the pandemic hit in the springtime, the MCCF Board of Directors acted quickly to set aside funds to establish the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. That, along with additional contributions from individuals, resulted in $216,719 being awarded to 19 agencies with a focus on these areas of need: Food Insecurity, $104,060; Child Care, $21,420; Human Services, $47,710; and Health, $43,529.

Knowing agency's budgets would be hard hit for many reasons….closures, no admission fees, no rentals, increased need for services, less capacity due to distancing requirements, etc., requests for Operating Support as related to COVID-19, were invited. Grant cycles 2 and 3 were combined and agencies were allowed to apply for both Operating Support and for Program/Project support.

At about the same time, Montgomery County United Fund received Emergency Relief Funds form Lilly Endowment, Inc. and IN United Way for funds to address the operating needs of human services agencies as related to COVID-19. We are grateful for the partnership that formed as together, we sought to address the needs in our community. Heather Shirk, representing MCUF, joined us for the presentation. 

For the final grant cycle, MCCF awarded $348,736 to fifteen local organizations. They are as follows, by area of interest:

ARTS & CULTURE

• Athens Arts, $5,791 to support a National Juried Exhibition in the spring of 2021. The National Endowment for the Arts publications "How Art Works" shows the benefits of making art highly visible in communities.
  
• Athens Arts, $11,000 in COVID-19 Operating Support. This will offset shortfalls in fundraising and giving and will be used for salaries, utilities, rent, programming and marketing.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 

• Crawfordsville Masonic Temple Foundation, $6,900 in COVID-19 Operating Support to offset lost revenue from cancelled events. This will cover utilities and required building safety upgrades.
  
• Crawfordsville Masonic Temple Foundation, Matching Grant Opportunity of up to $30,000 to replace the roof on the temple and related repairs to the building. For every $1.50 raised, MCCF will award $1.00, up to $30,000.
  
• Darlington Forever, Inc. $19,700 for repairs to the Darlington Covered Bridge, which has spanned Sugar Creek for over 150 years, and closed to vehicular traffic in the 1970's. One of the few remaining covered bridges in Indiana, it was posted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
  
• Waveland Strong, $4,000 for new basketball goals at the Waveland Park, along with more letters for the letter board so that they may better promote community events.

EDUCATION

• Crawfordsville Adult Resource Academy, $6,136 in COVID-19 Operating Support to complement their award from MCUF. These funds will provide for hot spots and data plans for the new equipment which will be available to support remote learning.
  
• Fuzzy Bear Preschool, $60,126 to replace the roof and two furnaces and air-conditioning units on the Paths to Quality, Level 3 facility located in Ladoga. It serves nearly 100 children ages 6 weeks old to 10 years old.

HEALTH

• Montgomery County Free Clinic, $21,752 to establish the Doemel Extended Services Fund, to be used for patients' dental and medical needs that the Clinic cannot provide. It will also help fund some marketing materials.

HISTORY

• Montgomery County Historical Society, $5,000 in COVID-19 Operating Support. The funds will be used to offset admissions and fundraising losses, to cover payroll and utility expenses for the operation of historic Lane Place.
• Montgomery County Historical Society, $10,000 to address compromised trees on the grounds of the historic Lane Place.
• Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society, $50,000 for the restoration of a section of the brick wall that surrounds the grounds of General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, a National Historic Landmark.

HUMAN SERVICES

• Servants at Work (SAWS), $3,600 to construct and install three wheelchair ramps for Montgomery County residents. Volunteers donate all of the labor.
• Sunshine Vans, $21,272 will provide the matching funds needed for an INDOT grant for two new vans, as well as radios, and related equipment for each.
• Women’s Resource Center, $6,500 for medical supplies and support for their Great Expectations program that provides expectant parents with much needed items like diapers and car seats.

YOUTH

• Achaius Ranch, $16,460 to support The Harmony Project, stage one in developing a trauma-informed, attachment-focused program aimed at helping students become resilient who are struggling academically, socially and emotionally, due to adversity and trauma at home.
• Boys & Girls Club, $40,000 in COVID-19 Operating Support. This will offset the loss of Afterschool Revenue and Indiana Kids Revenue and prevent an increase in fees. The funds will be used for payroll, utilities, and supplies.
• Youth Service Bureau, $30,500 for program support for CASA, which provides a volunteer advocate for every child who is a victim of abuse/neglect; Child Abuse Prevention program which provides community education for both youth and adults; Inspire, a group-mentoring program for girls needing additional support and guidance; and JUMP, a community based mentoring program, much like Big Brother/Big Sisters Programs. 
  
  

Heather Shirk and Brian Campbell, representing MCUF, awarded eleven grants totaling $201,936 to:

• Boys & Girls Club, $45,000 for Operations
• Crawfordsville Adult Resource Academy, $29,626 for Operations and equipment
• Dusk to Dawn Bereavement, $10,600 for Operations
• Fuzzy Bear Preschool, $3,000 for Equipment, capital improvements
• Family Crisis Shelter, $30,000 for Operations
• New Beginnings Child Care, $7,260 for Operations
• Pam’s Promise Transitional Housing, $18,450 for Operations
• Sunshine Vans, $17,500 for Operations
• Women’s Resource Center, $7,000 for Operations
• Youth Service Bureau, $26,500 for Operations and Programs
• Youth Service Bureau, $7,000 for Equipment
  
  

After the last grants were presented, Kelly and Cheryl Keim invited Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton and Parks and Recreation Director Fawn Johnson to the stage. Recently an anonymous donor came to MCCF offering to renovate the Kathleen Steele Park located on West Main Street, and situated to the back of Youth Service Bureau. In collaboration with the City, the donor will contribute $350,000 to improve the park with new play equipment, new basketball court, shade structure, seating, fencing, and landscaping. Mayor Barton was thanked for partnering with MCCF on the project that will begin in just a few weeks, with completion expected by June.

In wrapping up, Kelly thanked the donors who have made the grants possible and commended the nonprofits for the ways in which they persevered, adjusted, and pivoted to meet the challenges of the pandemic. “They took our phone calls, and used their limited resources and creativity to partner with us to get needs addressed in the community. We are so proud of their dedication and work,” she said. She shared a quote from Fred Rogers from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” It has been easy to spot the helpers in our community.

MCCF's Vision statement is "to be a proactive leader facilitating strategic philanthropy and inspiring creative collaboration in the community." That is exactly what we witnessed yesterday in Downtown Crawfordsville. Our celebration ended with all of the grantees gathering onstage for a photo with the final amount awarded, which was just over $1.2 million! We are excited to see the impact these funds will have on Montgomery County. View more photos from our celebration here.