Each year the Foundation typically awards 15 to 30 community grants, ranging from $500 to $25,000.
This latest round of grants was awarded in September 2021 for 5 local projects.
September 2021 Grant Awards
Arts and Culture
Arts Place, Inc.
Amount: $5,000
Purpose: To help fund the Arts in the Parks program for summer 2022
Community Development
C.O.M.E. (Christian Outdoor Ministry Experience)
Amount: $2,720 from the Betty L. and Robert W. Renner Community Fund and the Blackford County HOPE Fund
Purpose: To provide updated hunting and fishing equipment for youth mentoring program and support for annual game dinner
Education
McMillan Health Center
Amount: $2,500
Purpose: To provide supplementary health education for Blackford County Schools classrooms
Health and Human Services
Montpelier Civic Center
Amount: $1,198 from the Betty L. and Robert W. Renner Community Fund and the Rusha J. Marine Fund
Purpose: To purchase additional exercise equipment
Second Harvest Food Bank
Amount: $5,000 from the Vincent F. and Anna C. Cimino Fund, the Jeffery W. and Peggy L. Fisher Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the Betty L. and Robert W. Renner Community Fund, the Paul L. Roderick Memorial Fund, the Joanne and Nolan Willman Unrestricted Fund, the Charles and Betty Walker Fund and the Thomas and Florence Bernice Johnson Memorial Fund
Purpose: To help support hunger alleviation programs in Blackford County
March 2021 Grant Awards
Arts and Culture
Arts Place, Inc.
Amount: $19,250 from the Opal Greenlee Memorial Fund
Purpose: To help fund the MusicWorks program offering music lessons at the Blackford Arts Center for 2021-22
Community Development
Blackford County Civil War Reenactment Club, Inc.
Amount: $6,000 from the Joanne and Nolan Willman Unrestricted Fund
Purpose: To help purchase the services of professional reenactors for Civil War Days 2021
Hartford City Parks Department
Amount: $10,000
Purpose: To make improvements to the skate park
Hartford City Parks Department
Amount: $5,000 partially from the Dorothy Gadbury Fund
Purpose: To provide funding for a new Disc Golf course
Hartford City Public Library
Amount: $5,250 from the CAPE Fund
Purpose: To help construct the outdoor classroom at the Nature Play Area
Education
Blackford County Schools
Amount: $5,000 from the Betty L. and Robert W. Renner Community Fund and the Paul L. Roderick Memorial Fund
Purpose: To help reduce the cost for individual participants attending Camp Invention in 2021
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Amount: $5,000 from the CAPE Fund
Purpose: To help provide monthly books to local children under 5 years old
Health and Human Services
Montpelier Civic Center
Amount: $7,800 from the Dorothy Gadbury Fund
Purpose: To purchase additional exercise equipment
September 2020 Grant Awards
Arts and Culture
Arts Place, Inc.
Amount: $5,000
Purpose: To help fund an Arts in the Parks program for the summer of 2021
Health and Human Services
Community and Family Services
Amount: $1,500
Purpose: To purchase items and equipment for Silver Lining opportunity store
Youth Development
Hartford City Public Library
Amount: $7,750
Purpose: To provide funding for improvements to the Nature Play Area
March 2020 Grant Awards
Arts and Culture
Arts Place Inc.
Amount: $5,000
Purpose: To help fund an Arts in the Parks program for the summer of 2020
Arts Place Inc.
Amount: $19,350
Purpose: To support the MusicWorks program at the Blackford County Arts Center
Tori’s Butterfly Garden Foundation
Amount: $3,500
Purpose: To help support the 2020 SummerFest Art Fair in downtown Hartford City
Community Development
Blackford County Civil War Reenactment Club, Inc.
Amount: $2,207
Purpose: To support the October 2020 Civil War Days program
Blackford Development Corporation
Amount: $10,000
Purpose: To provide preliminary design services for development of the Weiler Lot into a downtown park area
Montpelier Community Builders
Amount: $3,732
Purpose: To partially fund restroom improvements to commercial-grade equipment and installation of a vending machine
Education
Blackford County Schools
Amount: $9,929
Purpose: To assess the community needs for childcare and early childhood learning opportunities and then develop a strategic plan for addressing those needs
Blackford County Schools
Amount: $5,000
Purpose: To provide a one-week camp for K-6 students to learn more about and experiment with science, technology, engineering, and math topics in an informal, cooperative setting.
Health and Human Services
Grace United Methodist Church
Amount: $3,000
Purpose: To support and Summer Fun and Food Program during the summer for community youth
Youth Development
Blackford County 4-H Council
Amount: $2,500
Purpose: To help purchase educational materials for 4-H youth projects
Blackford Youth Soccer League
Amount: $10,728
Purpose: To help with upgrading and expanding the soccer complex
Blackford Imagination Library
Amount: $5,000
Purpose: To support the purchase of high-quality children’s books that are mailed monthly to local children ages 0-5 years in order to enhance their early literacy skills
Many past grants fall into the five general interest areas. You may wish to explore the grants awarded over in past years.
