Community Foundation Awards $1.5 million in Impact Grants to Howard County Nonprofits
The Community Foundation of Howard County has awarded $1.5 million in Impact Grants to six local nonprofit organizations, supporting large-scale projects designed to address needs and opportunities identified throughout the county. The grants were made possible through funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of the ninth phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT IX) initiative.
The funding was designed to give community foundations flexible funding to address compelling, near-term needs in their counties. This flexibility allowed the Foundation to create the Impact Grant program, giving nonprofit organizations the opportunity to pursue significant projects at a scale beyond its grantmaking capacity.
In Howard County, the minimum grant request was set at $100,000, an amount that would typically represent an exceptionally large request through the Foundation’s grant programs. For the Impact Grant program, however, it was the starting point, allowing nonprofits to think on a larger scale and pursue projects that may not have otherwise been possible.
Howard County Impact Grant recipients celebrate alongside Community Foundation of Howard County board members and Community Foundation staff following the awarding of $1.5 million to six local nonprofit organizations.
“This was an opportunity for us to think beyond what is possible through our traditional grantmaking and give local nonprofits the ability to dream big,” said Todd Moser, president of the Community Foundation serving Howard, Clinton and Carroll Counties. “These projects represent significant investments in organizations already doing important work in Howard County, giving them the ability to expand their reach, strengthen their services and create lasting impact throughout the community.”
The Foundation’s 2024 Community Conversations report helped inform the Impact Grant process by identifying the community’s aspirations, concerns and priorities for Howard County’s future. While proposals were not required to address one of the priorities identified in the report, nonprofits were asked to demonstrate a clear community need and explain how their project would make meaningful progress toward addressing it. Together, the projects selected respond to a range of community needs and opportunities, including housing, healthcare access, youth and family support, and transportation.
The six nonprofit organizations selected to receive Impact Grants and their projects include:
Ascension St. Vincent Kokomo — Trauma Death Reduction Through Advancing Prehospital Critical Care
The project will establish a prehospital blood administration program and equip emergency response vehicles with advanced life-saving equipment, allowing paramedics to provide critical interventions before patients reach the hospital. The expanded capabilities are designed to improve trauma survival and strengthen access to advanced emergency medical care for residents across Howard County.
Crossroads Community Church — Godsend Garage Expansion
The Godsend Garage expansion will relocate the program from its current two-bay facility to a larger eight-bay facility, significantly increasing its capacity to provide vehicle repair services to qualified individuals and families in need. The expanded space will allow Godsend Garage to serve more residents while creating a better equipped facility for its growing community-based operation.
DADCAMP, Inc. — The Valley
The project will support DADCAMP’s acquisition and restoration of The Valley, preserving the property as a community asset while creating opportunities to expand programming for Howard County families. The investment will strengthen DADCAMP’s ability to engage fathers and children, directly supporting a community-identified priority of increasing parental engagement and support for local youth.
Indiana Health Centers, Inc. — Enhancing Dental Care for Underserved Populations
The project will expand dental services available at Indiana Health Centers’ Kokomo clinic, adding the ability to provide crowns, root canals and dentures for patients in Howard County. New dental equipment will allow the clinic to provide more comprehensive oral healthcare locally, improving access to treatment for underserved residents.
Kokomo Rescue Mission and Bridges Outreach — Homelessness to Home Ownership
The project will create new transitional housing for men, women and families moving out of emergency shelter, including 12 apartments within Kokomo Rescue Mission and a three-unit transitional housing development in partnership with Bridges Outreach. Together with Bridges Outreach’s existing homeownership program, the project will create a more complete pathway from homelessness to stable housing and eventual homeownership for Howard County residents.
Kokomo Urban Outreach — ReachUP Capital Campaign
The ReachUP Capital Campaign will complete Kokomo Urban Outreach’s youth development facility at 813 S. Union Street, addressing remaining facility needs and creating a fully functional space for the UP™ Program. Completion of the facility will allow the program to expand its reach from more than 300 to more than 600 youth annually while supporting academic progress, workforce readiness and long-term stability for local families.
“The ideas organizations brought forward gave us an opportunity to see just how much meaningful work is happening throughout Howard County,” said Amy Pate, chair of the Community Foundation of Howard County Board of Directors. “Selecting the projects to fund was not an easy decision, but we’re grateful to be able to support organizations taking on significant needs and opportunities in our community. We look forward to seeing what these investments make possible."
The Foundation will remain engaged with Impact Grant recipients throughout the grant period to help ensure projects move forward as proposed and create meaningful impact for Howard County residents. As those projects continue, the Foundation looks forward to providing updates on their progress.
About the Community Foundation of Howard County
The Community Foundation of Howard County was established in 1991 as a not-for-profit public charity dedicated to serving donors and strengthening Howard County through charitable giving and grantmaking. Today, the Foundation is the county’s largest single grant maker and is home to a broad range of funds reflecting donor and community interests. Its mission is to be stewards helping donors make our communities a better place to live every day.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds program throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
