4 organizations vie for $100,000

GREENCASTLE -- In February, the Putnam County Community Foundation announced the availability of up to $100,000 for creative charitable projects or programs that would make a significant difference to the entire county in the areas of economic development or education.

Called "Envision 2011," the grant opportunity inspired four organizations to submit applications for funding.

The Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center submitted an application to create and support local entrepreneurs.

Partners would be Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, Greencastle Project Ignition, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, DePauw University, and Indiana Small Business Development Center.

Program elements consist of entrepreneurship training, entrepreneurship grants, entrepreneurship internships, entrepreneurship marketing and a Buy Local marketing effort.

The City of Greencastle's Commission on Sustainability submitted an application to create Putnam RISE: A Partnership for Renewal, Investment, Savings, and Efficiency.

This proposal seeks to educate county citizens about ways to become more energy efficient, and to stimulate the local economy through energy efficiency investments in our schools, neighborhoods, and homes.

Partners would be the four county school corporations, Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, Shuee and Sons Appliances, The Window Place, and Greencastle Presbyterian Church. Program elements consist of an "Energy Challenge" to all four county school corporations, residential efficiency projects for Putnam County homeowners and a Buy Local campaign.

The Putnam County Public Library submitted an application to further family literacy in Putnam County.

Partners would be Friends of Putnam County Public Library, Family Support Services, Putnam County Head Start, Everlasting Foundation, Knoy Resource Center, and Putnam County Senior Center.

Program elements consist of adult literacy services, provision of books for children from birth to age 5, intergenerational reading programs designed for families with low literacy skills, and adding two branches of the library in Putnam County, one in Bainbridge and one in Cloverdale.

The United Way of Putnam County submitted an application to enhance and enrich education and social development for county youth and positively impact the employment base of the community.

Partners would be Big Brothers-Big Sisters Monroe-Owen County, Reading Improvement Center, Summer Enrichment Program, DePauw University Hartman House, and Johnson Nichols Health Clinic.

The partners seek to expand mentoring services to all of Putnam County, expand Summer Enrichment services to middle school aged children, expand Reading Improvement services by hiring a staff person and training more volunteers and increase accessibility.

"All four applications contain great ideas that would benefit our county," said Phyllis Rokicki, chair of the Community Foundation's Grants Committee. "This will be a very difficult decision."

The board will announce finalists next week, foundation Executive Director Elaine Peck said.

Eric Wolfe added that this grant and all the Community Grants would not be possible without generous gifts from donors.

Wolfe specifically mentioned the Art Evans Family, the Bohmer Family, Howard Moore, the Lyon Family, Mary Louise Miller, and Old National Bank.

The Putnam County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1985 to serve donors, award grants and provide leadership, enriching the quality of life and strengthening community in Putnam County.

The Community Foundation administers more than 200 funds and endowments for donors supporting a variety of charities.

To obtain additional information or to have a representative from the Community Foundation speak to your group, please contact the office at 653-4978 or visit the Web site at www.pcfoundation.org