Community Foundation of Jackson County Grants Target Basic Needs

The Community Foundation of Jackson County has approved a record $170,331 in grants during its 2025 fall cycle, with a significant share dedicated to meeting basic human needs such as food and health services.

Addressing Food Insecurity

Three grants totaling $36,000 were awarded to help fight food insecurity across the county:

• Anchor House
• Community Provisions
• Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana

These funds will ensure more Jackson County residents have access to nutritious food during a time when demand for assistance continues to grow.

“Helping meet vital needs for people calling Jackson County home is exactly what community funds are all about,” board Chair Andrew Nehrt said. “These funds and the grant dollars they provide are a tremendous way of giving back to our community. We truly appreciate the generosity of all of our donors.”

Supporting Health and Wellbeing

An additional $37,320 in grants will support critical physical and mental health services through Catholic Charities, Clarity of Central Indiana, Indiana Health Centers, Healthy Jackson County, and Reins to Recovery.

A Record-Breaking Grant Cycle

In total, the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved or partially funded 24 grant requests, marking the largest fall grant cycle in its history. Local businesses also contributed to fully or partially fund three additional requests, increasing the total impact to $186,773.

All grant requests had totaled more than $300,000.

“Each year, we are faced with more requests than we can fund, we are seeing growth in the grant dollars we have as a result of donors’ generosity and desire to help others in our community,” said Grant Committee Chair Donald Schnitker.

Funding for the fall grant cycle primarily came from earnings of community and field-of-interest funds, as well as support from several donor-advised funds, including:

• Immanuel United Church of Christ Vernon Township Community Fund
• Carl and Doris Kovener Endowment
• Orville and Mary Evelyn Schnitker Memorial Fund
• Vital Farms Good Neighbor Fund