PLYMOUTH — Supporting programs to make Marshall County a better place to live, work, and play
The Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) announced the Spring 2026 grant awards from Community Funds totaling $174,820.
Twice each year, nonprofit organizations are invited to submit funding requests for projects that improve the quality of life in Marshall County. MCCF Grants Committee members evaluate the proposals during a competitive application process. The Spring 2026 grant awards will fund a variety of projects and programs.
MCCF Community Fund grant awardees were recognized at an awards event on April 7 at the Marshall County Philanthropy Center.
Community Fund Grants
Community Funds are the most flexible and responsive of the Foundation’s 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 Community Funds at MCCF were awarded in 1995; since then, the MCCF has awarded $5.6 million in total grants from these funds alone. In addition to the Marshall County Community Fund, the following ‘named’ unrestricted funds support competitive grant rounds in Marshall County. These funds include the Alan and Barbara Neidlinger Community Fund, the Barbara and Ralph Winters Community Fund, the Billy and Vickie Ellinger Community Fund, the Brian and Patricia Kitch Family Community Fund, the C & M Overmyer Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the Constance K. Danforth Community Fund, the Earl and Susie (Lemler) Houin Community Fund, the Eleanor & Randy Danielson Community Aesthetic Improvement Fund, the First Merchants Bank Community Fund, the Gibson Community Fund, the Janet Newberg Community Fund, the John and Kay Finlay Community Fund, the Paul and Carol Nye Community Fund, the Philip and Sylvia Bieghler Community Fund, the R & T Jacobs Community Fund, the Starr Harbor, LLC Community Fund, and the Will and June Erwin Community Fund.
From now until June 30, 2028, or until the match dollars are exhausted, MCCF will match gifts made to Community Funds with $2 for every $1 donated. These match dollars are made possible from a matching fund grant totaling $750,000 as part of the ninth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s initiative, Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT IX). Learn more this exciting match opportunity or donate by visiting: https://marshallcountycf.org/powerful-giving/.
Spring 2026 Community Fund Grants
- North Central CTE Cooperative (District 11). $50,000 to purchase equipment to launch a Year 1 high school aviation maintenance and flight program, delivered in partnership with AlphaFlight and aligned with Ivy Tech curriculum, expanding access to hands-on training in aviation and skilled trades and strengthening local workforce pathways.
- Triton Jr/Sr High School. $8,000 to upgrade and repair existing robotics equipment and acquire additional robot kits, storage systems, and tools to expand capacity for hands-on robot construction and programming activities.
- Marian University Ancilla College. $24,820 to establish the Marian Innovation and Makerspace at Marian University’s Ancilla College, to give students and Marshall County residents access to emerging technologies, hands-on learning, and collaborative innovation to strengthen local talent pipelines and support rural economic resilience.
- We Love Swimming, Inc. $42,000 for capital improvements and equipment replacements for the Plymouth Aquatic Center.
- Boys & Girls Club of Marshall County. $50,000 for the expansion of teen programming through the Paths to Purpose, a teen leadership and life skills program.
