By Kallie Sulanke—
MUNCIE, IN – The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County awarded $3,802,620 in grants and scholarships utilizing various strategies to enhance the quality of life for the residents of Delaware County, Ind. Most grants are awarded through permanently endowed funds that benefit our community today and always.
Through the Community Grants Program, nonprofit organizations were awarded $1,537,921 in a highly competitive year. Grants are awarded to address the broad needs of Muncie and Delaware County in arts and culture, community betterment, economic development, education, and human services. A full list of grants awarded through the Community Grants Program can be found at cfmdin.org/news/2023grants.
The Community Foundation received 68 requests for Community Grants this year, totaling more than $2.2 million. A committee of local volunteers reviews each application and makes grant recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Community Grants are awarded through The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation, named unrestricted funds, discretionary field of interest funds, committee-driven field of interest funds, and donor-advised funds.
Additionally, The Community Foundation oversees targeted programs for additional competitive grantmaking. The Land Conservation Grants Program awarded $152,035 for land acquisition and conservation projects. Local K-12 teachers and educators were awarded 19 grants totaling $7,988 to support creative and innovative classroom projects through the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grant Program.
The Strategic Grants program of the Foundation funds programs and projects designed to impact specific, strategic focus areas determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. This year, with a focus on strengthening the housing stock in Delaware County, Muncie Land Bank was awarded a $30,000 grant. The grant will support the Revolving Improvement Fund, specifically the purchase and initial improvements of abandoned properties for homeownership opportunities, especially for Pathstone Corporation’s HARP Program participants. Strategic grants are awarded through the Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation.
The Community Foundation also invests in backbone organizations for the community through proactive grantmaking. In 2023, Nonprofit Support Network, a supporting organization of the Foundation, was awarded a $55,000 grant to support operations. Delaware Advancement Corporation was awarded $100,000 to support Vision 2027. A new Resiliency Grants Program supported institutional strengthening and capacity building for three organizations totaling $25,000.
The Community Foundation also continues to convene the Funders Forum Collaborative, a regular meeting of community funders who gather for shared learning and collaborative grantmaking. This year, through the Funders Forum Fund at The Community Foundation, the Funders Forum Collaborative awarded a total of $53,500 to support the professional development and retention of early childcare workers to Delaware County BY5 Early Childhood Initiative, Huffer Memorial Children’s Center, and United Day Care.
The Foundation manages funds designated to the mission of specific organizations or causes established by donors or by the organizations the fund benefits too. These permanently endowed designated funds provide ongoing support for the benefiting organizations through designated grantmaking. Grants from designated funds total $1,004,404 in 2023.
Scholarships, grants designated for higher education, totaled $299,418 for 2023 and were awarded to graduating seniors from local high schools and current college students to support post-secondary education.
In addition to the above grantmaking, The Community Foundation partners with donors who seek active personal philanthropy by managing 32 donor-advised funds. Donor advisors recommended $545,070 in grants this year rounding out grantmaking for 2023.
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 $88 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 nearly $65 million to enhance the quality of life of the residents of Muncie and Delaware County.
