West Noble Primary Receives Grant!

/in /by

West Noble Primary Receives Grant!

The Noble County Community Foundation, Inc. and its supporting organization, Community Initiatives, Inc. recently awarded a grant to West Noble Primary for $2,110 to subsidize the cost of materials and supplies needed for a study of the Australian culture. Students will learn about the various aspects of the Australian culture such as: people, lifestyle, map/terrain, traditions, animals, school, food, music, and art.

Pictured accepting the gift are (front l to r) Teegan Clouse, Lydia Gow, Alexa Silva, (holding check) Stefany Dominguez and Jovany Castaneda, (back row) Mrs. Pruitt, Miss Golden, Lucy Martin, Janet Escareno,
Dayana
Guzman-Lopez, Marcella Storms, Mrs. Hicks and Jerry Nesbitt NCCF Community Initiatives member.

Little LEAPS – New Pre-K Program Offered – Matching donations

/in /by

BY BOB BUTTGEN
LIGONIER — Students entering kindergarten for the 2014-15 school year at West Noble will have the chance to attend a new pre-kindergarten class being offered by LEAP of Noble County and the West Noble School Corp.

The new program, Little LEAPS (Learning Early At Primary School), was announced this week by Denise Lemmon of LEAP and Dr. Dennis VanDuyne, West Noble superintendent of schools.

Funding for the program has been provided by an anonymous gift of $100,000 with the stipulation that a fundraising effort be launched to match the funding each year. Lemmon said the public is being asked to support the new program through donations.

Expected cost is
$33,000 a year for the classes which will be offered in July. Half of that will come from the anonymous donation and the other half is expected to come from donations from the public, including businesses and individuals.

Lemmon and VanDuyne spoke Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the Ligonier of Chamber Commerce, and outlined the new program.

Lemmon said the need for the pre-K classes came because of the disparity of skills presented by incoming kindergarten students each year.

“Some new students have never even picked up a crayon or can’t count, while others can count to 100 on the first day of class,” she said.

English-language skills are also a problem, she noted, because of homes where English is not the primary language. This applies to both Hispanic and Amish families.

“Readiness is the big issue,” Lemmon told the chamber members. “We estimate that only about 25 percent of incoming kindergarten students have gone to a pre-school. We have a huge need here.”

West Noble will provide classroom space at West Noble Primary School, as well as transportation. A majority of the funding will be used to

pay for teachers.

The classes will be held in two groups, one on Monday-Wednesday and another on Tuesday-Thursday, for about five hours each day for five weeks. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Another advantage of Little LEAPS, Lemmon pointed out, is that students will get used to riding a school bus, and they will be able to meet their teachers and principal, and others who will be there when school starts in August.

But the immediate push now is for financial donations to match the original grant, which is being administered by the Noble County Community Foundation. Donations will be

tax-deductible, Lemmon noted.

“This is a game-changing opportunity,” she said. “We hope parents will take advantage of this offer. But we are also looking for a community buy-in through donations.”

Donations should be mailed to the Noble County Community Foundation, 1599 Lincolnway South, Ligonier, IN 46767 and mark “Little LEAPS” in the memo line.

Both VanDuyne and Lemmon can be contacted for additional information.

They said they would welcome a corporate sponsor who could help the two groups meet the matching-grant requirement.

Celebrating Community Foundations: 100 Years in America, 98 Years in Indiana

/in /by

Celebrating Community Foundations:
100 Years in America, 98 Years in Indiana

Indianapolis, IN (February 25, 2014) – A resolution honoring Indiana’s community foundations and the field’s centennial anniversary was adopted yesterday by the Indiana Senate. “On the field’s 100th anniversary, we want to celebrate all the good work being done by community foundations throughout America and especially right here in Indiana,” said Senator Randy Head (R) from Logansport, who offered the resolution. “In communities throughout the state, the generosity of countless donors and partner organizations continues to make life better for all of us.”

One hundred years ago, the community foundation concept was born in Cleveland, Ohio, giving rise to a new philanthropy, a new way of participating in community, and a new vision for the future. The community foundation field has since grown to more than 800 in the country.

The first community foundation in Indiana was established in Indianapolis in 1916, and Indiana has had more growth than any other state, thanks in part to an effort launched 23 years ago by Lilly Endowment Inc. to strengthen and

expand the growth of community foundations in the state. In 1990, fewer than a dozen viable community foundations dotted the Indiana landscape, with combined assets of about $100 million. Today there are 94 community foundations and county affiliate funds serving every county in the state, inviting everyday people with a vision and a passion for community to create something together: For good. Forever.

Community foundations translate collective giving into big impact

Community members across the state have helped Indiana’s community foundations build a combined $2 billion in managed assets statewide. These gifts build endowment funds that benefit their communities forever and help create personal legacies. When someone contributes to an endowment managed by the community foundation in his or her home town, the gift is invested over time. “Thanks to our community foundations, people in cities and towns throughout Indiana can pool their charitable funds into community resources for the benefit of all,” said Marissa Manlove, President and CEO of Indiana Philanthropy Alliance.

 

Earnings from that fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Each gift—and all future earnings from the gift—is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work today and
in the future. In 2012 alone, Indiana’s community foundations collectively made grants of approximately $117 million to improve life in their communities. “Community foundations are local nonprofit organizations run and led by local residents who have an in-depth understanding of the issues, opportunities and resources that shape their community,” added Manlove. “Indiana’s community foundations are collectively among the largest instruments for community good in the country.”

 

The Noble County Community Foundation is now 22 years old and has assets of $24 million dollars. “In the very beginning in 1991, we were blessed with Lilly and Dekko matching funds to start our community foundation. We know that our founders believed strongly in our cause and our mission as they guided us through the process of organizing

tablet Almond I paraffin pick-up work. If palette my, click with body it lot Vaseline polishes always any also but: and from.

as they devoted time and energy for the benefit of Noble County” states Executive Director, Linda Speakman-Yerick. Linda added “It is so wonderful that the growth of the Foundation has average over one million dollars per year in growth. Individuals, families, and corporations believe in the concept of endowments that will assist many nonprofits for generations to come and provide sustainability forever and leave their legacy in Noble County.”

 

#####

 

Indiana Philanthropy Alliance is a nonprofit membership association for Indiana’s private, family, community, and corporate foundations, corporate giving programs, and other grantmaking organizations. IPA’s mission is to champion, support, and connect its members as they transform Indiana through effective philanthropy. To learn more go to www.indianagrantmakers.org