Parent Advisory Council awards $250,000 in grant funding

INDIANAPOLIS – United Way of Central Indiana’s Parent Advisory Council has awarded $250,000 in grants to nine nonprofits.  

This is the second round of funding to be granted by the council, a United Way of Central Indiana initiative that seeks to bring community voices to the table.  

The 15 parents and caregivers who compose the council reviewed 21 applications from interested nonprofits and selected the recipients.  

In awarding grants from its Power to the Parent Fund, the council identified three areas of need in the community that it wanted to address: mentorship, mental health and eliminating unexpected barriers for families related to housing, child care, education and transportation.  

Council member Adea Gumm said many people need mental health help, but organizations often don’t have the means to include it in their programming. This will allow people to get the help they need, she said.  

“The reason why we chose mental health and mentorship is because we are losing so many of our youth to the streets, jail or to a funeral home,” Gumm said. “We would love our youth to be able to find another outlet and succeed.”  

As a team, members of the council have been in situations where they needed immediate help, whether for child care or bill payments, Gumm said. But when parents seek help, they often face a waiting period of 30 days or more.   

“We wanted to help people in these cases to get their bills paid before disconnection without having to go through gobs of paperwork and time,” she said.   

United Way launched the Parent Advisory Council in 2022 with the goals of strengthening parent leaders and incorporating their voices into decision-making. The council awarded its first round of grant funding last year. This year’s pool of funds increased by 25%. 

The Parent Advisory Council awarded the following grants during this funding cycle:     

The Arc of Greater Boone County – $21,259    

Brightlane Learning – $22,443   

Burmese American Community Institute – $50,000  

Concord Neighborhood Center – $21,259  

Fathers & Families Center – $21,259  

Flanner House – $21,259  

MLK Community Center – $21,259  

Reach for Youth – $50,000  

Wellspring – $21,259