Grants available for youth projects

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Putnam County Community Foundation announces the availability of grants for groups of youth in Putnam County conducting charitable work, including school and church groups, scouting organizations, 4-H clubs, and any other youth group. Grants can range in size from $50 to $500.

Grant applications are due to the Community Foundation office by Monday, Oct. 1, and can be downloaded from www.pcfoundation.org. To date, almost $1.5 million has been awarded for Putnam County charitable projects through the Community Foundation's grant programs to enrich the quality of life and strengthen community for this and future generations.

The mission of the Community Foundation is broad and includes support of all charitable activities in Putnam County. However, the Youth Philanthropy Grants Program specifically provides funding for youth-led projects mainly focused in the following areas: increasing literacy and educational attainment for youth, extra-curricular activities for youth, teen crisis issues (i.e. drug/alcohol abuse, suicide, pregnancy, etc.), health and wellness, respect for community and tolerance of others, and environmental issues and community beautification. All applications will be evaluated by the Youth Philanthropy Committee, which consists of nine high school students from all school districts in the county, two DePauw University students, and four adults.

In general, grants from the Community Foundation will not be made to the following: individuals; projects that do not serve Putnam County citizens; projects normally fully funded by units of government; the building or funding of an endowment outside of the Community Foundation; salaries, rent and utilities; religious activities or programs that serve only one denomination; political organizations or campaigns; national or state-wide fund raising projects which do not directly benefit local citizens; projects that could be considered discriminatory; projects operated by for-profit companies; and projects requesting retroactive funding.

The Community Foundation welcomes all eligible organizations to apply and can provide help to anyone wishing to complete and application. You may download an application from the Community Foundation website at www.pcfoundation.org.

To request an application in another format, contact Nelda Shoemaker at 653-4978.

For questions about the grants program and process, or to learn how you can contribute to the Youth Philanthropy Program and make these types of grants available, please contact Eric Wolfe, Community Development Director, at the number above.

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