Press Release

$945,000 awarded to 17 Indiana organizations

July 27, 2010

Indianapolis) — The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust announced $ 945,000 in grants to 17 Indiana nonprofit organizations Tuesday, July 27. Grant recipients arrived at the Eiteljorg Museum, 500 W. Washington Street, at 3 p.m. for the hour-long reception with the Trust’s Trustees, staff and representatives from grantee organizations.

Of grants awarded, $885,000 or 94 percent of Trust funding went to organizations helping people in need.

“Budget cuts at state and federal levels have created a crisis for our social service agencies across the board. Nonprofit organizations providing housing, food and job assistance to citizens struggling during these economic times are not only realizing reductions in funding but also are facing overwhelming increased requests for assistance,” said Michael R. Twyman, Ph.D., Indiana grants programs director for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

“The Trust is also hearing from organizations serving our community’s youth with mentoring, education and extracurricular programming that have suffered severe cutbacks and whose programs are at risk of stopping all together,” he stated
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“In response to these challenging times, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust has remained steadfast in its outreach to and support of organizations on the front line, providing basic human services to families and individuals in the greatest need,” added Harriet M. Ivey, Trust president and CEO.

“The grants we are distributing today represent the Trust’s goal of responding to immediate human needs, collaborating to leverage organizational impact and investing over the longer horizon to change lives, preserve the environments and enrich community life in Indianapolis,” Ivey added.

In this second of three grant rounds for the Trust in 2010, six organizations providing permanent and transitional housing support, employment assistance and job training, and substance abuse prevention programming received $350,000 in grant support. Organizations include Aspire Indiana Behavioral Health System, Bethlehem House Residence, The Changed Life, Damar Services, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and Trusted Mentors.

A $30,000 grant to NAMI Indianapolis will provide support and advocacy services to individuals living with mental illness and their family members, and $50,000 to VSA arts of Indiana will fund arts programming for 9,000 disabled individuals.

An additional grant of $45,000 went to Society of St. Vincent de Paul for improvements to its food distribution warehouse serving 3,000 families weekly.

Agape Therapeutic Riding Resources, Center for Leadership Development, Forest Manor Multi-Service Center, Kids’ Voice of Indiana, Mt. Carmel Community Life Center and the Summer Youth Program Fund received $410,000 in grants to support youth literacy, mentoring, achievement outreach and support education and summer programs for youth across Marion County.

A $35,000 grant to Indy Feral will provide wellness and spay/neuter services for feral cats living in low-income areas. In addition, a $25,000 grant to International Center of Indianapolis will assist 500 legal immigrants complete the naturalization process.

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

Russell added that Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars, the Trust’s signature scholarship program at IUPUI and Ivy Tech Community College, continues to bring the dream of a college education to student populations traditional scholarship programs overlook. The Trust also welcomed its 10th cohort of six Nina Scholars at Ivy Tech and five Nina Scholars at IUPUI this week. They will begin classes in August. There are 76 new and returning Nina Scholars enrolled for the fall semester at both colleges.

“The Trust furthers the causes Nina Pulliam supported during her life, continuing her legacy of helping people in need, protecting animals and nature, and enriching community life in Indianapolis. Since the Trust began its grantmaking in 1998, it has awarded more than $87.4 million to 416 Indiana nonprofit organizations,” said Trustee Chairman Frank E. Russell.

The Trust also makes grants in Arizona and as of May 31, 2010, had assets of approximately $318 million. Visit www.ninapulliamtrust.org for more information about the Trust and its programs.