In our effort to best serve our community during the unprecented health crisis, the Putnam County Community Foundation began utilizing the Putnam County Relief Fund in 2020. The Relief Fund allows the Community Foundation to respond to emerging and long-term needs created by COVID-19 by quickly deploying resources to local nonprofits, agencies, and other charitable entities.
Since March 2020, the Putnam County Community Foundation’s Board of Directors has allocated more than $130,000 to the Putnam County Relief Fund. With additional support from the community, the Relief Fund awarded $93,015.93 to entities serving our communities in 2020.
The following organizations received grant funding:
- Area 10 Agency of Aging: Provide free medication and food delivery through Rural Transit
- Area 30 Career Center: Purchase PPE, cleaning supplies, and other necessary items to ensure a safe facility for students
- Beyond Homeless Incorporated: 1) Purchase food, cleaning, personal care, and other essential items for families housed in the shelter 2) Support the Homelessness Prevention Program
- Castle: Provide financial support to replace funding lost through canceled fundraisers
- Cummins Behavioral Health Systems, Inc.: 1) Provide essential supplies to the Putnam County Supervised Living Facility 2) Purchase electronic devices for patients to continue treatment virtually
- Family Support Services: Provide funding to help families meet their basic and immediate needs
- First Baptist Preschool: Provide funding to purchase a washer and dryer to assist in cleansing items
- Gobin Memorial UMC – Transformers: Provide financial support to replace funding lost through canceled fundraisers, expand Sunny Side Concert Series
- Good News Ministries: Purchase PPE, cleaning supplies, and a disinfectant fogger for the Putnam County facility
- Greencastle Community School Corporation: Purchase and install touchless water bottle refills stations
- Lakeland Center, Inc.: Purchase PPE and cleaning supplies in order to restart mental health programming for at-risk individuals affected by COVID-19
- Mental Health America of Putnam County: Provide mental health education and advocacy
- Opportunity Housing: Assist families at risk of losing housing
- Putnam County Chamber: Provide funding to small businesses to increase advertising
- Putnam County Giving Tree/Phil the Need: Provide funding to purchase gifts for children in need
- Putnam County Playhouse, Inc.: Provide mobile audio equipment for virtual children’s summer workshops
- Putnam County Youth Development Commission: 1) Purchase backpacks and school supplies within each school corporation in Putnam County in partnership with Phil the Need 2) Purchase coats for annual Coats for Kids program 3) Assistance with operational costs
- Putnam Wellness Coalition: Purchase refrigeration for local food pantries to increase access to perishable items
- Transformers: 1) Provide support to the Circles program to sustain the same level of support and programming 2) Assist families with rent/utilities
- United Way of Putnam County: Provide funding to local food pantries that remain open and have established drive-through operations to meet the high volume of requests due to COVID-19.
The Relief Fund continues to accept grant applications from nonprofits, agencies, and other charitable initiatives affected by COVID-19. Please contact us 765-653-4978 for additional information regarding the Relief Fund.