Sophia Travis community service awards

Community service grants to 38 organizations totaling $135,400 were approved by Monroe County commissioners at their Wednesday morning meeting.

A complete table of all 38 awardees is included at the end of this article.

The community service grants are named after a former county councilor, the late Sophia Travis.

At Wednesday’s meeting, president of the board of commissioners, Julie Thomas, called it an “aptly named program.”

She said that Travis “really served this community so well.” Thomas added: “Her life was too short.”

This year’s awards had already received approval from the county council at a July work session.

By dollar amount, the top 10 grants this year were awarded to: Beacon Inc. ($7,060); Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard ($5,580); Indiana Recovery Alliance ($5,420); New Hope for Families ($5,280); Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington ($5,180); Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana ($5,080); Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Inc. ($4,880); Area 10 Agency on Aging ($4,630); Sojourn House Inc. ($4,280); Monroe County Humane Association ($4,120).

Sophia Travis grants are drawn from the county’s general fund. Since 2008, when $95,000 in grants were awarded, the total has tended to increase a few thousand dollars every year. Last year’s total amount was $130,000. Continue reading “$135K in Sophia Travis community service grants OK’d by Monroe County” →

Community service grants to 33 organizations totaling $130,000 were announced and approved by Monroe County’s council at its work session Tuesday evening.

The awards were made after deliberations at earlier public meetings by the Sophia Travis community service grants committee, which includes two citizen members.

The grant program was renamed six years ago in honor of Sophia Travis, who served on the county council from 2004 to 2008. She 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,” according to the renaming resolution. Continue reading “$130K awarded to community non-profits by Monroe County through annual grant program” →