The Rotary Foundation of Indianapolis is a private, stand-alone corporation that serves as the primary community charitable arm of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis.
Annual contributions to the Foundation are added to an eternal endowment fund and allocated income from that fund is utilized to support grants for charitable and educational purposes, primarily in the Indianapolis and Central Indiana areas. Download the 2017 Annual Report.
Indianapolis Rotary Foundation Announces
Community Grant Recipients
$70,000 in funding distributed to four Indianapolis nonprofits
Indianapolis, IN (November 20, 2017): The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation awards annual Community Grants through a competitive application and review process. The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 2017-18 Community Grants.
Craine House will receive $25,000 to serve more women in their work release program. Through family therapy, substance abuse counseling and vocational programs, Craine House provides women with a safe and structured, homelike setting to live with their preschool aged children.
Paramount School of Excellence will receive $25,000 to build an Eco Discovery Center where students from the school (that serves 764 students, of whom 94% are from families at or below poverty level) will participate in captivating, inquiry based environmental and life science experiences.
Ascent 121 will receive $10,000 to provide supplement clinical services that support their mission to provide long-term trauma recovery for Indiana teen survivors of human trafficking. Ascent 121 served over a hundred victims in 2016 and expects a 50% increase in 2017.
Morning Light will receive $10,000 to fully develop the Rotary Club of Indianapolis Memorial Garden at the Abbie Hunt Bryce Home, central Indiana’s only free hospice home for residents who have nowhere else to go. The Garden provides a respite for those in their final days and also memorializes residents who have passed with memorial bricks.
“Our competitive grant process highlights the incredible needs and services provided throughout Central Indiana,” says Indianapolis Rotary Foundation President Bill Bubenzer. “We honor the hard work of all those who submitted applications and are confident that our Community Grant recipients will use their funding to make an important community impact.”
The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation is a private, stand-alone corporation that serves as the community charitable arm of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. Each year, the Foundation generously donates almost $200,000 annually to projects and organizations in the Central Indiana Area that promote the Rotarian motto of “Service Above Self.”
With over 300 members, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis is one of the largest and most active Rotary Clubs in the world. Founded in 1913, the club has compiled an extensive record as one the leading supporters and contributors to the quality of life in Indianapolis. For further information about the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, visit www.indyrotary.org.
Rick and Beverly Markoff with Charlotte Westerhaus Renfrow
The Rotary Education Weekend Equity Awards, were held the evening of Friday, May 16, at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (the Ruby Bridges Exhibit in The Power of Children Gallery). The purpose of these awards was to honor an “unsung hero” in education, an outstanding school administrator, a top teacher and a group of standout student-athletes during Central Indiana’s first ‘Education Weekend.’ The awards were presented by the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and the Indianapolis Recorder. Honorees were:
The Cardinal E. Joseph Award, “unsung community hero”
Diana Daniels (pictured top right), National Council on Educating Black Children
The Father Boniface Hardin Award, administrator
Dr. Khaula Murtadha, IUPUI
The Jacqueline S. Greenwood Award, teacher
Mary Rowley, VC Rowley and Associates
The Bart Peterson Award, student
Boys Basketball Team, Arsenal Technical High School
ROTARY EDUCATION WEEK EQUITY AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE, 2014
Five Rotarians and two Rotaract members were part of the 18 member Rotary Education Weekend Equity Awards Selection Committee chaired by Denny Sponsel and Ralph Taylor. Rotary Education Weekend Equity Awards Selection Committee members included: Dennis Sponsel, Chair, RJE Business Interiors, Rotary; Ralph Taylor, Chair, Consultant/Broadcaster, Rotary; Miriam Acevedo Davis, La Plaza; Troy Arthur, NCAA; Jeff Butts, M.S.D. of Wayne Township; J.T. Coopman, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents; Karen Dace, IUPUI; Judge David Dreyer, Superior Court Judge, Rotary; Pastor David Hampton, Light of the World Church; Jo Hoy, Cardinal Ritter High School; John Lyter, American Red Cross, Rotary; Juan Paz, Simon Property Group; Yvonne Perkins, Citizens Energy Group; Rotaract Student Member, Rotary Lincoln Wallis; Rotaract Student Member, Rotary, Morgan Whitcomb; Cassie Stockamp, Athenaeum Foundation, Rotary; Mary Ann Sullivan, CELL; and Ahmed Young, Bose McKinney & Evans.
