Second Row: R. T. Henke, Dr. Jim White, Jerry Chavez, Virginia Henke, Bruce Snyder, Matt Guard, Brian Pohl, Linda Rippy, Eric Anderson, Joan Hundt, Joe Stiles, Greg Giczi, Kathy Clark, Ted Hayden
The Marshall County Community Foundation announced grant winners for the first round of 2018 grants from the Community Fund and the Ralph C. Vonnegut, Jr. Fund on Wednesday afternoon.
Grants are awarded twice a year to non-profit organizations for new, innovative and collaborative projects. In this grant round, $110,600 was awarded to eighteen non-profit organizations in Marshall County.
David’s Courage, the organization that will start up addiction recovery efforts out of the Shady Rest Home facility in Plymouth received $30,000 for start-up repairs to the building. The Plymouth Police Department received $15,000 to replace the K9 unit and all accompanying equipment to aid in eradicating drugs.
The Bremen Public Schools was awarded $10,000 to add a high quality entrepreneurship curriculum. The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation was awarded $10,000 to support an IDEA Week sponsorship to help develop entrepreneurship Centers in Culver and Plymouth. The Town of Culver received $10,000 in community support for the Culver Stellar Grant application, and the Marshall County Humane Society will be able to replace the roof at the facility with $9,000 in grant funds.
The following is directly from the Marshall County Community Foundation:
Unrestricted (Community) Fund Grants:
Unrestricted endowment funds are the most flexible and responsive of the Foundation’s 358 funds in addressing current and emerging needs. Grants from unrestricted endowment funds typically support projects focusing on the arts, education, health and human services, recreation and the environment.
The first grants from unrestricted funds at MCCF were awarded in 1995; since then MCCF has awarded over $3.7 million in total grants to the community from these funds alone. The growth of unrestricted funds now enables MCCF to award more than $200,000 in unrestricted fund grants on an annual basis.
In addition to the MCCF Community Fund, several unrestricted funds also support new and emerging needs in Marshall County. These funds include the Barbara and Ralph Winters Community Fund, the Brian and Patricia Kitch Family Community Fund, the C & M Overmyer Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the iAB Financial Bank Community Fund, the John and Kay Finlay Community Fund, the Philip and Sylvia Bieghler Community Fund, and the Paul and Carol Nye Community Fund.
During the Spring 2018 grant round, $110,600 was awarded to eighteen nonprofit organizations in Marshall County for the following projects:
• Argos Futbol Club: $3,000 for replacement and repair of Futbol goals in the Community Park
• Boy Scout Troop 257.: $2,700 to purchase new backpacking tents and upgrade equipment for the Troop
• Bremen Little League: $2,500 to refurbish baseball fields at Sunny Side Park
• Bremen Public Schools: $10,000 to add a high quality entrepreneurship curriculum to course offerings for students at the BPS school system
• Culver Little League: $1,300 to purchase new bats and batting helmets for the children
• Culver Youth Soccer: $1,000 to purchase new soccer balls for the children
• David’s Courage: $30,000 for start-up repairs to the Shady Rest building, to eventually house the new nonprofit, David’s Courage, that will support individuals in healing from addiction
• Historic Bremen: $850 for a new digital video recording and presentation system at the Bremen History Center
• Marshall County Economic Development: $10,000 to support an IDEA Week sponsorship to help develop Entrepreneurship Centers (or E-Hubs) in Culver and Plymouth, to foster business startups and support small business development in the region
• Marshall County Historical Society: $3,500 to purchase items for the Marshall County Sports Room located in the Marshall County Museum
• Marshall County Humane Society: $9,000 replace the roof at the Marshall County Humane Society building to foster a healthy, safe environment for the animals living there and staff and volunteers
• Michiana Public Broadcasting Corp./WNIT: $2,500 for programming of Education Counts Michiana, a program that highlights positive examples of learning and discusses issues facing the education and workforce development sectors in Indiana
• Plymouth Arts Commission/Encore: $5,000 to purchase new laptop computer, projector, software and new website design for the nonprofit
• Plymouth Police Dept. K9: $15,000 to replace the K9 unit and all accompanying equipment to serve and protect the community
• Town of Culver: $10,000 in community support for the Culver Stellar Grant application, with the acknowledgement that the Stellar designation for Culver significantly enhances the reputation and recognition of Culver, Marshall County and our region
• Oakhaven Community: $1,800 to purchase a gazebo and seating to improve outdoor access and quality of life for residents
• Wesley United Methodist Church Preschool and Daycare: $1,450 to purchase playground equipment to empower children with enriching and educational play
• Yellow River Festival of Marshall County: $1,000 to purchase a street banner to share about the Festival with the community
Ralph C. Vonnegut Jr. Grants:
The Ralph C. Vonnegut Jr. Fund was established to provide annual funding for environmental, educational, or recreational projects directly related to Lake Maxinkuckee. This year’s awards were presented to:
• Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council: $2,400 to purchase an Augmented Reality Sandbox, a powerful educational tool that mixes real and virtual systems where users can create a topographic surface by shaping sand
• Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council: $1,900 to purchase a new printer, copier and scanner for the Environmental Council
• Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council: $1,858 to purchase a new computer station for the Environmental Council
• Town of Culver: $10,000 in community support for the Culver Stellar Grant application, with the acknowledgement that the Stellar designation for Culver significantly enhances the reputation and recognition of Culver, Marshall County and our region
