EMERGENCY PHASE: ADDRESSING THE NEEDS TODAY
The first round of emergency grants was awarded in mid-March, and emergency grantmaking continues. As of June 10, $72,000 in emergency grants have been awarded to 40 organizations. These grants ensure that community members have food, shelter, safe childcare, and other vital human services during this time of crisis. They help organizations address unexpected expenses like the need for personal protective equipment. We have already taken on special initiatives totaling $40,000 to help nonprofits and local businesses. In late March, the Board of Directors of The Community Foundation decided that through June 30, all gifts to The Unrestricted Fund of the Community Foundation would be made available for immediate grantmaking to support response efforts. As of June 10, more than 75 donors have made unrestricted gifts totaling $34,732. Early gifts allowed the Foundation to meet emergency needs proactively, and continue to allow us to respond to emergent requests. The emergency phase will continue as the pandemic continues, but at the same time, the Foundation has begun to address the second phase of our response approach, Recovery.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie continued programming for the children of essential workers while the community was under the Governor’s stay-at-home orders.
RECOVERY PHASE: RETURNING TO A STATE OF WELL-BEING
Through Recovery, The Community Foundation is providing support to nonprofits so they may regain control and find their momentum again. During this phase, we will focus on efforts that enhance the quality of life and quality of place for all residents in Delaware County. More than $200,000 was awarded during the second Quarterly Competitive Grants cycle in May. You can find the complete list of grants awarded in this newsletter. Many of them will lead to recovery for our community. Recovery efforts will continue through our other traditional grantmaking programs. Foundation staff is working under the Board’s direction to establish guidance to grants committees as we continue through the Quarterly Competitive Grants Program this year, and other grants cycles, like the Maxon Foundation Fund and Harry and Janet Kitselman Fund.
STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY With mental health challenges on the rise across the region, Meridian Health Services invested in professional development of sixteen staff members to offer Mental Health First Aid Training to the community. Youth Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that focuses on unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents specifically. The program builds understanding of the importance of early intervention and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge. Project Leadership leads the Comprehensive Counseling Coalition, a first-of-its-kind countywide collaborative effort to build a comprehensive counseling system for the more than 12,000 K-12 students in Delaware County. As part of this effort, Project Leadership is creating a transition plan for the county related to social-emotional learning. Recently, counselors have expressed concern that trauma, anxiety, and depression will be more prevalent in students when they return to school because of isolation due to the pandemic. The Youth Mental Health First Aid Training program is appealing as a tool for schools to manage student mental health concerns. The Community Foundation, in partnership with Ball Brothers Foundation, Meridian Health Services, and Project Leadership, will bring Youth Mental Health First Aid Training to 34 school buildings serving our community’s youth in a unique pilot program. Meridian Health Services will provide training and Project Leadership will add the training to the social-emotional learning plan and encourage school participation for a designated number of educators per school. Training starts this month and will commence by the end of 2020.
Additionally, the Strategic Grants Committee recommended and the Board approved a grant that supports Mental Health First Aid training in all K-12 schools across Delaware County. With the support of the Funders Forum Collaborative, The Community Foundation also directed $16,000 ($2,000 each) to eight level 3 and level 4 Paths to Quality 501c3 Pre-K providers to provide flexible support related to the reopening of centers. As many people return to work, ensuring that safe, high-quality childcare is available is an essential step towards recovery. Through the Funders Forum Collaborative, each of the eight K-12 public school systems in Delaware County will receive $2,000 to support the first phase of a two-step grant process to plan for the next and future school years. Later this year, the school systems will have the opportunity to apply for funding to put their plan into action. Creative and innovative solutions will be encouraged that go beyond hardware and hotspots and seek to focus on ideas to reach all families within their communities.
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Recovery will continue as our community builds back from the impact of the pandemic. Using this opportunity to build back even better, The Community Foundation will begin the third phase of the response, focusing on resilience.
