The Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) announced the Fall 2022 grant awards from Community Funds totaling $98,832.

Twice a 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 and conduct site visits during a competitive application process. The Fall 2022 grant awards will fund a wide variety of projects and programs.

MCCF Community Fund grant awardees shared about the impact the grants will make in their programs and for the Marshall County community at an awards event on October 13.

“Agriculture is a hazardous industry and deaths occur all the time due to a lack of safety precautions. We plan to purchase a small tractor to take to area high schools and instill a safety program,” said Ivy Tech Assistant Professor Cyndy Keeling. Ivy Tech serves eight Marshall County high schools through dual credit programs.

Kayla Borton with Just in Case Foundation is on a mission to provide information about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and support for families with at-risk infants. Following the loss of their infant son to SIDS, Kayla and her husband started the Just in Case Foundation. “Kayla’s passion for saving parents from the grief and heartache of losing a child touched us all,” said Linda Yoder, MCCF Executive Director. “Kaylee shared that she cannot change the past, but she can change the future. Her story is a powerful example of how Community Fund grants can help ignite awareness, catalyze change, and improve the lives of young families.”

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 over $4.3 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 Barbara and Ralph Winters Community Fund, the Billy and Vickie Ellinger Community Fund, Brian and Patricia Kitch Family Community Fund, the C & M Overmyer Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the Eleanor and Randy Danielson Community Aesthetic Improvement Fund, the First Merchants Bank Community Fund, the Gibson Community Fund, the John and Kay Finlay Community Fund, the Paul and Carol Nye Unrestricted Endowment Fund, the Philip and Sylvia Bieghler Community Fund, and the Will and June Erwin Community Fund.

Fall 2022 Community Fund Grants

  • Antiquarian & Historical Society: $10,000 to replace the pergola in Heritage Park.
  • Beaman Home:  $2,350 to fund internet and a point-of-sale system for their basic needs center.
  • Bread of Life Community Food Pantry:  $4,277 for a security system.
  • Cardinal Services: $1,555 for a fence for the Bremen group home.
  • Garden Court:  $7,000 to purchase playground equipment for Serenity Place.
  • Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana: $2,500 to support the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) Program.
  • Historic Bremen: $3,150 to construct a large digital interactive panel to display clothing items.
  • Ivy Tech: $12,500 to support tractor safety through agriculture education programs.
  • Just In Case Foundation: $12,500 match for implementation of the Sudden Infant Death (SIDS) and Safety Program for Marshall County residents.
  • Lifelong Learning Network: $22,500 to sponsor an enFocus Fellow to assist in building foundation for successful implementation of their business plan.
  • Marshall County Humane Society: $5,000 in support of the PURRFECT program to spay/neuter community cats.
  • Marshall County Neighborhood Center: $13,000 for the installation of an outdoor freezer/cooler.
  • WNIT: $2,500 in support of the Education Counts program.