GRANTS

Summer Art Camp for Kids

$3,000.00

The Brown County Art Gallery Foundation received funds for a free Children’s Summer Art Camp offered by Artists Association member and instructor Amanda Mathis and held in the Gallery Art Education Studio.

All supplies are provided along with a healthy snacks for the camp kids. The young artists will be learning about the use of different materials, medium, and color theory. The instructor will help the children find their creativity and the use of perspective by painting and drawing on paper and canvas with color pencils, pastels, watercolor, and acrylic. All works created by the students will be displayed in the Education Studio and sent home with the students after camp.

Building Community

$20,000

Brown County Indiana Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope within a shared vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.  These funds will be used for upcoming home builds in Brown County, Indiana.

A new 3 Cubic Yard Trash receptacle.

$1,640.90

This grant addresses the need and means to purchase a new replacement 3 three cubic yard heavy duty unit color coded orange. This will make the “trash only” bin very recognizable to the recycling public.

Forcible Entry Door Simulator

$4,250.00 (matching)

Forcible entry door simulator for all county fire departments and law enforcement. To be owned by BCVFD and housed at the training facility (former Creekside Retreat).

Weekend Food for Brown County economically disadvantaged children

$6,000

In 2022, BCWB created a strategic plan, which included a long-term goal to “become involved in relevant food insecure focused organizations to help us get more food to children”. BCWB provides backpacks full of food for Brown County children to cover food needs over the weekend.

CRC Certification Grant

$10,000.00

The CRC Certification Grant will support adult education students aged 16 and up who want to obtain a short term certification that leads to gainful employment.  These grants will support individuals who cannot be funded through employer, state, or regional funds.

FVFD PPE 2023

$10,361.90

The purpose of this grant request is to provide new personal protective equipment (fire suits) for the men and women of the Fruitdale Volunteer Fire Department. The scope of this request encompasses the need for the replacement of several miscellaneous pieces of structural gear used to fight heavy duty fire such as housefire, as well as fifteen sets of wildland fire suits, which are a lighter weight suit worn when fighting brush and grass fires. This grant also includes EMS rescue gear and extraction gloves. This new equipment will benefit the fire district we protect, as well as the whole of Brown County, by allowing our firefighters to fully do their jobs to the best of their abilities when the call to help comes, by having the proper safety equipment. Ensuring that our firefighters are well protected allows our team to do their best work for the citizens of Brown County.

Brown County Christkindl Market

$3,000.00 

In keeping with the rich history of our arts culture, in the heart of the arts village, the Brown County Christkindl Market will commence once again the first week-end in December and feature any local artist who applies and wants to be included. The market will be located in Coach Light Square and we will once again invite vendors to share their wares.

On The Road Again

$6,000

On The Road Again is a yearly back-to-school event sponsored by God’s Grace, Inc.  The event provides Brown County school children with school appropriate clothing, including coats, gloves, hats, and shoes, personal hygiene items, grooming aids, and other items at no charge, helping each child to feel the comfort, acceptance, and eagerness to successfully start the new school year.

Seal Coating and Painting parking lot and drive. 

$2,250.00

This project will enable us to continue to offer a safe community center to all ages of citizens of our community. The outdoor playgrounds and walking track provide an opportunity for safe play and physical exercise while enjoying the beauty of outdoor Brown County. The indoor facilities provide the opportunity for family parties and celebration as well as a space for community groups to meet.

Support for Brown County Citizens to Participate in Hope for Hearts and Free to Be Me Programs.

$3.625.00

Hope for Hearts Farm, Inc is requested funding to provide scholarship support for the citizens of Brown County to participate in our Equine Assisted Learning programs for the emotional and mental wellbeing of our community.  Hope for Hearts Farm provides a unique way for individuals to grow and strengthen their self-esteem, communication, problem-solving, relationship, and leadership skills by partnering with horses.  We offer sessions for youth and adults in our “Hope for Hearts” program and “Free to be Me” which is a specialty program designed for adolescent girls ages 10-14 to discover freedom in who they are and how to handle body changes, social media, drugs, alcohol, and dealing with peer pressure.

Brown County Forest Biology Education and Citizen Science

$5,700.00

Brown County is home to several species of endangered bats, including the recently listed Northern long-eared bat. Indiana Forest Alliance (IFA) will be conducting biological surveys (Ecoblitz) of bats in Brown County this year.  These surveys are funded by the Regina Frankenberg and the Arthur & Elaine Johnson Foundations in support of our work to protect endangered species. 

The bat surveys we will perform provide an opportunity to educate the public, train local volunteers and citizen scientists, and enhance tourism in the area.  We seek the support of BCCF for:

1. Education: engage with local schools, create citizen science opportunities, and produce educational materials.
2. Train Volunteers and Citizen Scientists: train volunteer scientists and students to assist with biological surveys and enlist their help in performing bat counts.  Training will include use of mist nets, attaching and monitoring transmitters on bats, bat measurement and identification, locating roosting trees and habitat, bat behavior, biological counting, using bat scanners for acoustic identification, and more.   We will also engage the public with citizen science opportunities to assist with acoustic monitoring and reporting.
3. Enhance Tourism: we will partner with BCCF, local schools, universities, and businesses to foster participation and interest.

Brown County Art and Artists

$2,500.00

Brown County Art and Artists is a three-episode, one-hour film about three award-winning Hoosier artists who represent today’s art art scene with a nod to the legacy of the early Brown County artists, who pioneered one of the first art colonies in the United States,  thereby establishing national recognition of Indiana and its beauty. The film will be distributed free on the internet to reach new audiences, especially the  underserved. The goal is to broaden appreciation of art and support artists.

