Community Foundation awards 5 more Rapid Response grants

The Community Foundation has been working with past grantees and nonprofit fund holders to identify ways to repurpose unused dollars to meet emerging needs brought on by COVID-19. Thanks to their generosity, we are proud to share that we were able to award five additional Rapid Response grants to Monroe County nonprofit organizations that applied in our original funding round.

New Rapid Response Grant recipients include:

  • Buskirk-Chumley Theater Management
  • Catholic Charities
  • Pets Alive
  • Wheeler Mission Ministries
  • Women Writing for a Change

With these additional grants, the Foundation has awarded a total of 22 COVID-19 Rapid Response grants. This grant opportunity was opened March 22 to immediately support Monroe County nonprofits with grants of up to $2,500 through a streamlined 24-hour evaluation process.

These funds will be used immediately for supplies, equipment, remote-work technology, staffing, and to enable our local nonprofits to sustain capacity to serve our community.

On March 31, we announced that 17 organizations had been awarded COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants from the Community Foundation:

  • All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center
  • American Red Cross Southeast Indiana Chapter
  • Bloomington Playwrights Project
  • Bloomington Symphony Orchestra
  • Community Kitchen of Monroe County
  • Courage to Change Sober Living
  • Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County
  • Healthnet
  • Hoosier Hills Food Bank
  • Middle Way House
  • Monroe County History Center
  • Monroe County United Ministries
  • Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard
  • New Leaf New Life
  • People and Animal Learning Services
  • WFHB
  • WonderLab

“The Community Foundation is proud to be working in parallel with our philanthropic partners to address the emergent needs of local organizations during this early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said President and CEO Tina Peterson. “Both the large grant the Foundation made to the United Way COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund and the Rapid Response Grants are meant to ensure that essential organizations have the capacity to lean in during this time of crisis. The Foundation is exploring everything possibility for creatively deploying its resources to support those who call our community home.”

The Community Foundation received 34 Rapid Response grant requests totaling more than $76,000 in requested funds. The first round of Rapid Response Grants has closed. The Community Foundation is developing its Phase 2 response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will release more information as soon as it is available. If you have questions, please contact Program Director Marcus Whited at [email protected].