Twenty twenty-four is a good year for Brown County. The Community Foundation’s annual grant funding has received a major boost with excess money from the Brown County Music Center added to funds to be distributed for our community’s greatest needs and to area non-profits.
The grant money available each year is established from BCCF Endowed Funds. An endowed fund consists of money set aside (invested) to earn revenue to fund charitable activity. An endowed fund differs from a typical investment fund as the beneficiary is a nonprofit organization instead of individual investors. In the past five years, BCCF has given an average total of $125,000 per year during the spring community grant cycle. With the added Music Center funds, this year’s grant awards total will be higher. Previous community grants include Portable Radios for the Brown County Volunteer Fire Department; Large Animal Livestock Scales for the Brown County 4-H Council; editing the documentary “The Addict’s Wake” for PBS viewing; Habitat for Humanity Home Build; and Certified Nurses Training Scholarships at the Career Resource Center, to name a few.
Who is eligible for grants?
Because of the gifting restrictions placed on BCCF by the IRS, grants are made only for charitable purposes that benefit residents of Brown County. These monies go to organizations that (a) hold nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service, or (b) have fiscal sponsorship arrangement with a 501(c)(3) IRS-recognized organization, or c) are a non-charitable exempt organization involved with charitable work or serving a charitable purpose.
How are they awarded?
The grant selection process is inclusive, fair, and objective and includes the following elements:
Non-discrimination as to age, race, faith, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or financial status
A grants committee that is representative of the Brown County community
Conflict of Interest Disclosures by Grants Committee members and BCCF Trustees with accommodations as necessary
What are responsibilities?
The grantees must submit a written report summarizing the project promptly following the end of the period during which the grantee is to use all grant funds and to submit any interim reports BCCF may require. Grantee reports should describe progress in achieving the grant’s purposes and include a detailed accounting of the use and expenditure of grant funds.
Our Grants Committee is busy reviewing the current grant applications. We look forward to announcing this year’s grant awards in the coming months.
This is part of a regularly published series of stories from the Brown County Community Foundation to share with the community some of the great work being done by the Foundation. Foundation board member Kerry Ridge is the chairman of the Grants Committee. An Indianapolis native, he met his wife while attending Indiana University. Susan accepted a teaching position at Brown County School Corporation in 1971, and the Ridges married in Brown County State Park a year later. They raised three sons here. Much of Kerry’s career has been spent working for an Indianapolis distribution company, Waddell Power, where he became president in 2003 and retired in 2016.
This is part of a regularly published series of stories from the Brown County Community Foundation to share with the community some of the great work being done by the Foundation. Foundation board member Kerry Ridge is the chairman of the Grants Committee. An Indianapolis native, he met his wife while attending Indiana University. Susan accepted a teaching position at Brown County School Corporation in 1971, and the Ridges married in Brown County State Park a year later. They raised three sons here. Much of Kerry’s career has been spent working for an Indianapolis distribution company, Waddell Power, where he became president in 2003 and retired in 2016.
