By: Kallie Sullanke, Community Engagement Officer, The Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County—
Muncie, Ind. – Funders in Delaware County have come together to pool knowledge, experiences, and resources to make a collective impact on a current issue in the community. The Funders Forum Collaborative awarded $38,000 to three Delaware County organizations at the end of 2019 to support programs that address drug-use prevention and recovery in our community.
Centerstone received $6,500 to develop mobile play therapy kits for school-based counseling services. Centerstone provides mental healthcare and addiction treatment services in our community. Through their school-based counseling services, Centerstone currently serves 300 Delaware County children in 13 school buildings. The mobile play therapy kits include therapeutic games, books, and toys that encourage children and their parents to engage with the clinician. The items in the kits are used to help children and parents process memories and share problems and experiences as they work on their treatment plans.
Muncie Mission received $15,500 for a recovery community that provides transitional housing for graduates of their residential treatment program as they return to independent living. Through this funding, Muncie Mission will make the needed preparation to expand transitional housing into the neighborhood blocks adjacent to their campus. Relapse rates for former Mission residents have run as high as 80 percent. Since adding housing options, 88 percent of graduates in transitional placements have maintained their sobriety. The availability of an attractive place to live surrounded by a supportive network of staff and accountability partners supports positive long-term results.
Urban Light Community Development Corporation received $16,000 to support the Urban Lighthouse Recovery Home. Urban Lighthouse directly serves up to 15 women per year who are seeking residential addiction treatment. This grant will allow Urban Light CDC to increase program staff, make improvements and safety upgrades to the housing facility to qualify for certification by the Indiana Affiliation of Recovery Residences (INARR), purchase additional program materials such as books, study guides, and drug screens, and provide residents with necessities during the program and aid with successful re-entry.
As early as 1997, the Funders Forum convened as a way for local funders to discuss community issues and hear from non-profit organizations about their programs and services. Since then, the group has evolved to include collaborative grantmaking. Members with the Funders Forum Collaborative include Ball Brothers Foundation, George and Frances Ball Foundation, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Delaware Advancement Corporation/Muncie Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, First Merchants Corporation, Indiana Michigan Power, Harry and Janet Kitselman Foundation Fund, Kiwanis Club of Muncie, Maxon Foundation Fund, Muncie Altrusa Foundation, MutualBank Charitable Foundation, Office of Community Development – City of Muncie, Old National Bank Foundation, Psi Iota Xi, Rotary Club of Muncie, Hamer and Phyllis Shafer Foundation, Tri Kappa, United Way of Delaware County, and the Sherman and Marjorie Zeigler Foundation.
Through an examination of common funding priorities and community needs, the group identified programs that address drug prevention and recovery as a focus. Organizations were identified by the Funders Forum Collaborative and invited to submit proposals.
Applications to the Funders Forum Collaborative are accepted by invitation only.
