OVERVIEW: The Porter County Community Foundation supports health and human services, K-12 and higher education, youth and early childhood education, women and girls, and community development.
IP TAKE: The Porter County Community Foundation is a significant source of support for area nonprofits across a variety of causes. Its open grant opportunities are easy to navigate and flexible, and its community fund has the ability to respond quickly to emergencies. Application deadlines for the individual funds can change from year to year, so new grantseekers should read over the website carefully. Reach out to staff with questions or to discuss your project.
PROFILE: Established in 1996, the Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) is a community foundation based in Valparaiso, Indiana. It helps over 7,000 donors support nonprofits in the local community. The foundation aims to “inspire enduring generosity and kindness in our community.” PCCF funds local efforts for health and human services, K-12 and higher education, youth and early childhood education, women and girls, and community development.
Grants for Community Development, Women and Girls
The Porter County Community Foundation supports many different types of nonprofits in its home region with grants and services. An accessible opportunity for local groups is the Porter County Community Fund, which has an open grant process for cultural, educational, environmental and humanitarian purposes. There is one annual deadline for this unrestricted fund, which can support nonprofit capacity-building programs, as well as community enhancement projects and planning efforts.
Another opportunity with PCCF is the Women’s Fund of Porter County, which is a women’s philanthropy group that collectively gives for community needs, especially those that impact women and children.
There is also a Men’s Fund at PCCF that gives one $5,000 grant each year to an area nonprofit.
Previous community improvement and human services grants have gone to Pines Village Retirement Communities, Valparaiso Parks & Recreation Foundation, Shirley Heinze Land Trust, The Caring Place, Hilltop Neighborhood House, Portage Police Department, Kouts Park Department, Pandemic Parenting Inc., Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, Neighborlink Porter County, and several different area YMCAs.
Grants for K-12 Education and Early Childhood Education
The Porter County Community Foundation supports education in the area through its three current grant opportunities: Porter County Community Fund, Women’s Fund of Porter County, and the Men’s Fund at PCCF. It does not, however, have a fund or program solely dedicated to funding local education organizations.
Previous grants in this area have gone to K-12 and higher education, early childhood education, and education services organizations, including Ivy Tech Community College, Valparaiso University, Porter County Museum, Parents As Teachers of Porter County, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, Dressed for School, Public Education Foundation of Valparaiso Indiana, Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana, Porter County Safe Schools Commission, St Paul Catholic School, Taylor University, and The Maac Foundation, which provides emergency services training for fire, EMT, law enforcement, and other first responders.
The foundation supports early childhood education through a handful of affiliated services and programs, as well. It provides Porter County residents with access to Seeds of Promise, which gives a $100 grant to every child born to a county resident, First Things First Porter County, which works to offer prenatal and postpartum health care and access to early learning opportunities to babies born in the county, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives a free book a month to children under 5 years old.
The foundation also offers several Scholarship opportunities for local students.
Grants for Health
The foundation broadly supports health and healthcare in Porter County through its three current grant opportunities: Porter County Community Fund, Women’s Fund of Porter County, and the Men’s Fund at PCCF. It does not, however, have a fund or program solely dedicated to funding local healthcare organizations.
The types of health groups that have received funding in the past include inpatient and outpatient organizations, hospitals, reproductive health organizations, as well as rehabilitation and recovery groups. Grantees include Respite House – A Halfway House for Men, Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County, Crisis Center, Healthlinc, True North Training Stables, The Artistic Recovery, Mental Health America of Northwest Indiana, Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehab Center, Northshore Health Centers, Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
Important Grant Details
Grants range between about $1,000 and $500,000, although some have gone over $1 million. The most common amount is $10,000. The foundation held over $96 million in assets in a recent year.
Grantmaking focuses on Porter County in Indiana.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits for its community funds. Each fund has its own application deadlines.
Direct general questions to the staff at info@pccf.gives or 219-465-0294.
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