Press release from the Rising Sun Regional Foundation

The Rising Sun Regional Foundation (RSRF) awarded a total of $322,594 in 16 new grants for its Fourth Quarter 2010 Grants Cycle. 

These grants included:

• Up to $50,000 to Rising Sun/Ohio County First, Inc. toward the costs of interior renovations of the Foutty Building on Main Street in Rising Sun with the goal of attracting a new pharmacy to the city;

• $22,160 to the City of Rising Sun toward the purchase of a new multi-use truck for its Street Department;

• $40,000 to the Ohio County Emergency Services to upgrade its overall communications system to aid in better service to the western half of Ohio County;

• $33,654 to the Ohio County Rescue Services to assist the organization in becoming EMT-Advanced;

• $50,000 to the Rising Sun/Ohio County Community School Corporation toward the substantial renovation of its elementary-middle school playground;

• $5,000 to the Rising Sun/Ohio County Community School Corporation toward a new volleyball system for its middle school volleyball teams and primary-middle school physical education classes;

• $8,600 to the Ohio County Historical Society toward critical repairs to the masonry wall of the educational gallery of its museum;

• $2,700 to the Ohio County Youth Development toward the purchase of equipment for the Ohio County 4-H Shotgun and Muzzleloading Discipline for Shooting Sports;

• $1,454 to the Sons of the American Legion Post #59 in Rising Sun toward the purchase of portable picnic tables to help with seating for its own public and other community-sponsored events;

• $50,000 to the Ripley County Commissioners toward engineering fees for the construction of a new Courthouse Annex building on the town square in Versailles;

• $5,000 to the Town of Milan towards codifying the town's ordinances;

• $15,000 to the St. Louis School in Batesville toward the purchase of 30 technology advanced iPads;

• $12,355 to the Ripley County Commissioners toward the purchase of a walk-in freezer for the Ripley County Food Pantry;

• $17,524 to the South Dearborn Community School Corporation toward a variety of technology-related projects including an updated corporation technology needs analysis, the purchase of on-site credit recovery software, and several classroom-specific technology devices for the Aurora Elementary School;

• $4,895 to the Ripley County American Red Cross for the purchase of audio-visual equipment and training materials for its new facility in Versailles; and

• $4,250 to the City of Batesville as a challenge grant toward the purchase of a utility vehicle for the Batesville Beautification League.

In announcing these new grants, foundation President Marianne Wiggers stated, “Having just completed our 14th full year of operation, the Rising Sun Regional Foundation is proud to report that it has now awarded total grants exceeding $24.5 million, or an average of $1.75 million annually, during this 14-year period.  Even though we feel that these are significant numbers,” Wiggers added, “we would like to stress even more that this $24.5 million in direct grants has assisted in leveraging an additional amount of approximately $300 million to over 1,000 projects in this southeastern Indiana region.  As we end this 14th year, we would like to emphasize how pleased we are to be such an integral part of this very successful partnership between the City of Rising Sun that created the foundation, the Grand Victoria Casino that funds it, the governmental, educational, and nonprofit organizations that have submitted over 1,600 grant applications to RSRF to date, and the many and various other foundation, government, and personal contributions that have helped make these projects become a reality.”  

The Rising Sun Regional Foundation was created in 1994 by the City of Rising Sun in conjunction with the development of the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort by the Hyatt Corporation.  The foundation began its grantmaking program in early 1997 after the Grand Victoria Casino opened for business in September 1996.  The Grand Victoria makes monthly contributions to the foundation based on a percentage of its adjusted gross revenue.