Community Foundation of Whitley County Announces 2025 Winter Grants

The spirit of giving is thriving in Whitley County as evidenced by the most recent round of grant-making approved at the Community Foundation’s December 18th board meeting. Recommendations by the Foundation’s volunteer Grants Committee as well as Donor Advised Funds, were reviewed, and the following organizations were awarded over $150,000 in winter grants:

• Camp Whitley
  $5,000 for playground equipment; made possible via a private Donor Advised Fund (DAF) grant
• Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana
  $7,000 toward the costs of their Client Advocate Program in Whitley County, made possible via a private Donor Advised Fund (DAF) grant
• Churubusco Community Child Care Center
  $4,249 toward the Sleep Health & Safety Program made possible in part by the Donna Harl Community Fund and the Dekko Childcare Fund
• Churubusco United Methodist Food Pantry
  $8,000 for food; made possible via a private Donor Advised Fund (DAF) grant
• Columbia City Connect
  $5000 to help support the Network of Neighbors Volunteer Program, made possible in part with funding from the Don & Jane Langeloh Community Fund and the Jack & Judy Moore Community Fund
• Community Harvest Food Bank
  $5,000 to continue the Farm Wagon program in South Whitley, made possible in part by the Lake City Bank Fund
• Difference Makers
  $10,000 for food and equipment made possible in part by the Jean and Roger Long Community Fund, Friends of Lake Chapel Fund for Food Security, and other private donors
• Fort Wayne Ballet
  $1,000 to extend education programs into Whitley County, made possible in part by the Arts Alive Fund
• Fort Wayne Children’s Choir
  $5,000 for general support, made possible in part with funding from the Rosemary Steiner Community Fund
• Grace Lutheran Preschool
  $5,000 for program expenses, made possible in part by the Dekko Child Care Fund
• Joe’s Kids
  $10,000 for continuing to serve Whitley County children in need of therapy; made possible by the Joseph E. Fahl Fund, the Sherm Kneller Fund, and the Clark Waterfall DMV Fund
• Kate’s Kart
  $3,000 toward book delivery to children in Parkview Whitley Hospital, made possible via a private Donor Advised Fund grant
• Lifewise Academy
  $15,000 as a matching funds grant toward the purchase of a van, made possible in part by the Gary & Ann Dillon Community Fund
• Midweek Meal
  $10,000 for food and hygiene products, made possible via a private Donor Advised Fund grant
• One Community
  $3,000 for food and supplies for their Kids Connect Program, made possible by the Theodore A. Schultz Fund
• Peabody Library
  $2,300 toward the One Book, One Community initiative, made possible in part by the Donna Harl Community Fund
• The Center for Whitley County Youth
  $15,000 match request to support programming, made possible in part by the Andy & Toni More Community Fund, the Ferber Family Fund, and the Stanley & Betty Meyer Community Fund
• St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
  $13,400 for food and a new freezer, made possible in part by a grant from the David & Barbara Bilger Family Fund
• Stillwater Hospice
  $5,000 toward programming costs for Whitley County residents, made possible in part by the Shirley Ann Gates Fund
• Veteran Cemetery Restoration
  $5,000 for Memorial Day Flags and Cleaning Supplies, made possible by a private Donor Advised Fund grant
• Whitko Community Schools
  $2,146 to host a visiting author program, made possible by the Whitley County Literacy Fund and the Charl & Karen Bandelier Fund
• Whitley County Corrections
  $5,315 to fund costs of staff attending a conference on substance abuse and mental health, made possible in part by the Whitley County Giving Circle for Women’s Health and the John W. Whiteleather Community Fund
• Whitley County Health Department
  $3,000 to fund the Empower Whitley Women Program, made possible in part by the Whitley County Giving Circle for Women’s Health
• YWCA
  $6,500 toward continued programming in Whitley County, made possible in part by the Whitley County Giving Circle for Women’s Health
• Youth Services Bureau
  $5,000 toward the costs of offering the Skills for Life Program in Whitley County, made possible in part by the Don Armstrong Community Fund

The Community Foundation of Whitley County is a conduit, connecting donors to causes that matter in Whitley County. Our grantmaking ability is a reflection of immeasurable generosity. On behalf of these deserving nonprofit organizations, we offer sincere thanks to those who support us.