The Central Indiana Senior Fund (CISF) is a special interest fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation that offers grants to organizations working to alleviate barriers and create opportunities for a growing senior population in Central Indiana. In December, the Indianapolis Art Center, 820 E 67th St., received a CISF grant for $10,000 to help fund the Art Elders program and support senior group art activities.
The Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation (MFCDC) received a $20,000 CISF grant to implement the Senior LivStability Program (SLP). According to Courtney Goodwyn, MFCDC’s director of housing development, the SLP goals are to enhance the quality of life for seniors and uphold their independence by providing specific activities designed to help them age in place safely in their homes, avoid scams, improve their financial well-being, and assist family caregivers in caring for their loved ones. She said more than 50 lower-wealth seniors living in the Mid-North community will benefit from the program’s two services: Home Healing and hour-long Senior Lunch and Learn workshops to be held in early 2020 at MFCDC’s office, 3190 N. Meridian St.
The International School of Indiana (ISI) received a $1 million donation from the Daneri family to help establish a unified campus on the school’s property at 4330 N. Michigan Road. The school currently operates on two separate campuses in Midtown, including 200 W. 49th St. In a statement, Elizabeth Head, the ISI Head of School said, “This donation pushes us to within $400,000 of our initial fundraising goal of $7 million, and we are hopeful that gifts inspired by the Daneris could push us well beyond that goal.” She noted that the Daneri Family Lower School Gymnasium will host sports practices, games, and other campus events. ISI is the only Indiana school offering all students access to certified full-continuum International Baccalaureate (IB) programming and language immersion classrooms in French, Spanish, and Mandarin starting at age 3 and continuing through grade 12.
Coburn Place will receive a $1.25 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, which is devoted to helping homeless families. Coburn Place is Indiana’s largest and most comprehensive provider of community-based and transitional housing options for survivors of interpersonal abuse. In a statement, executive director Julia Kathary said the one-time grant will allow Coburn Place to place more families in permanent, stable housing by creating more inventory through effective partnerships and by potentially developing additional affordable housing units. “This is an amazing opportunity for Coburn Place to focus on something it has been trying to accomplish for quite some time—shorten the wait time that Indianapolis survivors endure to gain access to safe and stable housing,” she said. Coburn Place also received a $10,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a CICF fund, to assist with its community housing and supportive services for domestic violence survivors and their families.
Newfields 4000 N. Michigan Road, received a $10 million, 10-year grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation to complete Phase II of The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres long-term master plan and improve access with amenities including bike paths and walking trails to better connect the Park to the Central Canal Towpath, Michigan Road, and Newfields’ upper campus. Construction on this series of improvements will last through 2025.
The Martin Luther King Community Center, 40 W 40th St., was awarded $20,000 from the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a CICF fund, to support Black Girl Voice. This afterschool and summer program for girls 12 to 17 focuses on black identity and empowerment, and includes youth-led conversations about sexual assault.
