OVERVIEW: The Community Foundation of Elkhart County supports career pathways, kids and families and placemaking in Indiana.
IP TAKE: The Community Foundation of Elkhart County is laser-focused on community improvement initiatives and supporting nonprofits serving the local population. Much of this foundation’s grants derives from unrestricted funds. This transparent funder provides access to Financial Statements and Annual Reports on its website. It accepts unsolicited proposals with deadlines of mid-August and mid-February each year for its larger grants. Additionally, it invites grantseekers to reach out with questions.
PROFILE: Established in 1989, the Community Foundation of Elkhart County (CFEC) is a community foundation based in Elkhart, Indiana. Oscar Schricker was the local resident who helped initiate the foundation, and William Budd was the largest contributor to the foundation in its early days. The foundation aims to “improve the quality of life in Elkhart County by inspiring generosity.” It funds local efforts for career pathways, kids and families and placemaking.
Grants for Community Development
The Community Foundation’s primary focus is improving Elkhart County through support for local community groups. It makes grants to area nonprofits through several different grant programs, the largest and most robust of these is the Community Investment Grant program which supports a wide variety of issues and initiatives. A full list of current grant opportunities and application deadlines is available here.
Community Investment Grants support Elkhart County nonprofits via three subprograms:
Career Pathways Grants support education, post-secondary success, workforce development, transition programs and internship and apprenticeship programs.
Kids and Families Grants support early childhood services, summer programs, youth programs, mentoring, after-school programs, parental support and social services related to senior care and rehab services.
Placemaking Grants fund the arts, neighborhoods, transportation, disaster relief, parks and trails, downtowns, the environment and animal care.
Bontrager Family Foundation Grants broadly support three funding areas: Christian faith-based organizations, youth and family, and the Middlebury community. Grant amounts have ranged from $1,500 to $30,000.
Emergency Grants help nonprofits overcome “sudden, unanticipated and unavoidable challenges” before they become insurmountable. Grants are $25,000 or less.
CFEC awards Scholarships to local students for higher education tuition and Sponsorships of up to $10,000 to support fundraising events for nonprofit organizations.
The Learning Center provides workshops, coaching, roundtables, and other forms of non-monetary support to community nonprofits.
Grants for Environment
CFEC supports the environment, farms and agriculture, and the county’s natural resources through two separate funding programs, as well as through the Placemaking focus area of the Community Investment Grants program.
Mishler Brown Fund supports organizations or programs nonprofits focused on farming, agriculture, and the historic preservation of farms, barns, and equipment. It also supports the preservation of natural resources.
Trail Network Grants support the development and maintenance of Elkhart County’s trail network. Grant amounts start at $1,000.
Grants for Public Health and Access
Health and healthcare are not the foundation’s largest funding area; however, it does support nonprofits working to improve the general health of the local community. Grants in this area have gone to support reproductive and mental healthcare, medical care facilities and hospitals, and at-home nursing care.
Well Foundation Grants support nonprofits with programs or projects focused on improving the health and wellness of the residents of the city of Goshen and Elkhart County.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $5,000 and $200,000, but they have gone as high as $12 million. The most common amount is $10,000. The foundation awarded over $36 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $405 million in assets.
Grantmaking focuses on Elkhart County, Indiana.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits.
CFEC has a grant committee that reviews Community Investment Grant requests of $25,000 or more twice per year.
Applications are due in mid-August and mid-February.
The foundation typically decides on smaller grants within six weeks.
CFEC uses an online grant process.
Grantseekers can look over the foundation’s Financial Statements and Annual Reports to get a better sense of the types of organizations it supports.
Direct general questions to the staff at Info@InspiringGood.org or 574-295-8761.
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