Last Updated on September 27, 2023 by Cass County Community Foundation
The Cass County Community Foundation held a press conference and reception to announce the recipients of the 2023 CCCF Community Grant Awards on September 26, 2023, at the foundation office, 729 E. Market Street. Attendees included representatives of the recipient organizations, as well as donors, board members, volunteers, and members of the media. This year, grants awarded to seven organizations is a record totaling $309,611.50.
Deanna Crispen, President & CEO shared, “The total grant dollars awarded is once again more than the Board of Directors had originally allocated. The grants committee began their work with an allocation of $200,000. When the committee met earlier this summer to review and evaluate opportunity grant proposals of $5,000 or less, Chairman, Mike Montgomery presented the board with a recommendation of $34,218.57, leaving the competitive grants a pool of $165,781.43 to allocate to proposals totaling over $500,000.
During the Competitive Grant Cycle evaluation, the committee began their work with a review of the proposals. As the committee worked through the process and especially after interviewing the organizations about their projects, the committee was torn by the outstanding quality of the requests and felt they could justify additional support from the Board of Directors and the directors agreed.
Organizations are required to first sent a letter expressing their desire to apply and briefly explain their project and costs. After the initial letters were evaluated, organizations moving forward in the process were invited to submit full proposals. Finally, each organization was invited to make a brief presentation before the committee to explain further and answer any questions the committee might still have about their proposal. Funding for community grants is made possible through the generosity of donors to CCCF’s unrestricted community endowments.
The following is a list of the 2022 Community Competitive Grant Award recipients and their projects:
2023 Grant Cycle Award Recommendations are:
Twelve Mile Community Building $20,000 for paving parking lot
Cass County 4H Association $29,879 for water treatment and repairs to Exhibition Building
Lewis Cass Band Boosters $39,987 for new instruments
Galveston Fire Department $44,882.50 for new fire protection gear
State Theatre Preservation $36,499 for new digital video suite equipment
Young America Lions Club $38,364 for new ice cream freezer
Pioneer FFA/Royal Center VFD $100,000 for a new greenhouse for FFA
Total: $309,611.50
Total awards for 2023 Competitive Grants are $309,611.50.
Total 2023 Opportunity Grants are $34,218.57.
Total for 2023 Grant Cycle: $343,830.07 from $210, 074.46 in 2022.
Following the announcement of the awards, Crispen shared, ”While these were all competitive grants, one of the awards, the Pioneer FFA Grant will be funded directly through the Richard & Rose Gates Educational Fund. The Gates’ were from the Royal Center area and established the fund as part of their estate gift to the Community Foundation with the purpose of supporting educational opportunities and scholarships. The fund also currently supports the Gates Discovery Awards, The Gates Excellence in Scholarship Awards to Lilly Finalists and the Back Home Again Scholarships. The hope is that the greenhouse would be named Rose’s Greenhouse.”
Crispen continued, “As we celebrate our thirty years of “For Good, For Ever, the board and staff at CCCF acknowledge the tremendous support of the community. We are grateful for that trust and continue to work diligently as stewards of the gifts entrusted to us for the future.”
For more information, please call the Cass County Community Foundation at 574-722-2200.
SOURCE: News release from Cass County Community Foundation