MCCF Grant Awards

Montgomery County Community Foundation (MCCF) gathered Wednesday afternoon to award grant checks to nine grant recipients in the first grant cycle of 2022. MCCF Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Taylor welcomed everyone and thanked the nonprofit leaders for the work they do in our community. Fund owners in attendance were also thanked and recognized, for without fund owners, the grants would not be possible.

Listed by Area of Interest, the following grants were awarded:

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

New Hope Preschool, $9,561 – Using a portion of their Build Learn Grow fund, New Hope Preschool will replace their aging play structure. These funds will be used to add a tricycle path around the new centerpiece structure, along with tricycles, a sand and water table and an equipment storage cart.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Animal Welfare League, $8,920 – The Funds will be used to replace damaged kennel gates and locks, replace the water softener, and purchase two micro chip scanners for the Animal Control Officer’s vehicles.

Crawfordsville Masonic Temple Foundation, $40,000 – Examples of neo-classical architecture such as this local structure, constructed in 1901, are rapidly disappearing. In an effort to prevent this from happening here, these funds will be used to restore 87 exterior windows in the Masonic Temple. With these and other planned restoration and repair efforts, the historic building will continue to serve our community for many years to come.

Walnut Township Community Organization, $5,149 – This all volunteer organization takes on many community events for the town of New Ross and surrounding area such as an annual Valentine’s Dance, Easter Egg Hunt, Hometown Fish Fry, Community Day, Candy Corn Carnival, and the Jingle Bell Jamboree. Events require a lot of supplies and props, which need to be stored from year to year. These funds will be used to purchase and install a new storage barn for this purpose.

HEALTH

Crawfordsville Fire Dept., $7,664 – Project Swaddle connects paramedics with at-risk mothers and their babies to provide quality care through OB physician extension and social services during the pregnancy and post-partum. These funds will be used to purchase a variety of baby-care items for mothers targeted at health and safety, such as cabinet locks, outlet covers, stove knob covers, baby monitors, pacifiers, thermometers, etc. Last year 40 mothers and 33 babies were served.

Montgomery County Free Clinic, $50,000 – The Dr. Mary Ludwig Clinic offers high quality medical and dental care and preventative health services to those who lack health insurance, and would otherwise go without basic health care. The funds will be used to hire an Executive Director to ensure the continued growth and sustainability of the organization.

North Montgomery School Corporation, $15,575 – A portion of the funds will be used for the medical, dental, vision, and mental health needs of students in need as well as new AED equipment. In addition, HALO vape and aggression detectors which alert administrators immediately to these behaviors will be purchased and installed in rest rooms as a way of deterring these harmful activities.

History, Arts & Culture

Art League of Montgomery County, $2,425 – The art league owns several paintings by local artists from the late 1800’s. The paintings are in need of restoration and repair. These funds will cover the cost of cleaning and repair of seven paintings. Once cleaned and repaired, they will be on display at the Crawfordsville District Public Library for everyone to see and appreciate.

Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society, $5,000 – The Carriage House, part of the National Landmarks site, serves many critical needs for the Lew Wallace Museum. The building is showing signs of deterioration. In order to determine a plan for restoration and rehabilitation, a full architectural and engineering study is needed. These funds will leverage the LWPS’s own dollars along with a grant from Indiana Landmarks.

These MCCF Field of Interest Funds made the grants possible: Drs. Paul and Mary Ludwig Fund, Herbert, Genevieve and Marian Morrison Fund, Faye O. and Anna Winter Schenck Fund, Joseph D. Smith Fund, and the Paul and Irmingard McKinney Fund. Along with the following MCCF Unrestricted Funds: Paul and Heather Barajas Fund, Community Fund, Hank and Nancy Coyle Fund, John and Betty Culley Fund, Irwin Lee Detchon Fund, Ron and Trudy Dickerson Fund, Earl F. and Ruby B. Elliott Fund, Leland and Dolores Epperson & Family Fund, Larry and Susan Griffith Fund, Jack and Joyce Grimble Fund, M. Gaildene and Stan Hamilton Fund, Roberta Hudson Fund, Brian and Cheryl Keim Family Fund, Amy McFerran Fund, Phil and Judy Michal Fund, Dale and Linda Petrie Fund, and the Torey and Bethany Rauch Fund.

MCCF manages over 240 endowed funds, each established by donors with visions of making Montgomery County a better place to live. Since 1991, over $25 million in grants and scholarships has been awarded to agencies and students right here in Montgomery County. A second opportunity for grants will take place this fall. Visit https://www.mccf-in.org/unrestricted-grant-cycle to review the eligibility guidelines and learn about the application process. Questions may also be directed to Cheryl Keim, Grants & Community Relations Director at 765-362-1267 or [email protected].