The Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) was started in 1996 to strengthen its community through generous giving and leadership. Through its Community Fund, PCCF has recently awarded 33 grants to local groups and organizations.
PCCF awarded $232,184 in grants to 33 local nonprofit organizations as part of its first of two grant cycles for 2024, which included:
· 4th Street Theater - $4,000 to support an upstairs HVAC unit
· Beverly Shores Museum and Art Gallery - $1,700 to support the “Learning the Land: Stewarding Beauty” art exhibition
· Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana - $9,750 to support Chesterton Boys & Girls Club STEM equipment
· Center of Workforce Innovations - $3,780 to support Porter County Construction and Skilled Trades Day
· Dunes Learning Center - $5,050 to support community awareness efforts
· Food Bank of Northwest Indiana - $10,000 to support eight Mobile Markets food distribution events in Porter County
· Gabriel's Horn Homeless Shelter - $5,000 to support a backup generator
· Hebron Volunteer Fire Department - $9,500 to support updating and replacing AEDs
· Hilltop Neighborhood House - $6,800 to support an early learning curriculum
· Jacob's Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation - $8,829 to support the Little Listeners Hearing Screening program
· Kouts Volunteer Fire Department - $10,000 to support structural firefighting gear
· Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana - $3,500 to support wish granting in Porter County
· MAKS Corp. - $8,000 to support emergency requests for foster children
· Memorial Opera House Foundation - $7,500 to support a Veterans Day concert
· Neighbors' Educational Opportunities - $5,000 to support adult learning centers
· Northwest Indiana Cancer Kids Foundation - $6,000 to support travel expenses for families with children battling cancer
· Northwest Indiana Paddle Association - $6,000 to support upgrading their loaner boats
· Opportunity Enterprises - $10,000 to support Camp Lakeside, Northwest Indiana's only summer day camp for kids of all abilities
· Our Greater Good - $5,000 to support expanding parenting and mentoring programs
· Parents As Teachers of Porter County - $10,000 to support their Ready Set Kindergarten expansion
· Portage Recovery Association - $7,500 to support the New Chapter Recovery Café
· Portage Township YMCA - $10,000 to support an outdoor learning center for their new Preschool Academy
· Rebuilding Together Duneland - $5,000 to support their Rebuilding Day
· Rebuilding Together Hebron - $5,000 to support their Rebuilding Day
· Reins of Life - $9,000 to support indoor arena improvements
· Save the Dunes - $5,000 to support the Dunes Dash 5k
· South Shore Orchestra - $7,000 to support their 20th anniversary concert on June 13
· St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center - $10,000 to support replacing damaged and worn flooring
· String-A-Long Stars & Stripes Quilts of Valor NW Indiana - $5,000 to support materials for quilts for veterans and active military personnel
· Three20 Recovery - $7,000 to support transportation services
· The Salvation Army of Northwest Indiana, Porter County Corps - $6,275 to support kids archery camp and music program
· True North Training Stables - $10,000 to support kids equine summer camp
· United Way Northwest Indiana - $10,000 to support Level Up, an economic empowerment program
This vital community support begins as much much-needed donations from the community. PCCF grows these donations through investments and then gives the funds out as grants to nonprofits in Porter County.
Grants are awarded for multiple types of projects – including educational, environmental, humanitarian, and cultural work throughout the county.
Additionally, as part of its bi-annual grant cycle, the PCCF granted over $99,000 to community groups at the end of 2023.
Dressed for School, the Art Barn School of Art, The Caring Place, Compass International Family Center, and Hilltop Neighborhood House all received $10,000 in grant funds in the second 2023 grant cycle.
Dressed for School provides free school clothes to students in need. PCCF grant funds will be used to purchase shoes and clothing for elementary and middle school students.
Working to support its mission of offering resources for the children and families of Valparaiso, Hilltop Neighborhood House intends to use its funds to support its free community soup kitchen. Organizers will purchase a much-needed commercial cooler and multiple cooking tables.
The Art Barn will use the $10,000 from PCCF’s Community Fund grant for a much-needed fire and security system. Leaders at the Art Barn also intend to use the funds to increase accessibility around the premises.
Another $10,000 was granted to Compass International. Compass International supports the international community in Northwest Indiana. The center plans to use these grant funds to grow and serve newcomer and international families in Porter County.
Remembering the need for arts of all kinds, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra received $5,000 for the annual Holiday Pops Porter County concert. This annual concert takes place at Valparaiso High School. Additional grants were awarded to fund the arts in Porter County: Three20 Recovery received $1,000 for keyboards and harmonicas, and Playact Theatre received $3,000 for lighting equipment.
Community projects like Girls on the Run, Duneland Family YMCA, and Opportunity Enterprises were also awarded Community Fund grants. Girls on the Run intends to allocate its $9,893 grant to programs for third, fourth, and fifth graders throughout the county. Duneland YMCA and Opportunity Enterprises each received $5,000 for an educational sensory room at the YMCA’s Living Campus and for a generator at the Fiesta Home in Portage.
Call-A-Ride’s $6,000 grant will support its already-established work in Boone Township. Call-A-Ride provides free rides to the elderly and needy within twenty miles of Hebron.
Porter County’s animal population was also part of the fall 2023 PCCF Community Fund grants. Both Humane Indiana and the Independent Cat Society received $5,000. Humane Indiana plans to support the transportation of animals and educational programming. The Independent Cat Society will also work to spay, neuter, and inoculated felines in its care.
Recent grant applications were accepted in February. Another round of giving will begin with community grant applications due in August 2024.
To learn more about the PCCF’s Community Fund and other projects, please visit www.pccf.gives.
