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More than $100,000 awarded to Putnam County nonprofits
The Putnam County Community Foundation has awarded grants totaling $101,931.77 at its semi-annual Grant Awards Breakfast.
The event, sponsored by Autumn Glen Assisted Living and Old National Bank, was held Friday, Dec. 5 in the Community Room at Area 30 Career Center, and included breakfast catered by Almost Home.
Executive Director Elaine Peck greeted the gathering of 70 attendees, announcing that the grants were made possible by forward-thinking donors to the Community Foundation's unrestricted and field-of-interest endowments, which allow the Community Foundation to respond to changing needs and aspirations in Putnam County.
Peck also announced that Lilly Endowment has made $500,000 available in matching challenge funds in its GIFT VI initiative. The funds are to be used to match dollar for dollar any donations to new or existing unrestricted endowments at the Community Foundation. When successful, the Community Foundation will have up to an additional $45,000 per year for unrestricted grantmaking for the benefit of Putnam County.
Dean Gambill, Foundation director of community development, invited representatives of unrestricted endowments and Grants Committee members to present checks to the Putnam County organizations receiving awards.
Three different types of grants were awarded -- Community Grants, Endowment Builder Grants and Youth Philanthropy Grants. Each has its own application and requirements.
Community Grants awarded totaled $80,386.77. The fall 2014 Community Grants recipients are:
| -- Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church Risk-Taking Mission to increase scope of Transformers (poverty reduction) Programs, $8,000 per year for three years. |
| -- Greencastle Presbyterian Church SAWS Program to build ramps for persons with terminally ill persons, $15,000. |
| -- Putnam County Public Library to purchase a 12-workstation mobile technology classroom, $8,500. |
| -- Johnson Nichols Health Clinic to upgrade and replace outdated equipment, $7,086.77. |
| -- Reelsville/Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department to replace outdated self-contained breathing apparatus, $6,050. |
| -- Greencastle Community Schools to implement a bullying prevention week, $5,000. |
| -- Cloverdale Community Housing to replace old windows with energy efficient vinyl windows, $5,000. |
| -- South Putnam High School to provide equipment in fitness room for community use, $5,000. |
| -- Greencastle Community Schools to reinvigorate the ceramics program at Greencastle middle and high schools, $4,500. |
-- Beyond Homeless to provide mental health services for homeless clients, $4,000.
| -- St. Andrew's Episcopal Church's Putnam County Non-Food Pantry to provide essential non-food items for the needy, $4,000. |
| -- Putnam County Museum to support the preservation and protection of collections through staff training and climate control systems, $2,750. |
-- Putnam County Giving Tree to provide Christmas presents for needy families, $2,500.
| -- Tzouanakis Fitness Fanatics to purchase supplies to reinstate the Fitness Fanatics program at Tzouanakis Intermediate School, $2,000. |
| -- Putnam County Public Library to collect digital copies of significant Putnam County historical and genealogical records, $1,000 . |
Endowment Builder Grants awarded this spring totaled $20,000. To qualify for an Endowment Builder Grant an organization must establish or have an existing endowment with the Community Foundation and submit a fundraising plan for growing the endowment. The Community Foundation matches one dollar for every two dollars that the organization raises.
The four Endowment Builder Grants approved this fall are:
-- Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars, $12,500.
-- Greencastle Civic League, $5,000.
-- Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District, $1,500.
-- Heritage Preservation Society, $1,000.
Youth Philanthropy Grants awarded totaled $545. The grants are for youth-led community service projects.
The Fall 2014 Youth Philanthropy Grant recipients are:
| -- Cloverdale High School FFA/Student Council Toy Drive providing toys, hats and gloves to needy children at Christmastime, $300. |
| -- Cloverdale Church of the Nazarene Ethan Boyd Eagle Scout Project to construct "little library" boxes to be placed in the Cloverdale community, $245. |
Established in 1985, the Putnam County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity dedicated to enriching the quality of life and strengthening community in Putnam County.
For more information about unrestricted endowments and Lilly Endowment GIFT VI matching program, persons may contact Foundation Executive Director Elaine Peck at 653-4978 or epeck@pcfoundation.org.