MCCF Awards Grant Checks To 10 Organizations 

Montgomery County Community Foundation (MCCF) gathered Wednesday afternoon to award grant checks to 10 grant recipients in the first grant cycle of 2023. 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 recognized and thanked, for without fund owners, the grants would not be possible. Listed by Area of Interest, the following grants were awarded:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Animal Welfare League, $4,423

AWL relies heavily on their dedicated volunteers. The funds will be used to enhance the volunteer program with new training materials and equipment. In addition, they will purchase the materials needed to install shades on the outside dog runs to provide greater comfort and respite from indoor confinement which will lead to better adjusted, and better behaved animals.

Crawfordsville Masonic Temple Foundation, $24,280

The CMTF board will engage a consultant to assist them in developing a 5-year Strategic Plan for their organization. After board members attended the MCCF Nonprofit Learning Series on Board Governance, they determined this to be the next logical step to take in their growth as a board.

Friends of Sugar Creek, $13,500

Friends of Sugar Creek strives to raise awareness, to protect, restore and promote appreciation of Sugar Creek. By replacing the aging fleet of canoes with ten new Old Town canoes, they’ll be able to continue their robust programming to achieve these goals.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Rainbows & Rhymes Preschool, $9,170

Supporting Strong and Confident Early Childhood Teachers is their professional development plan for the year. This grant will support those efforts by funding Creative Curriculum training, Jim Gill’s training, A Joyous Way to Learn through Active Music Play, along with his music workshop and interactive concert for families.

HEALTh

Crawfordsville Community School Corporation, $12,000

This will provide the schools with three new vision screeners which school nurses will use to provide state-mandated vision screenings. The new machines will provide more accurate results and more efficient screening time meaning less time spent out of the classroom.

North Montgomery School Corporation, $11,400

The funds will be used to address the health and welfare needs of students in a variety of ways. Assistance may be given students for medical, dental, optical and mental health needs. Various health education is provided, including substance abuse resilience for middle and high school students. Funds also help to ensure CPR and AED equipment and training is up to date.

South Montgomery School Corporation, $8,000

Funds will help to address the health and welfare needs of students in a variety of ways, such as medical, dental, vision, and mental health resources. With about 40% of the student population receiving some form of meal or textbook assistance, the schools strive to provide a bridge to access these and other services.

HUMAN SERVICES

Abilities Services, Inc., $7,483

ASI will purchase furnishings and other items to create a sensory room. This is a designated area where individuals with sensory processing disorders, cognitive and learning disabilities, can retreat to, and to process and cope in an ever-changing world around them. ASI expects to see a decrease in behavioral incidents as well as shortened de-escalation time frame for those behaviors.

Habitat for Humanity, $35,000

Building affordable housing is the cornerstone of Habitat’s mission in the Crawfordsville area. Rising costs of building materials have hampered their progress on the current build. These funds will allow them to complete the current project on Binford Street so that an eager new homeowner can get moved in and they can move onto the next project.

Recovery Coalition, $5,340

Funds will be used to cover the cost of training two individuals as Peer Recovery Coaches and will pay three coaches for their work. Once the coaches are trained and in place, they will become a certified Recovery Community Organization. This will make them eligible for other funding sources for the Peer Recovery Coaches’ wages so that this service can continue.

MCCF manages over 240 endowed funds, each established by donors with the desire to make Montgomery County a better place to live. Since 1991, over $27 million in grants and scholarships has been awarded to agencies and students right here in Montgomery County. To learn more about MCCF Grantmaking visit https://www.mccf-in.org/unrestricted-grant-cycle to review the eligibility guidelines and learn about the application process. Direct questions to Cheryl Keim, Grants & Community Relations Director at 765-362-1267 or [email protected].