Community Foundation Awards $25,000 to Diversity Projects
July 30, 2018
The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation is pleased to announce the first round of recipients of its special grant opportunity related to diversity. During the 2017 Community Conversations process held in partnership with United Way of Hancock County, diversity was ranked as one of the top issue areas by participating Hancock County residents.
“We talked to more than 1,000 people and nearly everyone said diversity is an important part of our community,” said Katherine Kreuchauf, President of The Community Foundation. “Our community is made up of diverse populations, which contribute to our quality of life and economic vitality.”
The recipients are:
- Spectrum of Findlay - $5,000
- Over the past year, the LGBTQ+ nonprofit Spectrum has seen increased use of its support group. In an effort to serve more populations, Spectrum will offer specialized teen support groups for those ages 12-19. A playgroup for children with LGBTQ+ family members will also be offered. Both the teen and the children’s group will be supervised by trained facilitators. The grant dollars awarded to Spectrum will support the curriculum, materials, training and marketing for each group.
- The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation - $6,600
- Common Ground Consulting will come to Findlay to provide a two-part workshop series focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues and how they affect the Foundation’s nonprofit grantees. The sessions will be open to nonprofit staff and board members, with multiple individuals from each organization being encouraged to attend. In addition, the various coalitions and the Center for Civic Engagement will also be invited in order to strengthen the stakeholder make-up of each coalition and give them additional tools to more effectively work with diverse populations as they build trust and conduct their systems-level strategies.
- University of Findlay - $13,400
- The Buford Center for Diversity and Service at the University of Findlay will pair 10 UF students and 10 local nonprofit organization leaders. The university will host four trainings for all 20 people and have four tasks/assignments for them to complete in pairs over the course of eight months. Each pair will design and implement a mutually beneficial project throughout this experience, utilizing mini-grants for each team. This program will connect diverse Findlay students with nonprofits and coalitions throughout the community to interact with and learn from one and other.
“These three grants represent different organizations coming together to explore some of the different aspects of diversity in our community,” said Brian Treece, Program Director at The Community Foundation. “These partnerships will help us create a more diverse and respectful community, while educating everyone involved about diversity, equity and inclusion.”
