2021 Lilly Endowment Scholarship Winner

Congratulations, Chloe! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and education.

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2019 Annual Report

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2020 Lilly Endowment Scholarship Finalists

2020 Lilly Scholarship Finalists

Each finalist should be proud to have made it this far, and we wish them all the best!

Taylor May, Sara Muhlenkamp, Leah Hamilton, Macey Weitzel

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2020 Summer Teacher Creativity Mini-Grant Recipients

THE PORTLAND FOUNDATION

The Board of Trustees of The Portland Foundation has approved Teacher Creativity Mini-Grants totaling $2,305.81 for 8 projects for the second half of 2020.

Teacher Creativity Mini-Grants are to help cover the costs ($300 or less) of learning experiences which teachers feel are important to their students, yet are outside the budget of their school.  This program is funded by the Virgil and Josephine Thomas Educational Fund, a component fund of The Portland Foundation, as a way to increase funding for educational projects and programs.

This program funds grants for classroom supplies, class projects, programs, music or art instruction, speakers, and educational materials.  The purpose is to allow teachers to become more creative in their teaching styles and methods, without being hindered by cost.

The grants awarded are as follows:

 Gina Brockman – Jay County Junior/Senior High School Grade 8 Math- $291.20 to fund the purchase of a wireless drawing tablet and double - sided white board with coordinate grids

 Holly Farr – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 4 - $300.00 to fund the purchase of a laminator and for a one year subscription to “I KNOW IT!” website

 Jennifer Johnson - Westlawn Elementary School Grade 4 - $294.61 to fund the purchase of a mini laminator, seven picture books and for a one year subscription to “I KNOW IT!” website

 Janelle Kirby – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 3 - $220.00 to fund the purchase of subscriptions to “I KNOW IT!” and “Spelling City” websites

 LaVetha Loucks – Redkey Elementary School Lifeskills/Music - $300.00 to fund the purchase of hand and finger puppets and curriculum materials to facilitate music learning through “play”

 LaVetha Loucks – Westlawn Elementary School Lifeskills/Music - $300.00 to fund the purchase of hand and finger puppets and curriculum materials to facilitate music learning through “play”

 Beth Mathewson – East Jay Elementary School Speech - $300.00 to fund the purchase of two Kore Pre-Teen Wobble Chairs and an adjustable height mobile laptop workstation

 Tavia Price – Jay County Junior/Senior High School Grade 8 English Language Arts – $300.00 to fund the purchase of copies of Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt”.

 The next Teacher Creativity Mini-Grant Application deadline is January 8, 2021.

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2020 Summer Grant Recipients

THE PORTLAND FOUNDATION

The Portland Foundation Announces Summer 2020 Grant Recipients

Out of the requests from 14 different projects totaling $175,385 the Board of Trustees of The Portland Foundation has approved grants totaling $131,904 for 13 Jay County projects for the second half of 2020.  $128,222 comes from unrestricted funds and $3682 from field of interest funds. Those grants are as follows:

Arts Place - $15,000 to fund the summer 2021 Arts in the Parks program

Jay Community Center - $15,000 to fund senior citizen programming.  $11,692 comes from unrestricted funds and $3,308 comes from field of interest  funds that support senior citizens

 Jay Community Center - $10,000 to fund equipment for two fitness classrooms

 Jay County Fair Association - $20,000 for operating support

 Jay County Robotics - $3,000 to fund the purchase of robotics equipment

 John Jay Center for Learning - $40,000 to fund Phase III of the replacement of aging heat and air units

 Kate’s Kart - $4,000 to fund the purchase of books to be distributed at IU Health Jay Hospital.  $3,627 comes from unrestricted funds and $373 comes from the Jay County Endowment for Literacy

 National Center for Great Lakes Native American Culture - $4,369 to fund the purchase of three laptop computers and backpacks and three copies of Microsoft Office 365 software

 Pennville Community Boosters - $1,250 to fund the Pennville Pumpkin Festival

 Pennville Community Boosters - $3,000 to fund the purchase of a water heater, refrigerator, sink, baby changing station and folding chairs for the Pennville Community Center building

 Psi Iota Xi – Gamma Alpha Chapter - $4,000 to fund the purchase of an ice cream machine

 West Jay Community Center - $4,785 to fund the purchase of an upright cooler and the repair of security doors

 Youth Service Bureau - $7,500 to fund the Keeping At Risk Students in School (KARSS) program

The next grant application deadline is January 8, 2021 by 5:00 p.m.

