AWS Foundation Awards $4,665,087 to Five Disability Service Providers
Fort Wayne (August 18, 2021) – AWS Foundation awards Vantage Grants totaling $4,665,087 to five select nonprofit disability service providers serving Northeast Indiana: Cardinal Services, Carey Services, Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana, Pathfinder Services, and Turnstone. In January, Vantage Grant participants initially received $75,000 and six months to identify and explore significant barriers and find a path toward solutions that would transform how they serve the disability community. After analyzing their findings and developing a plan to meet those needs, each organization was extended an invitation from AWS Foundation to apply for up to $1,000,000 of additional funding to implement a three-to-five-year plan of action. $4,665,087 was awarded based on presentation findings.
“These five organizations have worked hard over the past six months to tackle a challenge that has repeatedly been beyond their reach,” says Patti Hays, AWS Foundation CEO. “The Vantage Grant will allow them to provide services or processes in their organizations that might have otherwise been years away from their existing resources.” Ms. Hays goes on to say that direct nonprofit service providers rarely have time, personnel, or budgets to look beyond their daily operational demands.
AWS Foundation established the Vantage Grant to offer nonprofits by invitation, the opportunity to take a reflective position intended to give them a strategic advantage and perspective on their operations. Six additional nonprofit organizations have been chosen to participate in a second round of evaluations to begin later this fall.
ABOUT AWS FOUNDATION
Founded in 2007, AWS Foundation supports a wide range of organizations and service agencies in northeast Indiana, working to develop a community in which people with enduring intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities are engaged fully and meaningfully in all aspects of community life. For more information, visit WWW.awsfoundation.org.