$523,000 Awarded in Local Grants

The Marion Community Foundation announced the recipients of its 2012 Competitive Grant Program.  According to MCF president Brad Bebout, the Foundation is pleased to be able to support $522,889 of the nearly $883,000 in grant requests.  The 2012 grant program includes awards of 19 major and 8 mini-grants to Marion area organizations.

The 2012 major grants are as follows:

• $10,000 to Royal Family Kids Camp for abused and neglected Marion County children,
• $10,000 to Marion Matters for their Getting Ahead, Transition, and Ally programs,
• $12,500 to Habitat for Humanity in 2013 and $12,500 in 2014 for the Habitat Marion ReStore,
• $5,000 to Marion Harding High School in continued support of the CTAG Program for at-risk students,
• $9,000 to the Harding Home for an enhanced museum security system,
• $6,000 to the I Can Center of Excellence in support of the ACT Empowered Program,
• $5.700 to the Legal Aid Society for their Keeping Kids in School program,
• $25,000 to the Marion Area Counseling Center in continued support of their Housing Assistance Program,
• $50,000 to Boys & Girls Club for the development of the Oak Street Club House,
• $10.000 to Mobile Meals of Marion County to support the Mobile Meals Assistance program,
• $25,000 in ongoing support of Prairie Parks Foundation, Inc. to assist with Phase 3 development of the Marion Tallgrass Trail,
• $45,000 to The Salvation Army for their Food & Crisis Intervention program,
• $120,000 to the Center Street Community Health Center for ongoing support of their medical and dental care programs,
• $22,500 to the Marion Area Counseling Center for their Signs of Suicide program,
• $13,271 to the Marion Adolescent Pregnancy Program for their educational program Changes & Choices,
• $4,875 to the Marion-Crawford Prevention Program for their Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse program,
• $40,000 to Ohio Heartland Community Action as continued partnership in the United Community Rx Program,
• $5,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities for their Helping Hands Program for Marion County residents, and
• $34,262 to the Marion Family YMCA for Pioneering Healthier Communities.

The monetary awards for these grants come from nine unrestricted, donor advised, and field of interest funds at Marion Community Foundation, including the “C” Fund, Founders’ Fund, Chester & Mildred Roberts Fund, Conway Family Charitable Fund, Kenny Martin Charitable Fund, The A. Merle Hamilton Fund, Robert M. & Dorothy C. Wopat Community Fund, Henry Heinzmann Community Food Pantry Fund, and the Healthcare Fund, MCF’s first fund.

Marion Community Foundation has a long history of support of healthcare in general and the Center Street Community Health Center, specifically. One of the largest grant awards each year is provided in support of the organization’s medical and dental services to uninsured and underinsured residents of Marion.  This year CSCHC will receive an additional $19,597.50 as part of a five-year pledge of $130,650 in support of their new facility in downtown Marion.  Next year, CSCHC will receive $26,130 of that pledge.

The Francis & Thelma Wise Fund, a designated fund for health-related projects, awarded three grants.  These include:

• $2,465 to the Eye-to-Eye Low Vision Support Group for their Surviving Sight Loss program,
• $2,000 to the Marion Family YMCA for their Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, and
• $4,585 to the Marion Family YMCA for their Delay the Disease program for Parkinson’s disease sufferers.

The Brown Family Non-Endowed Fund is also providing support for the YMCA’s Delay the Disease program by making an additional grant of $2,915.  Along with the grant from the Francis & Thelma Wise Fund, the Delay the Disease program will receive a total of $7,500.

The Helen Cunningham Handicapped Fund awarded a grant in the amount of $2,096.00 to the Marion Family YMCA in support of their programming which helps those with disabilities improve well-being.

A grant of $593 was awarded from the Vera O. McDanel Senior Citizens Transportation Fund Marion Senior Citizens in continued support of senior citizens’ transportation needs.

The 2012 mini-grants include two awards to the American Red Cross of Marion, including $2,200 for disaster communications and $1,500 for a smoke alarm distribution program.  Other mini-grants awarded are:

• $2,500 to Love Inc. of Marion for their Getting It All Together program,
• $700 to Marion Area Counseling Center for their Spirit Awards Project, and
• $2,500 to the Palace Cultural Arts Association for a technology upgrade  and ticketing software.

Bebout points out that all these awards are generated by a mere 10 percent of Marion Community Foundation’s overall funds.

“The competitive grants program is funded by discretionary funds. They are ‘discretionary’ because these funds’ donors gave discretion to MCF’s Board of Trustees to decide which organizations are most deserving,” explained Bebout.

MCF also awards grants in a non-competitive process at other times in the year from multiple other funds created by donors who have designated the recipient organization(s). MCF also awards numerous scholarships.

The full-time staff includes president Brad Bebout, office manager Diana Rinesmith and administrative assistant Jackie Albert.  Members of the Board include:  Larry Geissler (Chair),  Sue Jacob, Dr. James Barney, Susie Brown, Rex Parrott, Ronald D. Cramer, Anne J. Davy, Pastor Doug Ford, Dr. Charles Garvin, Ted Graham, Judge Thomas K. Jenkins, Tom Johnston, Nicole Workman, Megan Queen, and Dr. Scott Yancey.

Additional information on Marion Community Foundation and its grants program is available by calling 387-9704 during standard business hours or by visiting the offices at 504 S. State St., inside the Stengel-True Museum, or on the web at www.marioncommunityfoundation.org.