OVERVIEW: The Blue River Community Foundation supports education, civic causes, youth, arts and culture, social services and health in Indiana.
IP TAKE: The Blue River Community Foundation maps its funding across the community it serves. It has an accessible application process and provides grantseekers with information about past grantees. Not all grant opportunities accept applications at the same time, so grantseekers will want to check frequently to keep abreast of relevant deadlines. Reach out to the staff with questions or to discuss your project.
PROFILE: Established in 1988, the Blue River Community Foundation (BRCF) is a community foundation based in Shelbyville, Indiana. The Leadership Shelby County Class was looking into establishing a YMCA in the community and learned about the community foundation model, which led to the formation of BRCF. The foundation is a “catalyst for igniting action that improves the quality of life in Shelby County.” It funds local efforts for education, civic causes, youth, arts and culture, social services and health.
Grants for Community Development
The Blue River Community Foundation’s grantmaking focuses on supporting area nonprofits that serve the residents of Shelby County. Its community development and improvement grants go to youth development groups, community beautification organizations, social organizations, and local churches.
The funds and foundations providing community development grants include:
Community Grants are competitive grants made through a number of unrestricted family funds, field of interest funds, and the BRCF Community Endowment Fund. BRCF typically gives the most to youth causes in the community, followed by civic needs and social services. These grants are made through a competitive process with one application cycle per year. BRCF awards rapid response and emergency grants as needs arise.
City & County Progress Grants are administered by BRCF to enhance quality of life in the community.
Hometown Community Grants serve the four quadrants of Shelby County (Northwestern Northeastern, Waldron Area and Southwestern) and provide schools, restoration projects, beautification projects, senior citizen programs, volunteer fire departments and many other types of causes.
Wortman Family Foundation for Shelby and Hancock Counties grants are overseen by the foundation and focus on “community enhancements.” They support art, recreation, and beautification but give priority to education and health.
Grants range between $2,500-$25,000.
Past local grantees include the Mainstreet Shelbyville, Shelby Senior Services, Hancock County Senior Services, FOP Lodge 123, Shelby County Masonic Lodge 28, Shelby County Development, Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Shelbyville Indiana, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Girls Incorporated of Shelbyville, Shelbyville Parks and Recreation, Shelby County Youth Assistance Program, and the Salvation Army.
Grants for Public Health and Access
The community foundation’s giving for health and healthcare access supports local organizations focused on inpatient and outpatient medical care, research and treatment of diseases, and especially hospitals.
Health grants are administered through three separate funding vehicles:
Community Grants are competitive grants made through a number of unrestricted family funds, field of interest funds, and the BRCF Community Endowment Fund. BRCF typically gives the most to youth causes in the community, followed by civic needs and social services. These grants are made through a competitive process with one application cycle per year. BRCF awards rapid response and emergency grants as needs arise.
City & County Progress Grants are administered by BRCF to enhance quality of life in the community.
Wortman Family Foundation for Shelby and Hancock Counties grants range between $2,500-$25,000 and are overseen by the foundation and focus on “community enhancements.” They support art, recreation, and beautification but give priority to education and health.
Health and healthcare access is not the foundation’s largest area in terms of number of grants awarded; however, some of its largest grants in terms of amount have happened in this space. Major Health Partners and the Shelbyville Hospital received a grant for over $544,000 in 2019 and several others that exceed $300,000. Hancock Regional Hospital also received a $400,000 grant and has seen several others in the six figures.
Other grantees include Jane Pauley Community Health Center, Shelby Community Health Center, Down Syndrome Indiana, Cancer Association of Shelby County, Flat Rock Citizens Committee Volunteer Fire Dept for EMT Services, and Nine13 a non-profit that supports health, wellness, and exercise.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The foundation views arts and culture projects as an essential part of healthy, livable communities, and it prioritizes support for the arts across all of its grantmaking. The types of groups that have seen support include cultural and historical heritage, museums, schools and churches with arts education programs, and visual and performing arts organizations.
It makes grant from the following sources:
Community Grants are competitive grants made through a number of unrestricted family funds, field of interest funds, and the BRCF Community Endowment Fund. BRCF typically gives the most to youth causes in the community, followed by civic needs and social services. These grants are made through a competitive process with one application cycle per year. BRCF awards rapid response and emergency grants as needs arise.
City & County Progress Grants are administered by BRCF to enhance quality of life in the community.
Hometown Community Grants serve the four quadrants of Shelby County (Northwestern Northeastern, Waldron Area and Southwestern) and provide schools, restoration projects, beautification projects, senior citizen programs, volunteer fire departments and many other types of causes.
Wortman Family Foundation for Shelby and Hancock Counties grants are overseen by the foundation and focus on “community enhancements.” They support art, recreation, and beautification but give priority to education and health.
Grants range between $2,500-$25,000.
Previous grantees include Strand Theatre of Shelbyville, Shelby County Players Theater, Shelbyville High School Band Booster, Hancock County Children’s Choir, Blue River Youth Choir, Shelby Arts Council, Shelby County Historical Society, and Grover Center Museum & Historical Society.
Details of the types of public art and community spaces the foundation has helped support can be found here.
Grants for Education
The community foundation supports education organizations by making grants from the same funds and organizations as much of its other funding. Primary and secondary schools and school districts have seen support, as have organizations that provide education services.
Community Grants are competitive grants made through a number of unrestricted family funds, field of interest funds, and the BRCF Community Endowment Fund. BRCF typically gives the most to youth causes in the community, followed by civic needs and social services. These grants are made through a competitive process with one application cycle per year. BRCF awards rapid response and emergency grants as needs arise.
City & County Progress Grants are administered by BRCF to enhance quality of life in the community.
Hometown Community Grants serve the four quadrants of Shelby County (Northwestern Northeastern, Waldron Area and Southwestern) and provide schools, restoration projects, beautification projects, senior citizen programs, volunteer fire departments and many other types of causes.
Wortman Family Foundation for Shelby and Hancock Counties grants range between $2,500-$25,000 and are overseen by the foundation and focus on “community enhancements.” They support art, recreation, and beautification but give priority to education and health.
Past grantees include Shelbyville Central Schools, Golden Bear Booster, Shelby County Historical Society, Shelby Eastern Schools, Shelbyville-Shelby County Public Library, Shelby County Community Corrections, Early Learning Shelby County, Triton Central High School, Waldron Junior-Senior High School, Blue River Career Program, and Frankin Township Education Foundation.
In addition to grants, the foundation also awards Scholarships to area students.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $200 and $75,000, but they have reached into the six digits on occasion. The most common amount is $10,000. The foundation gave away over $2 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $47 million in assets.
Grantmaking focuses on Shelby County in Indiana. Learn more about this funder’s local giving on the grant recipients page of the funder’s website.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. Each accessible grant opportunity has its own unique set of guidelines and deadlines.
Direct general questions to the staff at 317-392-7955.
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