The Delaware County Commissioners today announced the recipients of their 2020 Community Enhancement Grants, which total $608,526.
The county’s existing CEG program normally has distributed about $160,000 each year since its inception in 2014. The monies have gone to local nonprofit organizations to fund specific capital projects, but, in 2020, the Commissioners decided to shift the program’s focus to reimbursing organizations for operating losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw two common threads with our nonprofits’ needs,” said Jeff Benton, president of this year’s Board of Commissioners. “They had either suffered large drops in revenues because of having to shut down their operations entirely or else they didn’t have the staffing they needed to keep up with an increased demand for the services they provide.”
Commissioner Barb Lewis added, “I am hopeful this year’s grants will help soften the damage that the pandemic has inflicted on our Delaware County community.”
Said Commissioner Gary Merrell: “Nonprofit organizations throughout our county have stepped up to provide needed services to those struggling during COVID. These Community Enhancement Funds will help them as they continue to perform their missions in this difficult time or to await better times.”
This year’s recipients and grant amounts are:
Big Walnut Area Historical Society (Myers Inn Museum): $8,359.01
Central Ohio Symphony: $31,000
Delaware Cooperative Preschool: $2,000
Delaware County Agricultural Society: $57,000
Delaware County Cultural Arts Society (The Arts Castle): $42,000
Family Promise: $75,000
Kilbourne Food Pantry: $28,000
Main Street Delaware: $50,000
NAMI Delaware and Morrow Counties: $58,118.20
Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial: $2,500
Recreation Unlimited Foundation: $24,555
Safe Harbor: $30,000
Second Ward Community Center: $50,000
Strand Theatre: $67,984
Stratford Ecological Center: $50,000
YMCA of Delaware County: $32,010