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Lilly Endowment Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow

The Portland Foundation has successfully completed the Lilly Endowment Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) VII Initiative challenge match to increase it’s unrestricted endowment. The Foundation eclipsed the $250,000 goal by receiving $254,428 in gifts to twenty six different unrestricted endowment funds. Fifteen of the twenty six endowments are new due to the challenge match. Lilly Endowment Inc. will match the $250,000 raised with another $500,000.

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2019 Winter Grant Recipients

THE PORTLAND FOUNDATION

 The Portland Foundation Announces Winter 2019 Grant Recipients

Out of the requests from 27 different projects totaling $522,666 the Board of Trustees of The Portland Foundation has approved grants totaling $220,447 for 18 Jay County projects for the first half of 2019.  $208,593 comes from unrestricted funds and $11,854 from field of interest funds. Those grants are as follows:

Arts Place - $30,000 to fund the MusicWorks program

Down Syndrome of Indiana, Inc. - $350 to fund supplies for New Parents Packets.  Funding comes from the Robert and Frances Gillespie Endowment, which supports the education of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Dunkirk Glass Days Festival - $5,000 to fund glass blowing demonstrations

Jay Community Center - $30,000 to fund the Boomer Sports program

Jay County Archers - $5,000 to fund the purchase of 3D archery targets

Jay County Fair Association - $34,000 to fund construction of a new Farmer’s Building

Jay County Fourth of July Committee - $9,000 to fund the Fourth of July celebration  

Jay County Historical Society - $5,000 to fund the Jay County Heritage Festival.  $1,376 comes from unrestricted funds and $3,624 comes from the Clyde E. Geeting Memorial Trust, which provides funding for historical facilities

Jay County Humane Society - $1,047 to fund the purchase of exterior kennel dog doors.  Funding comes from the Mel and Evelyn Hanlin Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Fund and the Harold Rex and Kiku Hardwick Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Fund 

Jay County Special Olympics - $5,000 to fund entry fees and hotel expenses for Jay County Special Olympians.  $3,167 comes from unrestricted funds and $1,833 comes from the Robert and Frances Gillespie Endowment and the Jean Leslie Jaqua Endowment, which are designated to support individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Jay-Randolph Developmental Services - $5,000 to fund the development of a client computer lab

John Jay Center for Learning - $5,000 to fund the Speakers Series and Symposium

John Jay Center for Learning - $15,000 to offset tuition costs for students in the SkillsTrac Industrial Maintenance Training Program

John Jay Center for Learning - $5,000 to fund Robotics Camp

John Jay Center for Learning - $5,000 to fund the Senior Learning Series.  Funding comes from the Elizabeth A. Starbuck Fund for the Elderly

Pennville Community Center - $50,000 on a $2 for $1 match to fund the renovation of the two Pennville Community Center buildings

West Jay Community Center - $6,050 to fund roof repairs and thermostat replacement

Youth Service Bureau - $5,000 to fund the Keeping At Risk Students in School (KARSS) program

  “As always, The Portland Foundation is very pleased to be able to award these grants. The funds would not be possible if not for the countless gifts from Jay County citizens over the last 68 years. These programs help support our mission; to enhance the quality of life for the people in Jay County,” said Foundation Executive Director Doug Inman. 

The next grant application deadline is June 1, 2019 by 5:00 p.m.

