Collaborative Grantmaking Amplifies Federal Funding

“We see a lot of collaboration in Muncie,” said Mayor Dan Ridenour. “Time and again, I have seen the nonprofit organizations, businesses, and community philanthropy step up and work together to accomplish big things for our community.”

Community grantmakers are no exception. Once each quarter, local funders are invited to gather as part of the Funders Forum Collaborative. The Community Foundation serves as the group’s convener to set the meeting schedule, invite participants, and set the meeting agendas. During their meetings, funders of all sizes from across Delaware County learn about the community’s needs and participate in collaborative grantmaking.

The City of Muncie, through their Office of Community Development, is one member. Seventeen other funding organizations participate in the Collaborative, including private foundations, service clubs, and corporate foundations.

In addition to convening the group, The Community Foundation also manages the Funders Forum Fund. In this donor-advised fund, members of the Funders Forum Collaborative annually pool resources to participate in collaborative grantmaking.

At the beginning of each year, the Funders Forum Collaborative collectively determines an area of focus. This area of focus sets the tone for both the education and collective grantmaking of the group. In 2020, their focus was on COVID-related issues in the community. They participated in collaborative grantmaking that included grants to all K-12 Delaware County schools for technology resilience, support to pre-K centers related to much-needed safety protocols, and establishing an eviction mediation program for the Delaware County Circuit Court – all timely needs that arose due to the pandemic. In 2021, the Funders Forum Collaborative continued its focus on the impact of COVID in our community.

Ball Memorial Hospital COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

To understand the community needs in early 2021, members of the Funders Forum Collaborative expressed a desire to hear from the local health officials directly about the most pressing needs related to the pandemic. Workgroups of members gathered information and recommended collaborative funding. First up, the Delaware County Health Department made a presentation, followed by invitations for applications from Open Door Health Services and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. The health department and local health care agencies shared a common message – vaccines and testing were priorities.

The Funders Forum Collaborative pooled more than $100,000 during the first half of 2021, with an especially large contribution from United Way from Emergency Relief Funding provided through Lilly Endowment Inc. and Indiana United Ways. The Funders Forum Collaborative quickly awarded $90,000 in grants total to the Delaware County Health Department, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, and Open Door Health Services to support vaccination efforts, testing vouchers, and a local stockpile of needed supplies.

We have yet to see the end of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have yet to see the end of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jenni Marsh, president, and CEO of the Heart of Indiana United Way. “Being part of the Funders Forum Collaborative has allowed us to share information, target our own funding, and collaborate with the other funders to address the community’s needs.”

Muncie IDEA Conference

Beginning in 2020, the large funders in Delaware County began tracking COVID response grantmaking in a shared spreadsheet. Over 2020 and 2021, The Community Foundation, Heart of Indiana United Way, Ball Brothers Foundation, and George and Frances Ball Foundation collectively awarded nearly $3 million to respond to pandemic-related needs in the community.

As the impact of the pandemic continued in 2021, the Funders Forum Collaborative discussed the best use for the remaining Funders Forum Fund balance and additional contributions from partner members. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law by President Biden. ARP is a $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package designed to help states recover from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Locally, the City of Muncie received $31,700,000 in ARP Funds to distribute in 2021 and 2022. Muncie took a unique approach: swiftly get funds out into the community alongside partners who understand the need instead of focusing only on municipal needs. The philosophy - what the community needs is what the city needs. The $31.7 million would support the city’s shortfall and support organizations and businesses affected by COVID-19.

The city partnered with nonprofit organizations with expertise or interest to establish appropriate committees, processes, and in some cases, to distribute the funding for restaurants, small businesses and hotels, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood associations, and to assure an increase in public art projects over the next several years.

“The impact of the pandemic reached everyone, every home and every business in some way.”

“The impact of the pandemic reached everyone, every home and every business in some way,” said Ted Baker, CEO and executive director of the Innovation Connector, one partner in the ARP fund distribution process.

“The process of deciding who would receive these ARP dollars was entrusted to many local volunteers who spent countless hours setting guidelines for applications and funding, reviewing applications, and awarding the funds.”

The Community Foundation knows first-hand the time and energy needed to manage application processes, distribute funds, and practice good grantmaking. From advising applicants, practicing due diligence, communicating with selection committees, and distributing the funding, each step in the process takes staff knowledge, time, and energy. With so many nonprofit organizations understaffed in their operations, supporting the partners administering these funds seemed like a way that funders across the community could enhance this process for the entire city.

Box! Box! Traffic Control Box Community Art

This time, the members of the Funders Forum Collaborative asked participating representatives from The Community Foundation - president Kelly K. Shrock and senior program officer Marcy Minton to research the needs of the organizations partnering with the city to distribute portions of the ARP funds. The research was shared with all members of the Funders Forum Collaborative. The group awarded funding to four organizations: Heart of Indiana United Way, Innovation Connector, Muncie Arts and Culture Council, and Muncie Action Plan. These organizations collectively received $34,000 in 2021 and an additional $7,000 in early 2022 to support efforts to put the federal ARP dollars to work in our community.

For many years, Delaware County was the only community in Indiana convening funders for collective education, and later, collaborative funding. Today many communities across the state look at the Funders Forum Collaborative as a model for building their own funder collaboratives.

“...we continue to see that together we can amplify the results of opportunities in our community”

“Muncie and Delaware County are fortunate to have such a large philanthropic community and a philanthropic community that works well together,” said Foundation president Kelly K. Shrock. “Individually, funders can support important programs and projects in our community, but we continue to see that together we can amplify the results of opportunities in our community.”