COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF HOWARD COUNTY AWARDS GRANTS

Non-profit organizations awarded more than $333,400 in 2018

Dec. 27, 2018 -- The Community Foundation of Howard County has awarded $184,129 in competitive grants during the second half of 2018. Combined with the first half total of $149,358, this brings the total of competitive grants awarded to more than $333,400 for the year.

“These grants are made from our unrestricted community endowment funds,” said Joe Dunbar, chairman of the Community Foundation of Howard County Grants Committee. “For a limited time, we are in a match period that will increase our grantmaking capabilities by building our endowment assets.  For every $1 given to our community endowment unrestricted funds, Lilly Endowment Inc. will provide a $2 match. What a great opportunity to have your giving increased and support the services and programs provided by nonprofits that are so important to our community.”

The following agencies and programs were awarded grants from community endowment unrestricted funds during the second half of 2018:

$4,750 to Advantage Housing provides support to purchase a used forklift for use at the warehouse.

$2,500 to Area V Agency on Aging and Community Services provides initial support for a Howard County Area Five Adult Guardianship VASIA Program. The program provides volunteer guardianship services to ill and at-risk adults. This includes health care decisions, social service planning, improving safety, well-being, and overall quality of life for seniors and incapacitated adults.

$1,000 to Aspire Indiana will provide partial support to the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance benefits counseling program. Trained coordinators assist persons with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits to determine the effect that employment earnings will have on their benefits and help to identify possible resources in the client's pursuit of employment.

$15,000 to Carver Community Center will be used to expand the First Lego League program for middle school youth, implement a volleyball program, photography equipment for middle and high school 4-H students, tablets to implement and expand technology coursework, and membership management tracking software.

$12,000 to City of Firsts Automotive Heritage Museum will be used to partially fund an interpretive museum master plan for the proposed home of the museum in the downtown Kokomo Convention Center. 

$3,600 to Friends of Howard Haven will help purchase and install nine security cameras for the Howard Haven Residential Care Facility. 

$7,693 to Gilead House will be used to install security cameras in the front and back of the building, lobby, hallway, kitchen, pantry, gym, laundry area, meeting rooms and TV room. Safety improvements will also include a network video recorder, a paging intercom system and an access control time keeping system.

$6,000 to the Greentown Glass Museum will be used for new carpet, paint and labor to update the museum.

$100,000 to Indiana University Kokomo provides a matching grant for the Student Activities and Event Center campaign. The center will serve a variety of functions, including academic programming, intra-murals, office space for coaching staff and a large reception area that will allow IUK to host lectures, concerts and job fairs.

$3,000 to Ivy Tech Foundation provides partial support for the "Doing the Dream 2019" program. The 2019 program presenter is Kenneth Morris.  He is a descendent of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, and is president of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) organization.  FDFI has been a leader in implementing human trafficking prevention education.

$5,586 to Kokomo School Corporation will provide funding to purchase cots for Howard County children attending the Head Start Program. Students from the five Howard County schools will benefit from the new cots and support the children's physical and mental well-being.

$14,000 to Servants at Work will be used to build wheelchair ramps for 14 disabled people in Howard County who are living with both a financial and physical need. All work is completed by volunteers from Howard County.   

$1,500 to Taylor Community School Corporation will be used to start a mentoring program for third and fourth grade students. Taylor High School students will be trained as mentors. Taylor Middle School students will also be provided with communication, organizational and time management skills. 

$7,500 to the Town of Russiaville for the Russiaville Park and Tree Board will be used to add visual amenities to the town’s recreational trail. Grant money will be used to help purchase distance markers, tree identification tags and brackets, interpretive signage and artwork. 

The Community Foundation of Howard County Inc. was formed as a not-for-profit public charity in March 1991. The Foundation seeks to serve donors and make grants to benefit the citizens of Howard County.  For more information about the Community Foundation, contact Greg Aaron at (765) 454-7298 or greg@cfhoward.org. The website cfhoward.org contains information about making gifts to endowment funds, scholarships and grantmaking.