> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bsquarebulletin.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Monroe County council distributes $174K to 44 nonprofits through Sophia Travis grants - URL: https://bsquarebulletin.com/monroe-county-council-distributes-174k-to-44-nonprofits-through-sophia-travis-grants/ - Published: 2025-11-03T17:39:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-06-23T18:01:48.000Z - Description: Last Tuesday, the Monroe County council awarded $174,000 in Sophia Travis Community Service Grants to 44 nonprofits. The meeting also saw discussion about awards to Planned Parenthood and charter schools, and concern about next year’s allocation, which had been cut from $250,000 to $190,000. - Author: Dave Askins - Tags: Local Government, #no-inline-feature ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/6f/206f9007-c0a7-47d4-b87b-686c21961f22/content/images/2025/11/2025-10-28-sophia-travis-Screenshot-2025-11-03-at-12.28.30---PM-1.png) Community members of the committee that recommends Sophia Travis Community Service awards, Julie Robertson (left) and Jenny Stevens, present this year’s recommendations to the Monroe County council. (Screen grab from CATS, Oct. 28, 2025) The big news out of last Tuesday’s (Oct. 28) meeting of the Monroe County council was the unanimous vote [against the appropriation](https://bsquarebulletin.com/monroe-county-council-unanimously-rejects-north-park-jail-site-funding-after-marathon-meeting/) for the purchase of North Park for a new county jail. But the council handled several other items, including the approval of this year’s allocations of $174,000 in Sophia Travis Community Service Grants. The awards this year went to 44 different nonprofits, in amounts ranging from $800 to $13,800\. The biggest award went to Pantry 279. This year’s awards pushed the total amount awarded through the program since 2008 to around $2.17 million. In 2013, the community services grant program was renamed in honor of Sophia Travis, who served on the county council from 2004 to 2008\. The resolution renaming the program says that Travis worked as a councilor to “assure the applications for the limited funds available for support would be considered in a fair, even-handed and transparent process.” The Sophia Travis grant committee—composed of councilors Jennifer Crossley, Liz Feitl, and Trent Deckard, along with community members Jenny Stevens and Julie Robertson—reviewed over 46 applications this year. An additional $3,000 was awarded from the fund established to honor the late Cheryl Munson, who had for several years served as chair of the Sophia Travis grant committee. Stevens, who was concluding her service on the committee, stressed the breadth of community needs. She described the need as “profound” this year especially for food assistance and shelter. She called it “a little overwhelming due to the national climate that our agencies are trying to still do their work in.” Julie Robertson, the newest community member, said, “I was astonished at how many applicants that we had, and their presentations were astounding.” The awards covered a wide range of services, from food security and youth programs to health initiatives and support for vulnerable populations. Last Tuesday, the amount that was allocated for the Sophia Grant program in the 2026 budget year got some airtime from the public mic. It had originally been set for $250,000, which was a significant increase, but in the course of the council’s budget cutting process was reduced to $190,000\. About that reduction, Seth Mutchler said during public commentary that the planned increase to $250,000 “felt like a big win, but it also felt like a small drop in the bucket compared to what we’re up against.” Mutchler was disappointed that the amount got reduced to $190,000. Mutchler was also among several who voiced support for the $3,600 award to Planned Parenthood, after Monroe County resident Scott Tibbs gave remarks from the public mic opposing the award to Planned Parenthood, because the organization provides abortion services. Tibbs said, “I have been lobbying you for a number of years against funding for Planned Parenthood, which is America’s number one abortion provider.” About Planned Parenthood’s grant application, Tibbs said, “This is not a request for help. This is a request for a political endorsement from the county council.” The awards to two charter schools, The Project School and Seven Oaks, drew the attention of some councilors. Peter Iversen raised concerns about public funding for charter schools, saying: “My concern is that as charter schools—and the way that Indiana approaches charter schools—they increasingly have access to state funding. So for future iterations of this, I’d want to be careful with that.” The council’s deliberations took a familiar procedural turn, when councilor Marty Hawk moved to separate Planned Parenthood’s $3,600 grant award from the overall motion. Hawk wanted to be able to vote for “all these other wonderful projects.” She could not support the award to Planned Parenthood, because of the organization’s connection to abortion services.” The vote on dividing the question was 6–1, with dissent from council president Jennifer Crossley. Before the vote on division of the question, Crossley said, “I can certainly understand where \[Hawk\] is coming from, but I do not support that.” The motion on just the award to Planned Parenthood passed on a 6–1 with dissent from Hawk. The vote on the rest of the awards was 7–0. Organization Purpose Amount Pantry 279 Help with the Increasing Need $13,800 Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House, Inc Tandem Essential Funding $9,640 New Hope for Families Making Homelessness Brief for Children $7,800 Hoosier Hills Food Bank Fall & Holiday Food Purchasing $6,400 South Central Community Action Agency (SCCAP) Covering Kids and Families Winter Resource Fair and Community Outreach $6,300 Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington Replacing Cameras at BGCB – Ellettsville Club $6,200 Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Inc. Essential Programs Food Purchase $5,600 Grace Center, Inc. Food Purchase $5,600 WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology Support for Social Service Organization Accessibility to the WonderLab Museum $5,500 Girls Inc. of Monroe County Mind + Body: Building Resilience and Wellness for Girls $5,450 Bloomington Meals on Wheels, Inc Hotboxes for Monroe County Expansion $5,445 The Project School Emergency Shortage for Special Education Services $5,400 People and Animal Learning Services Equipt Equine-Assisted Learning Program for MC Youth Services Bureau $5,280 St. Vincent de Paul Solving a Bed Frame Storage $5,200 Second Baptist Church SBC Feed the Needy $4,700 Beacon, Inc. (Shalom Community Center) Dignity in an Emergency $4,505 Amethyst House Residential Food $4,200 Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana One-to-One Plus Digital Initiative: Advancing Mentoring with Technology $4,100 Bloomington Food Policy Council People's United Garden $3,890 Community Kitchen/CPR Btown Non-profit CPR training project $3,660 Planned Parenthood Bloomington Health Center Operations $3,600 Pathways Supporting Nutritional Access for Compass Early Learning Center Families $3,500 Cancer Support Community South Central Indiana Food and Transportation Assistance for Cancer Patients $3,480 My Sister's Closet Providing a Secure Resource for Women $3,462 Catholic Charities Bloomington (CCB) Counseling Services Affordable Therapy for Low-Income Children and Youth $3,420 Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Hive and Harvest Food Pantry $3,350 Monroe County Humane Association Critical Pet Care for Vulnerable Monroe County Families $3,350 Wheeler Mission -- Bloomington Building Community Within Wheeler Mission -- Bloomington's Day Room $3,236 New Leaf New Life Re-entry Transportation Support $3,210 Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc Refugee Emergency Assistance $2,800 Sobremesa Foundation, Inc Increasing Access to Nutritious Food $2,700 Community Culture Inc Bob's Garden: A Food Oasis for Monroe County $2,666 Courage to Change Sober Living Wrap Around Move In (Rental Scholarships)/Move Out Help for Residents $2,400 Stone Belt Arc (Milestones Division) Milestones Play Therapy $2,300 Restore/Habitat for Humanity Monroe County Feeding Our Volunteers Program $2,236 Protect Our People: Connect, Ltd The Front Door 2026 Pop-Up Events $2,100 Harrodsburg Heritage Days Inc Harrodsburg Heritage Days Festival $2,000 Middle Way House, Inc Supporting Survivors by Providing Comprehensive Resources & Support $2,000 Seven Oaks Classical School Seven Oaks Student Priority Needs $1,800 Stinesville Community Library Stinesville Community Library Website & Youth Program Expansion $1,400 Constellation Stage & Screen Constellation for Schools Student Matinee Program $1,300 Hands Full of Hope Inc N/A - Stock for Mobile Boutique Project $800 Writing for A Change Friday Night Writes! $800 Writers Guild at Bloomington First Sunday Prose Reading Series $420