In May, the Timmy Global Health first official water team traveled to the community of Los Rios to do more WASH Training and install the first community chlorinator! 350 people in that community now have access to safe drinking water!
(Image Left: Water Team with Chlorinator) In April Timmy Global Health hosted a Water & Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) Training for the health promoters and members of five Community Water Councils.
The Rotary Club of Indianapolis World Community Service Committee (WCSC) is responsible for identifying and supporting international service projects for the Club. Projects generally have a club member & champion who ideally works in partnership with an overseas Rotary Club and personally travels to the location of the project to help create relationships and oversee the project. The committee currently supports clean water initiatives in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Haiti and Ecuador; multiple projects in Kenya including support for a legal aid clinic, mother-child hospital, and school classrooms; an aquaculture project in Moshi, Tanzania; a microfinance project in Calnali, Mexico; and peace learning projects in Jamaica.
Thanks in part to an Indianapolis Rotary FoundationCivic Entrepreneurship grant and as part of the Central Indiana Education Alliance’s First Annual Education Weekend, the Rotary Education Equity Awards will take place on May 16-18, 2014. The awards, which will honor individuals who have had their impact on education, felt either inside, or beyond, the traditional educational setting, will be announced during a special awards presentation on Friday, May 16, 2014.
Led by Jamal L. Smith, Executive Director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, representatives from Talent Alliance, the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, the community, and students will comprise the selection team.
Nominations are due by Monday, April 21, 2014 at 5:00 pm.
Right to Left: Sue Tempero from the Rotary Club of Indianapolis, Tiffony Jacobs, Walt Nordstrom and Julie Handschy from Lutherwood Academy
Because of a grant from the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation, Lutheran Child and Family Services were able to have Tiffany Jacobs, an original Freedom Writer from Long Beach, CA visit Lutherwood Residential Treatment Facility and Academy on March 4, 2013. Mr. Walt Nordstrom (Lutherwood Academy teacher) started teaching “Freedom Writers” after seeing the movie and later discovering the book. He had been working for a few years to make this dream a reality. Ms. Julie Handschy is the Education Coordinator at Lutherwood Academy.
The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to cover a portion of the delivery vehicle operating costs for CICOA’s Meals & More program. Pictured: CICOA CEO Orion Bell (left) with Dr. Matt Will, director of external relations at the University of Indianapolis and Vice President of the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation.
The Indianapolis Rotary Foundation is a private, stand-alone corporation that serves as the primary community charitable arm of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. Annual contributions to the Foundation are added to an eternal endowment fund and allocated income from that fund is utilized to support grants for charitable and educational purposes, primarily in the Indianapolis and Central Indiana areas. Read more about the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation.
The purpose of the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation, Inc. is to promote charitable and educational purposes within the State of Indiana and such other charitable and educational purposes deemed appropriate by its Board of Directors. To satisfy this goal, the Foundation requests Letters of Intent be submitted from community organizations that wish to be considered a community grant. Learn more about the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation and the grants offered.
In 2013, the Foundation received over 100 “Letters of Intent.” 54 became second phase finalists in July, 2013. They were required to submit additional information by October, 2013 and the five recipients were chosen and notified in November.
Rotary Club of Indianapolis recognized on Jameson Camp vehicles
CONGRATULATIONS! On December 3, 2013 the Indianapolis Rotary Foundation publicly awarded grants to the following organizations:
Mental Health America of Greater Indianapolis is Indianapolis’ leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives. Mental Health America represents a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation – everyday and in times of crisis.
MHA Indy, a United Way of Central Indiana community partner, is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
MHA Indy is also an affiliate of the national Mental Health America and a chapter of Mental Health America of Indiana.
The Healing Hearts Through Art is a program designed to provide tangible memories to organ and tissue donor families during their time of grief and sadness. Families of adult donors are provided with a poem on card stock paper with their loved ones hand print. Families of pediatric donor families are provided with the poem/hand print as well, in addition to a Model Magic hand print of their child’s hand. School-age and teenage children are provided with an opportunity to express themselves and talk about their loved one through the use of beads, in our legacy bead program. Families truly enjoy having tangible memories of their loved ones. The Rotary Club of Indianapolis Civic Entrepreneurship Grant is helping to sustain this program so that donor families continue to receive these gifts.