APRIL NEWSLETTER
From the Community Foundation’s Program Team
Dear friends,
Spring brings new life and growth all around us. This season is an exciting and optimistic time. My energy increases as the days lengthen, the grass turns green, and the spring flowers bloom. I hope you are also finding renewed energy.
This is the time of year when we evaluate our grant application and report forms and adjust them to improve the process for you. As the program officers worked with you during the past year, they noted questions that are confusing or require additional assistance. We will incorporate those ideas into the revision process.
Your relationship with your Program Officer is essential. Ray Caldwell, Guy Fisher, and Vonnie Trumble are your primary contacts for grants here at the Community Foundation. For large organizations, it is helpful for your executive director, grants manager, and program leader to connect with the program officer. At smaller organizations, one person might be covering all the roles. Don’t hesitate to contact our team when you are wrestling with a challenge, exploring a new venture, or need a thought partner. We are here to help.
I wish you all an energizing spring!
Candy Yoder
Chief Program Officer
AWARDING GRANTS
The Community Foundation’s board approved grants at its April meeting and we are in the process of sending those checks.
This process that occurs several times a year is a lot of work, and we are grateful that we can do it with capable staff, committed volunteers, and passionate board members. Here is the rundown of this round of grants over $25,000:
Career Pathways
Elkhart Community Schools: $405,000 (over three years) for an Experiential Learning initiative with Five Star Life. Partner schools include: Bristol Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, Mary Beck Elementary, Pinewood Elementary, Roosevelt STEAM Academy, and Woodland Elementary. This will serve at least 400 students each year. Students will be transported to Summit, Five Star Life’s 350-acre campus to experience hands-on, innovative learning.
Northern Indiana Workforce Board: $25,000 for Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Expansion. The program works with students in grades 10 to 12 and will expand JAG’s reach in Elkhart County high schools.
Kids and Families
Cultivate Food Rescue: $250,000 for its new Elkhart facility, capital needs, and operating start-up.
Cora Dale House: $53,000 challenge grant for capital improvements on its facility, a historic home in downtown Goshen.
Northern Indiana Hispanic Health Coalition: $150,000 for core infrastructure development and operating funding.
Wa-Nee Community Schools: $50,000 towards the new wheelchair-accessible playground at Nappanee Elementary School. The Boys & Girls Club is located next door and will use the playground after school and during summer hours. The playground is also open to the public after school hours.
Placemaking
City of Elkhart Parks and Recreation Department: $75,000 for Walker Park Accessibility Improvements. Park plans include a new, inclusive-designed playground, rubber surfacing, accessible walkways, and ADA-accessible restrooms.
Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce: $100,000 per year for three years for the Benham Neighborhood Implementation Plan, which is a collaborative neighborhood redevelopment and community investment effort to be led by Levon Johnson.
WNIT Michiana Public Broadcasting Corporation: $50,000 for equipment upgrades.
The estimated project cost is $650,000 to replace and improve aging technology and equipment for public television. Goals associated with the upgrade include dedicating about a quarter of programming to local and regional content.
HAVE YOU HEARD OUR PODCAST?
The Inspiring Good Podcast launched in early April. We started this podcast to highlight the amazing work of our nonprofits in Elkhart County, as well as tell stories of generosity and impact in our community.
Hosts Kevin Deary and Marshall King from our staff are interviewing nonprofit CEOs and others. You can find the Inspiring Good Podcast on your podcast platform or learn more:
GROWING FAST
Building Strong Brains, our early childhood initiative is growing fast. In October, the systemic effort to improve the skills of young people before they arrive at kindergarten had four teams of people working. Now, there are nine committees and a handful of other mini-teams or subcommittees.
The initiative has grown from 60 people involved to 200 from 50 different organizations across sectors.
The Community Foundation is applying for a significant grant for Building Strong Brains through GIFT VIII of the Lilly Endowment Inc.
If you want to stay informed about our efforts, we urge you to sign up for another email newsletter, which is sent every few months. You can learn more and sign up here:
Celebrating connections
Connect in Elkhart County, our initiative to connect and extend trails and pathways in Elkhart County, is planning a series of events in June to mark the completion of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
This effort also has an email newsletter that goes out every few months. We’d urge you to sign up for that one as well.
To do that and learn more about the great events in June:
