At its regular Wednesday meeting last week, Bloomington’s city council approved a total of $339,000 in grants, to 28 different projects for which local non-profits had requested funding.
The funding is described by the city as supporting projects that “make a difference in the lives of city residents in need.”
The annual allocation of social services funding has been made since 1993. Counting this year, about $5.8 million has been awarded, compared to around $12 million that has been requested.
This year, a total of $563,516 was requested for 32 different projects.
The top five awards were to: St. Vincent de Paul for a utility assistance program ($30,000); Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington for accessibility improvements for Crestmont youth with disabilities ($23,005); Monroe County United Ministries to pay for a new service van ($23,000); Indiana Recovery Alliance to pay for a syringe service program coordinator position ($21,600); and HealthNet Inc. to pay for rent ($20,875).
This year’s $7,500 award to Planned Parenthood drew objection during the meeting’s public comment time, because the nonprofit also provides abortion services. This year’s Jack Hopkins award is to fund the contraceptives for the non-profit’s safety net family planning services.
Bloomington resident Carol Canfield told the council that on occasion of the Jack Hopkins award approvals, she has for several years spoken against awards to Planned Parenthood, based on a moral objection. This year, Canfield said, she was approaching the topic from a different angle: Does Planned Parenthood actually need additional funding from the city?
Canfield contended that the nonprofit had routinely flown a doctor from Hawaii to Bloomington to perform abortions. “If they can afford to do that, why are we giving them our money?” Canfield asked.
Councilmember Sue Sgambelluri responded to Canfield’s remarks, if not the specific question about need, by saying that she had inquired with Planned Parenthood’s local unit and the nonprofit’s organization in Indianapolis. Based on that inquiry, Sgambelluri said she was satisfied that the accounting systems are in place to ensure that none of the city’s funding would be used to provide abortion services.
Councilmember Jim Sims followed up by saying his understanding of the award’s purpose is to help pay for things that will help avoid the outcomes that Canfield is concerned about.
Based on a B Square review of Bloomington city council records, since 1993, Planned Parenthood has received a total of about $85,000 in Jack Hopkins social services funding.
The basic criteria for Jack Hopkins social services funding were first written down in a 1993 letter by councilmember Jack Hopkins, after whom the fund was named. Hopkins was a professor at Indiana University’s public and environmental affairs. The resolution that named the fund after Hopkins was approved by the city council in 2002, the month after Hopkins died.
2022 Jack Hopkins Allocations Sorted by Grant Amount
| AGENCY | Amount |
| St. Vincent de Paul – Utility Assistance Program | $30,000 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington – Accessibility Improvements for Crestmont Youth with Disabilities – to pay for elevator power unit | $23,005 |
| Monroe County United Ministries – MCUM out in the community – to pay for a new service van | $23,000 |
| Indiana Recovery Alliance – To pay for Syringe Service Program Coordinator position | $21,600 |
| HealthNet Inc. – Minding the Gap – COVID Effects on a Health Center’s Budget – To pay for rent | $20,875 |
| Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard – Operational Bridge Funding – to pay for salary expenses | $20,000 |
| Beacon, Inc. – Housing Fast – providing quick access to the major financial barriers to finding a new home: to pay for security deposits | $18,750 |
| Amethyst House – Foundation repair and removal of the side entrance into the crawlspace at the Men’s House and install water drainage along the foundation of the Women’s House. | $18,000 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana – Operational Expenses, Recruitment and Capital Investments | $14,000 |
| Hotels for Hope, Inc. – Emergency and Transitional Program – to pay for hotel room fees and caseworker salary | $14,000 |
| Wheeler Mission – Case Management for those Experiencing Homelessness | $13,390 |
| Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc. – General Operating expenses | $13,000 |
| Middle Way House – Rise and Shine Childcare – to pay for part–time co–teacher compensation | $12,000 |
| My Sister’s Closet of Monroe County – Securing the Services of Employment Services – to pay for Operations Director salary expenses | $12,000 |
| New Leaf, New Life – Reducing Recidivism: Reentry Case Management & Direct Service Supplies | $11,137 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County – Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County Worksite Safety Initiative – safety–related expenses | $7,606 |
| Planned Parenthood – Safety–Net Family Planning Services – to pay for contraceptives | $7,500 |
| LIFEDesigns and Stone Belt ARC Collaborative – Job–A–Palooza and an ALL Abilities Health and Arts fair for people of all ages and all abilities | $7,250 |
| District 10 Pro Bono Project and Justice Unlocked Collaborative – Fund Housing and Eviction Prevention Project – legal advice to tenants and mom–and–pop landlords to save housing and money for unrepresented litigants, in pursuit of justice at eviction hearings | $7,155 |
| Beacon Inc. & Cinnaire Collaborative – Crawford Housing Stability Improvement Project – Improve housing stability by helping residents maintain the cleanliness of their homes by offering cleaning support and availability of supplies in their Hygiene Pantry: Hygiene and Cleaning Supplies – $2,000; Life Skills (Cleaning) Support – $5,000 | $7,000 |
| Open Arms Christian Ministries, Inc. – Project FACE (Foster–care Awareness & Cultivating Excellent parents) – to pay for licensing costs for foster families | $6,135 |
| Healing Hands Outreach Center – To pay for electric bill utility expenses | $5,976 |
| Monroe County Humane Association – Pet Emergency Housing – to pay for boarding, veterinary wellness, and staff expenses | $5,766 |
| Bloomington Homeless Coalition – Surviving All Seasons – providing complete all–weather survival packs to people in the unhoused community. | $5,000 |
| Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market – SNAP Dollar Match for the 2022 Woolery Farmers’ Market season | $4,500 |
| Monroe County CASA – Creation of Functional Training Space | $4,191 |
| All Options Pregnancy Resource Center – Period Equity Program | $4,000 |
| Courage to Change Sober Living – Courage to Challenge – will allow female recovering addicts to actively engage in twice monthly recreational and educational pro–social activities in and around Bloomington. | $2,129 |
| TOTAL | $338,966 |