2021 Annual Impact Report

2021 was another year we couldn’t have predicted. It was certainly filled with ups and downs. But your annual report is full of two qualities – impact and hope.

Each of these 30 highlights, in honor or our 30th anniversary, supports our three goals – to serve donors, to make grants and to provide leadership. This is the foundation of the Foundation, if you will.

But none of it would be possible without you. Thank you.

 

If you didn’t receive a hard copy and would like one, please contact Lisa at lbenjamin@rushcountyfoundation.org or (765)938-1177, ext.4. You can also download it here for a closer look.

 

2021READ MORELEGACY GIVINGMORE

Look at all the good things that 2021 brought. To view full stories, click on the READ MORE tab to find a list of links and see just how much we were able to accomplish together.

  1. We celebrated the good work we’ve done together over the last 30 years with #RCCFFlashbackFriday posts, a virtual scavenger hunt of grant-funded projects and an in-person gathering that truly felt like a homecoming.
  2. The Open Resource received a grant for $16,190 to launch their innovative Digital Navigators program.
  3. Fred Marshall Healthy Futures Fund supports a six-week healthy cooking course.
  4. Work on the REC Center continued behind the scenes.
  5. The Rush County Youth Athletic Fund granted $359.19 to Eric Wagner, Boys Soccer Coach at RCHS, to assist with the purchase of a Veo camera system. He can record soccer matches for team review and livestream matches.
  6. Wilma Jo Kile established the Ebert H. and Bessie M. Schroeder Fund in memory of her parents to support the REC Center.
  7. The Rita Yager Memorial Ag Fund granted $1,007.98 to two projects. The Rushville Animal Shelter purchased a camcorder and camera to assist in documenting any future animal neglect cases. Rush County Farm Bureau will use their award to teach all Rush County 2nd grade students growing sunflowers and their many uses.
  8. The Milroy Economic Development Corporation received a grant for $10,500 to paint a large-scale outdoor mural to include community input and participation.
  9. The Catherine “Katie” Brashaber Continuing Education Fund was established by Katie’s family in her memory.
  10. Girls Inc. of Shelbyville/Shelby County received a grant of $7,500 to provide monthly subscription boxes for 50 Rush County girls ages 6 – 10 to provide fun, educational activities centered on literacy and math.
  11. The Molly Spaeth Fund for Transformation and Well-Being was established by her family to support projects and programming that improve the social and/or mental well-being and betterment of individuals locally.
  12. The Carthage Volunteer Fire Department received a grant for $3,727.95 to purchase additional grain bin rescue tools and training.
  13. The Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department received a grant for $29,009.88 to buy four air packs, which allow firefighters to breathe while in toxic smoke conditions.
  14. More than $216,000 were awarded in scholarships. A total of 112 awards were made to 61 local students. The average award was $1,930.31.
  15. The Rush County Education Fund granted $172.73 to Amaranta Kemple, Spanish teacher at RCHS, for vocabulary building tools to be used by her students.
  16. imagine:nation, the arts and cultural council of Rush County, received a grant for $11,200 to create a gallery space and classroom in the Booker T. Washington school building. They also hosted a free Shakespeare in the park performance of Much Ado About Nothing by national touring company in July at Riverside Park, including two page-to-stage workshops for adults and youth with cast members.
  17. The First5 Fund was established to support high-quality early learning opportunities for our community’s youngest residents.
  18. The Community Based Action Planning (CBAP) initiative launched. Informed with community input, volunteers prioritized projects to include: mental health, local gateway signage, downtown beautification, tourism, post-secondary skill trade education and apprenticeships, parks programming, county-wide land use, blight elimination and internet access. The Rush to Help Action Fund will support these activities with more than $38,000 in your donations and matching dollars.
  19. Executive Director, Alisa Winters, was selected as one of 24 participants in the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance’s inaugural John Mutz Philanthropic Institute.
  20. The Music for Rush County Fund granted $5,982.74 to the Heart of Rushville to help secure a well-known act for the final concert of the Riverside Park Amphitheater to coincide with the Bicentennial celebration to be held in September of 2022.
  21. The Youth in Philanthropy Fund granted $1,200 to RCHS to help continue its popular program to provide approximately 375 healthy breakfast snacks each week.
  22. Community Grants Awards totaled $96,002.83. The funding breakdown illustrates a balanced mix of interests – Public safety: $32,737.83, 34% | Arts & culture: $31,700, 33% | Literacy & education: $31,565, 33%
  23. The Alex Workman Memorial Fund and Rush County Education Fund combined to fund $7,563 in projects to three elementary schools: Milroy, RES East and RES West. These projects are all designed to help students with social and emotional challenges succeed.
  24. Kenneth and Charlotte Brashaber Teacher Enhancement Award granted $1,000 to Daniel Riddell, mathematics teacher at Rushville Consolidated High School (RCHS), to use toward obtaining his Master’s Degree in Mathematics at Indiana Wesleyan University.
  25. Donors to RCCF’s CIRCLe Fund awarded a grant of $10,500 to Rushville Public Library’s “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” program.
  26. RCCF donated $10,000 toward Rush County’s year-long bicentennial celebration.
  27. The Helen and Jim Ewing Fund to Help the Elderly and Feed the Hungry granted $12,500 to Gleaners Food Bank to support the two school-based food pantries in Rush County, housed at RCHS and MES.
  28. Local organizations received a total of $260,411 in annual support from funds they set up themselves (agency endowment) or were established by a donor (designated purpose).
  29. Henry Henley Public Library received a grant for $7,875 to upgrade the electricity and install venting for the restroom and a cleanout for sewage repairs in the coming years.
  30. Your generosity made #1-29 possible and helped grow RCCF’s assets to $22.5 million to support our community forever and fill it with impact and hope.

 

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