United Way of Central Indiana has awarded $50,000 in special grants to five Putnam County nonprofits.
Funding will help the organizations address the basic needs, education, housing and economic mobility of local residents.
During this funding cycle, grants went to Beyond Homeless, Family Support Services of West Central Indiana, Food for Life Food Pantry (New Life Church), Servants at Work and Transformers of Putnam County.
Interested nonprofits were invited to apply for the special funding in April. A committee of seven local stakeholders reviewed applications and selected the recipients and grant amounts.
“These investments will continue to focus on the 35% of Putnam County ALICE households, an acronym meaning asset limited, income constrained, but employed—who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Chris Flegal, United Way’s community relations director for Putnam, Hendricks and Morgan counties. “I'm thankful for our local grants committee who volunteered their time to review applications, and for our network of donors who make this impact possible.”
Recipients of the special grants are:
Beyond Homeless, $20,000: Funding will help Beyond Homeless provide nutritious food, hygiene and cleaning supplies to emergency and day shelter participants and provide rent, mortgage, utility, transportation, food and other essential assistance to families at risk of homelessness.
Family Support Services of West Central Indiana, $5,000: Funding will go toward the supportive housing program for domestic violence survivors and capacity support for staff.
Food for Life Food Pantry (New Life Church), $5,000: Funding will help purchase food to keep the pantry operating.
Servants at Work, $10,000: The organization will continue to build ramps, steps and railings to help residents with disabilities in Putnam County, targeting lower-income households.
Transformers of Putnam County, $10,000: Funding will support school-year mentoring and summer enrichment programs for youth and economic mobility programs for adults.
Last month, Family Support Services of West Central Indiana took home a $50,000 prize at Propel, a United Way pitch contest. The award was presented and chosen by the event’s sponsor, media company Audiochuck. Funds will go toward the supportive housing program.
Also this year, more than 450 students across Putnam County participated in two United Way literacy programs. ReadUP partners volunteers with third graders to get them on track with grade-level literacy. And Real Men Read brings male mentors into kindergarten classrooms to read to students.
On June 23, United Way will host its third Go All IN Day, an organized day of community service across the region. Grants totaling $1,500 have been approved to support projects in Putnam County. Interested volunteers can view the projects and sign up by visiting goallinday.com and clicking “volunteer here.”