Brown County Youth Mountain Bike Project

$2,845.00

In 2022, we started the Brown County Youth Mountain Bike Project. We have a fleet of 12″, 14″, 20″ and 24″ youth mountain bikes and we would like to introduce them to the (3) Brown County Elementary Schools as part of PE or After Care. We would bring to the bikes to the schools and give kids to opportunity to experience mountain biking and also over professional instruction to give them solid foundational skills.

In addition we would like each elementary school to have their own bikes to have on site so the kids could have access to the bikes during PE at school. We think the Strider 14x and the Kona Makena 20x would be a great first step. If we could have 1 of each of those bikes and 2 helmets for the bikes that would be a great start (for each school). We were also given a trailer that we would like to have wrapped to transport the bikes and mobile skills to the schools. Danielle and I are both certified mountain bike instructors and love coaching youth, the future of our sport.

Hygiene Pantry Storage & Fill

$3,800.00

Why do we think history is important? Why do we repeat the stories about the settlers and their families? If our historical cemeteries have no value then what does? Did we just wake up one morning and there was a local government, or did we decide the Civil War veterans had no importance in the fight? Who decided that Dr. Carson who traveled from Tennessee to take care of the sick in a poorly populated county in Indiana should have no importance and the beautiful monument should be in the dirt. Or is daughter Charlotte’s tombstone should remain completely buried under the dirt. Apparently decades of residents never gave him or others a thought. You, the committee for grants, decided he deserved more. Just like last year you decided Wm. Browning deserved more. And now they do, through your grant money they have the respect that should have been awarded throughout the fifteen or so decades. PVH will continue to recognize everyone, regardless of status, in SouthviewHygiene Pantry Storage & Fill will help achieve the continuance of Living With Purpose Girls Outreach Ministry Inc. distribution of hygiene products for the benefit of the community members’ healthful living. It will provide the needed space of storage, as well as the hygiene products themselves that are distributed to the community members (including students) monthly.

Lotus Blossoms 2023

$2,557.89

Lotus Blossoms is an annual four-week series of artist workshops and performances focused on outreach and education, via globally and culturally diverse music and arts experiences. Every spring, Lotus Blossoms connects students, families, and communities with performing artists from all over the globe. Serving South Central Indiana since its inception in 1996, Blossoms has reached more than 210,000 students and community members and has amplified the diverse voices of over 60 international artists. Last year alone we facilitated 35 unique opportunities in 6 counties that reached over 10,000 Hoosiers in their community spaces with this program.

A cornerstone of Lotus Blossoms programming is a focus on engagement with underserved urban and rural communities. These constituencies often lack access to people of diverse backgrounds and to multicultural experiences. By presenting global music and arts experiences, Lotus strives to inspire a love of diversity in these communities. Through Lotus Blossoms’ programming, Lotus also serves populations that have limited opportunities to experience in-person musical experiences, including those in retirement homes, preschools, detention centers, or economically disadvantaged communities.

Sponsorship of Student to Receive Literacy Services

$6,500.00

Our mission is to provide literacy services at no cost to the student. We believe that reading is a fundamental right and that all people regardless of economic status, are entitled to the right to read.

ChamberFest Brown County

$3,500.00

We believe classical music performance of the highest quality can be transformative. It can inspire audiences, and build community by reaching across social, political and economic divides. By offering a week-long festival of chamber music each August in beautiful Brown County, Indiana, played by world-class musicians, we aspire to bring people together in Brown County and the surrounding areas.

The Salvation Army’s 4Twelve Youth Center ReVamp

$6,000.00 (matching)

The Salvation Army’s 4Twelve Youth Center space hosts dozens of local students each week. Our project proposal is to create a more conducive environment for our students to play, learn and grow. The current space is outdated for the students we currently serve. We are wanting to create more intentional spaces for exercise, creative arts, gaming and reading. The revamping of our 4Twelve Youth Center will have an incredible impact on our community by continuing to create safe space for our children to go after school

St. Vincent de Paul Back to School Program

$4,000

This program has been offered to the community since 2004 and seeks to provide partial relief to families in need with the cost of their child or grandchild’s return to school expenses. Vouchers valued at $60 each to be redeemed at Walmart are used by the families and students to purchase shoes, socks, school supplies, back packs, and other school related items. Gas cards for $5.00 were also offered as were ear buds at the time of registration.

Painting Selma’s Garden

$2,000

Painting Selma’s Garden is an all-day event created through a partnership with T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Indiana Heritage Arts and the Brown County Art Gallery Foundation, which celebrates the artists of Brown County past and future. The event will take place June 17th at both the Brown County Art Gallery and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. At the Gallery during the day and evening Hoosier artists will have their artworks exhibited and available for purchase as part of the Indiana Heritage Arts Exhibit. At the Historic Site artists will take part in a “Paint Out”, a plein air painting of Selma Steele’s Garden. Visitors can tour both venues during the day for free, meet with artists and watch their creative work in process.

In the evening a ticketed reception at T.C. Steele will begin with an educational program about the creation and history of Selma’s Garden, and its uses today. Following the program guests will be treated to food and drinks, live music, a “Wet Paint Sale” where they can purchase paintings artists painted that day, as well as tours of the Garden. The day will celebrate Brown County’s artistic history, while supporting today’s Brown County artists.

Providing Security for Survivors of Domestic Violence

$3,185.00

Turning Point Brown County’s Community Services Director is currently located within the agency’s administrative offices in Columbus, it is crucial to be able to communicate with survivors/program participants and community partners electronically. It is also important for this staff person to have a reliable, working source of work, especially when it comes to technology. At this time, the Community Services Director’s laptop is outdated and in need of an upgrade. Turning Point is requesting funds for a new laptop for this staff person in order to be able to effectively and efficiently continue to reliably provide services and collaborate with community partners.