By Kallie Sulanke—
MUNCIE, Ind.—Grants totaling $823,084 were awarded from The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County to benefit the community between March and May 2022. Most grants are awarded through permanently endowed funds that benefit our community today and always.
The Community Foundation’s purpose is to contribute to improving the quality of life in Muncie and Delaware County for this generation and generations to come. Quarterly Competitive Grants are awarded to fund projects and programs for which there is a demonstrable community benefit in one of the following areas of interest: arts and culture, community betterment, economic development, education, and human services. The following grants were awarded through the Quarterly Competitive Grants Program:
Awaken, Inc. received $25,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation) to hire a caseworker to provide full-service welcome and integration support to Afghan refugee families newly arrived in Muncie.
Blood N Fire Ministries received $15,044 (from the Linda and Connie Gregory Fund, Jeff and Beth Lang Fund, Jim and Mary Rosema Fund, Jeanne and John Smith Fund, and Faye Wingate Fund) to make mechanical improvements including plumbing, electric, and HVAC at a recently acquired property.
Daleville Community Library received $9,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation, Esther Ball Fund, Mike and Cathy Galliher Fund, and KAKATU Foundation/David and Joanna Meeks Fund) to purchase two new air conditioning units for the north end of the library.
Daleville Community School Corporation received $4,800 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation) to upgrade five automated external defibrillator units within the school corporation.
East Central Indiana Regional Partnership received $5,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation) to support marketing efforts of the 9-county East Central Indiana region, including Muncie and Delaware County, for new business investment and talent attraction.
Innovation Connector received $18,850 (from the Bassett Family Fund, Ontario Systems – Wil Davis and Ron Fauquher Fund, Shafer/Muncie Power Products Legacy Fund, and Gary and Amy Thomas Fund) to support operational expenses and an eight-month promotion plan to highlight entrepreneurs and startup businesses.
Muncie Action Plan received $10,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation) to support operations.
Muncie Civic Theatre received $20,000 (from the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Fund, Charles and Claudia Sursa Unrestricted Named Endowment Fund, and David and Mary Jane Sursa Fund) to upgrade the rigging system.
Muncie Downtown Development Partnership received $25,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation, Gordon and Pam Cox Fund, and MutualBank Charitable Foundation Fund) to offset the costs of operating, marketing, and promoting Muncie and development events that will create community cohesion.
Project Leadership, Inc. received $25,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation, Jane Harrell Buckles Fund, Gordon and Pam Cox Fund, and Faye Wingate Fund) to support the cost of core college and career readiness programming in Delaware County.
Recovery Café Muncie received $10,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation and Jeanne and John Smith Fund) to support a kitchen expansion.
Teenworks, Inc. received $20,000 (from The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation, Stefan and Joan Anderson Fund, Ron and Cheryl Fauquher Fund, Laura Stanley Keppler Fund, and Hamer and Phyllis Shafer Fund) to support the wages of 100 Delaware County teens in the Summer Program as they participate in paid work-learn experiences.
Teachers often have instructional ideas they would like to implement in their classrooms. Sometimes, a lack of funds can prevent them from moving forward. The Robert P. Bell Education Grants are awarded to teachers with innovative ideas, programs, or projects related to a classroom unit or lesson. Grants range from $50 to $600 and support projects designed to stimulate students’ learning. The following grants were awarded through the Robert P. Bell Education Grants Program:
Lance Brand, Delta High School, received $600 for a project titled A Real Heart Connection.
Bethany Clegg, Burris Laboratory School, received $598.12 for a project titled Life Savers in Action.
Courtney Crabtree, Cowan Elementary, received $599.76 for a project titled Multi-sensory Student-Driven Toolkits.
Jenna Eastham, Selma Elementary, received $524.94 for a project titled Planting Happiness in our Community.
Kay Furnish, Burris Laboratory School, received $508 for a project titled Discovering Spring Life Cycles.
Phillip Lobo, Indiana Academy of Science, Mathematics and the Humanities, received $322.70 for a project titled The Ecosystem Next Door: Fostering Local Biodiversity.
Barbara Miller, Yorktown High School, received $348 for a project titled Making It Real: Writing for an Authentic Audience.
Staci Miller, Pleasant View Elementary, received $600 for a project titled Storytelling with Mortimer.
Thirteen organizations were awarded $30,153 in grants from donor advised funds managed by The Community Foundation. Three donor advised grants complemented the quarterly competitive grants program, including $1,000 to Innovation Connector, $6,000 to TeenWorks, and a fully-funded grant of $22,153 to the Bureau of Water Quality for a freshwater mussel propagation facility. The Strategic Grants program of the Foundation also awarded $5,000 to support collaborative grantmaking through the Funders Forum Collaborative.
An additional $549,136 was awarded to nonprofit organizations with designated funds. Designated funds are established by donors or by nonprofits to provide ongoing support for specified organizations.
About the Community Foundation
The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. encourages philanthropy, assists donors in building an enduring source of charitable assets, and exercises leadership in directing resources to enhance the quality of life for residents of Muncie and Delaware County. Since 1985, community members and businesses have helped the Foundation grow our endowment to $80 million. Using the earnings on the endowment, the Foundation distributes grants to nonprofit organizations, including scholarships to support students through post-secondary education. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $63 million to enhance the quality of life of the residents of Muncie and Delaware County.
