Press release from the Rising Sun Regional Foundation:

The Rising Sun Regional Foundation (RSRF) awarded a total of $260,000 in 11 new grants at its September 22, 2010 meeting.  These grants included:

• $10,000 to the Rising Sun & Ohio County Senior Citizen Housing, Inc. toward the purchase of a new server and related software for its central office;
• $50,000 to the Rising Sun Retirement Community Task Force toward the continuation of its planning activities to implement a viable retirement/resort community in Rising Sun;
• $50,000 to the Delaware Volunteer Fire Department toward matching funds for an Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Community Focus Fund grant to acquire property and construct a new fire station;
• Up to $30,000 to the City of Aurora toward matching funds for its Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority Owner-Occupied Rehab program;
• Up to $40,000 to the Town of Osgood toward the installation of new sewer lines and water mains to its industrial park to facilitate new business development;
• $15,000 to the South Dearborn Community School Corporation toward the purchase of 15 LCD overhead projectors for its Aurora Elementary School;
• $3,000 challenge grant to the South Dearborn Community School Corporation toward the purchase of Study Island testing software for its Aurora Elementary School;
• $25,000 to the Milan Elementary School PTO toward the purchase of new playground equipment;
• $10,000 to the St. John Lutheran School in Aurora toward renovations to its library, art room, and science lab areas;
• $15,000 to the Ripley County Tourism Bureau toward the purchase of equipment and furnishings to display information in two Visitor Centers in Ripley County, as well as funding for construction purposes to enable the Tourism Bureau, the Ripley County Economic Development Corporation, and the Ripley County Chamber of Commerce to relocate offices in Versailles; and
• $12,000 challenge grant to Safe Passage, Inc. in Batesville toward the purchase of a minivan for the transportation of clients who are served by its regional domestic violence shelter.

In announcing the awarding of these new grants, foundation President Marianne Wiggers stated, “RSRF’s goals in this most current quarterly grant cycle were three:

• One, to continue to award matching and challenge grants that would be substantially leveraged by additional state, local community, and other foundation funding.  For every dollar of RSRF grants awarded at this meeting, the foundation calculates that these grants will result in approximately $6 of completed projects, or an estimated $1.7 million of projects, in relation to the $260,000 in RSRF grants.
• Two, to continue to support the important work of the Rising Sun Retirement Community Task Force Initiative in its efforts to spearhead the successful development of a viable retirement/resort community in Rising Sun, which we feel has major potential economic and community development benefits for both the community and region.
• And three, to address certain critical and one-time needs of a number of nonprofit organizations and schools without such funding these projects, most likely, would not happen, especially during these current, difficult economic times.

Hopefully, we were able to achieve these goals, the results of which will become more evident in future months and years.”

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.