Press Release

$1,642,000 awarded To 23 Indiana organizations

Children, Families, Disabled Benefit,  Pulliam Trust Provides Educational, Animal Welfare and Environmental Outreach

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust announced $1,642,000 in grants to 23 Indiana nonprofit organizations Thursday, March 10. Grant recipients will gather at The Nature Conservancy’s Efroymson Conservation Center, 620 East Ohio Street at 3 p.m. for an hour-long reception with the Trust’s Trustees, staff and representatives from grantee organizations.

“The Trust continues its support and outreach to organizations that are providing services to our community, which directly impacts the quality of life for many of our most vulnerable citizens. With $1,058,000 in grants to increase literacy and graduation rates, improve realities for foster care youth, create healthier futures for local families and those with disabilities, the Trust continues to enhance local lives with its grantmaking,” said Michael R.Twyman, Ph.D., Indiana grants programs director for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

“Building upon the Trust’s interest in protecting Indiana’s natural resources, $434,000 in grants is supporting policy and preservation of Indiana’s waterways and riparian habitats. In addition, the Humane Society of Indianapolis’ $150,000 grant will increase the organization’s animal welfare outreach to Fountain Square.

“Many of our grants are preserving programs that would otherwise cease to exist due to cuts in funding and the economic reality of the past few years,” Twyman stated.

“This first round of grants for 2011 features a diverse group of organizations, six of which are first-time grant recipients. The Trust is funding programs that are filling critical needs for our citizens and community today while supporting programs that focus on longer-range issues that must be addressed today,” added Harriet M. Ivey, Trust president and CEO.

In this first of three rounds of grants for 2011, the Trust supported 11 organizations providing a myriad of educational outreach. Grants totaling $390,000 will support the goal to increase graduation rates to 80 percent in Marion County and IPS high schools; provide early childhood literacy services to 2,600 children at 250 Marion County daycare facilities and increase bullying awareness programs to 4,000 middle and high school students at 15 IPS schools. Grants totaling $203,000 will increase services and programs for foster care children and youth, as well as the families serving them; $80,000 in grants will provide 500 new mother educational programming in hospital maternity wards; $75,000 in grants supports pregnancy prevention programs at six IPS schools and HIV/AIDS education outreach to 700 women and teens. Grant recipients are Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Indianapolis Marion County Public Library Foundation, Claude McNeal’s Musical Theatre Training Program, Indiana Foster Care and Adoption Association, National Center for Youth Law, National Foster Youth Action Network, Community Health Network Foundation, The Salvation Army, Indiana Family Health Council and Women in Motion. A $100,000 grant to Conner Prairie provides support for the 1863 Civil War Journey Exhibit.

An additional $210,000 will assist individuals with disabilities providing home modifications for the elderly, provide services for 80 blind or visually impaired individuals, enhance independent living programming for individuals with developmental disabilities and support employment empowerment. Grantees include Bosma Enterprises, CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions, Noble and Tangram.

The Trust committed $434,000 in grants to protect, preserve and enhance the quality of water and waterways in Indiana, as well as preserving riparian habitats and reducing the impacts of agricultural practices on Indiana’s waterways. Grantees include Environmental Law & Policy Center of the Midwest, Friends of the White River, Hoosier Environmental Council, Hoosier Heartland Resource Conservation and Development Council, Indiana Wildlife Federation, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and National Audubon Society.

The Humane Society of Indianapolis rounded out the Trust’s grantmaking with its $150,000 grant over two years to educate residents in the Fountain Square area about animal welfare issues.

“These are extraordinary times. And, our grantees are doing an exceptional job of serving their communities and furthering Nina Pulliam’s legacy in her hometown through their daily work and ongoing commitments to their life-changing missions,” Trust Chairman Frank E. Russell stated.

Since the Trust began its grantmaking in 1998, it has awarded $91.7 million to 425 Indiana nonprofit organizations.

The Trust also makes grants in Phoenix and as of December 31, 2010, had assets of approximately $353.6 million. Visit www.ninapulliamtrust.org for more information about the Trust and its programs.