Rush County’s nonprofits care for our community’s needs day in and day out. Whether it’s building self-esteem in youth, connecting dogs and cats to their furever homes, or making sure technology and training to navigate today’s digital world are available to all – they enhance our lives.

To kick off the giving season and celebrate their good work, we invited founders and donors of our Community Grants Funds to an open house. “Sips & Poker Chips: A Grant Giveaway Game Night” was held at the Booker T. Washington building, home to grantee, imagine:nation, the arts & cultural council of Rush County. Guests checked out the new gallery and remodeled classroom and enjoyed sips and swanky treats from C & T Catering and Sweetly Simple while they played games. Each time they participated, they received a poker chip. Each time they won, they received another. Chips counted as votes with the top three organizations receiving a small grant.

The voting was tight! In the end, imagine:nation, City of Rushville Parks Department, and Rushville Animal Shelter squeaked by.

Kristie Amos, Program Officer, contacted each organization asking them to drop by the RCCF office. No doubt this made them a little uneasy. But those butterflies in their stomachs quickly turned to smiles when members of our Donor Engagement Committee surprised them with checks.

Kasey Hanna, director of the animal shelter, was grateful to receive the help saying it had “already been spent.” Parks department program director, Kathi Jackley, has been working to replace playground equipment at Laughlin Park. She noted that these funds will help purchase new chains and hardware for the swings. Darilyn Bedel of the arts council nearly forgot about the meeting. She was in the middle of preparing for Christmas on Main, the biggest night of the year for her other organization, Rush County Community Assistance Food Pantry. She was thrilled and couldn’t wait to share the news with the rest of the board.

You never know exactly what kind of positive difference your support of RCCF’s Community Grants Funds will make. But because these are permanent funds, they’ll keep supporting our community’s nonprofits forever. That’s a surprisingly good feeling, isn’t it?!