Wayne County Foundation Awards $134,867 in Grant Cycle

The Wayne County Foundation is pleased to announce that 13 local organizations have been awarded $134,867 through Grant Cycle 1. Grants administered through the Foundation’s Grant Cycles are designed to support local programs or projects that enhance the spirit of the community and improve the quality of life across Wayne County. 

“The impact the grants have for our nonprofits in our community enables them to further enrich the lives of the people they serve,” said Foundation Nonprofit Relationship Manager Kelley Cruse-Nicholson. “We are grateful for the many donors whose funds provide support to address the ever-changing need in our community.” 

From Grant Cycle I, the Foundation received 18 funding requests totaling more than $192,000. Thirteen organizations were selected for funding and awarded a combined $134,867. Grant Cycle I is one of three cycles in 2024. The second cycle is currently open and closes on April 30 at 5:00 p.m. 

The Wayne County Foundation’s grantmaking is made possible by many individual donors who create funds to support local initiatives in Wayne County. Below is a list of the organizations who received funding through Grant Cycle I.  

• A Better Way Services Inc. ($14,000) to support the mobile advocacy program in Wayne County, Indiana. The program utilizes an evidence-driven service model to provide services to survivors and families of domestic violence and sexual violence. 
• Animal Care Alliance ($11,000) to hold a trap-neuter-release (TNR) program to address the challenges posed by stray and unsocialized cat populations in our community by stabilizing the population and fostering community involvement and awareness. 
• Dublin Community Center ($10,000) to update HVAC units within the building to enable year-round use by the community. 
• Friends Fellowship Community ($5,000) to fund Opening Minds through Art, an arts-based program that helps people living with dementia. 
• Help The Animals Inc. ($5,090) to upgrade the facilities with a professional quality bathing and grooming station, equipment, and supplies. 
• Main Street Centerville ($6,977) to add 20 new self-watering planters with flowers to 6 intersections in Centerville. 
• Neighborhood Health Center ($15,000) to expand the current remote home health monitoring kits for an additional 150 of their most vulnerable and medically frail patients. 
• Richmond Civic Theatre ($15,000) to support the 2024-2025 production of Main Stage and Stage One shows. 
• Safety Village of Wayne County ($10,000) to replace the 25-year-old sub floor and carpet in two classrooms. 
• Salt of the Earth Inc. ($5,000) to support transitional housing for men who have recently graduated from a sobriety program to continue their work towards self-sufficiency. 
• Servants at Work ($14,000) to support the construction of at least eight ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps for low-income residents with severe mobility challenges, who would otherwise struggle to get in and out of their homes in the Wayne County community. 
• Shepard’s Way Christian Ministries Inc. ($8,800) to replace and furnish the dorms at Cross Road Christian Recovery Center for Women with dressers, beds and underbed storage to increase the capacity of the facility.  
• Whitewater Valley Pro Bono ($15,000) will host five free civil legal education sessions and four direct-service clinics in 2024. The programming adds valuable resources to our community for residents who cannot afford private counsel. 

Since 1979, the Wayne County Foundation has existed to foster and encourage private philanthropic giving, to enhance the spirit of community, and to improve the quality of life in the Wayne County, Indiana, area now and for future generations.