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2019 Winter Teacher Creativity Mini-Grant Recipients

THE PORTLAND FOUNDATION

The Board of Trustees of The Portland Foundation has approved Teacher Creativity Mini-Grants totaling $6,146.54 for 22 projects for the first half of 2019.

Teacher Creativity Mini-Grants are to help cover the costs ($300 or less) of learning experiences which teachers feel are important to their students, yet are outside the budget of their school.  This program is funded by the Virgil and Josephine Thomas Educational Fund, a component fund of The Portland Foundation, as a way to increase funding for educational projects and programs.

This program funds grants for field trips, classroom supplies, class projects, programs, music or art instruction, speakers, educational materials and seminars.  The purpose is to allow teachers to become more creative in their teaching styles and methods, without being hindered by cost.

The grants awarded are as follows:

Ms. Kerri Andreshack – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 1 - $300 to fund the performance of “Junie B Jones First Grader at Last”

Ms. Carol Bantz – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 1 - $300 to fund the performance of “Junie B Jones First Grader at Last”

Ms. Tavia Boolman – East Jay Middle School Grade 6 - $249 to fund the purchase of Flocabulary, Kid Blog and Dropbox programs

Ms. Kelly Bricker – Redkey Elementary School Art - $300 to fund the purchase of rocket kits

Ms. Kelly Bricker – Westlawn Elementary School Art - $300 to fund the purchase of rocket kits

Ms. Gina Brockman – East Jay Middle School Grade 8 - $210.68 to fund the purchase of STEM instruction materials

Ms. Megan Byard – East Jay Middle School Grade 8 - $300 to fund the purchase of a 31-class set of the novel “All American Boys”

Ms. Stacy Campbell – Redkey Elementary School Kindergarten - $287 to fund the purchase of a sensory table

Ms. Tracy Christman – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 2 - $300 to fund the performance of “Junie B Jones First Grader at Last”

Ms. Lisa Cook – Jay School Corporation Speech - $289.80 to fund the purchase of speech and language instruction materials

Ms. Holly Farr – Westlawn Elementary School Grade 4 - $300 to fund the purchase of an Amazon Echo, an Amazon Dot, and related items

Ms. Cathy Fugiett – Redkey Elementary School Library - $300 to fund the purchase of Lego Chain Reaction kits

Ms. Cathy Fugiett – Westlawn Elementary School Library - $300 to fund the purchase of Lego Chain Reaction kits

Ms. Kristen Gibson – Bloomfield Elementary School Grade 5 - $81.51 to fund the purchase of fluorescent light covers for the classroom

Mr. Giles Laux – Bloomfield Elementary School Grade 5 - $280 to fund the purchase of a VEX IQ starter kit

Ms. Nicci Littler – Westlawn Elementary School Library - $275 to fund the purchase of a child sized picnic table made of recycled plastic cups

Ms. Beth Mathewson – Jay School Corporation Speech - $296.36 to fund the purchase of Prokoque2Go posters

Ms. Lindsey Peterson – East Elementary School - $280.19 to fund the purchase of materials to decorate the interior of the school

Ms. Jacqueline Rinard – Redkey Elementary School Kindergarten - $300 to fund the purchase a new sight word initiative

Ms. Christa Robinson – Westlawn Elementary School Reading Recovery - $300 to fund the purchase of leveled books

Ms. JoAnn Scott – Jay School Corporation Special Education - $297 to fund the purchase of three IPEVO 4K Ultra High Definition USB Document Cameras to assist visually impaired students

Ms. Sara Wolf – Westlawn Elementary School Kindergarten - $300 to fund the purchase of “Reading Reading” books

 The next Teacher Creativity Mini-grant Application deadline is June 1, 2019.

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2019 Lilly Endowment Winner

Congratulations, Clare! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and education.

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2019 Lilly Endowment Scholarship Finalists

2019 Lilly Scholarship Finalists

Each finalist should be proud to have made it this far, and we wish them all the best!

Clare Dirksen, Kaitlyn Dow, Daniel Bracy, Dillon Muhlenkamp

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