Published: June 25, 2009 01:43 pm      

Horseshoe Foundation hands out spring grants in Southern Indiana

$375,025 given to 33 organizations

The third time was a charm for the St. John’s Lodge No. 8 in New Albany.

The lodge had applied two previous times for a Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County grant. And both times, lodge members came home empty-handed.

However, this year, they finally got the answer they were looking for, receiving a $5,000 grant to paint the exterior of the lodge, replace the back porch and upgrade furniture at their facility — located at 1702 E. Main St.

“That work needs to be done and this will make it a lot easier,” said lodge member Jack Robinson, who accepted the award. “This was extremely important [for us].”

St. John’s Lodge was just one of 33 nonprofit and educational organizations to receive Horseshoe grants Wednesday afternoon at the Carnegie Center for Art and History.

The Horseshoe Foundation gives out grants in two cycles — fall and spring. On Thursday, $375,025 was handed out. The foundation board, comprised of 26 volunteers, had grant requests totaling more than $800,000.

The Horseshoe Foundation was established in 1999 by Horseshoe Southern Indiana in partnership with Floyd County and New Albany officials. In 10 years, the foundation has awarded $18.2 million to area nonprofits and educational institutions, including some outside of Floyd County.

That’s a long way from the first gift of $1,342 it received from the casino. In 10 years, the Horseshoe Casino, formerly Caesars, has given $33.3 million to the foundation.

“The foundation still has $14.4 million in assets,” said Jerry Finn, executive director of the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County. “The economic downturn has been tough on the foundation. At a time when we could be cutting back, the foundation has stepped up to the plate.

“This is a celebration of so much good going on in Southern Indiana.”

A variety of organizations received grants, including the Carnegie Center for Art and History, which received $24,870 to assist with the creation and installation of five sculptures for the New Albany Bicentennial Public Art Exhibition. Five temporary sculptures will be placed in New Albany starting next spring and running through the city’s bicentennial in 2013.

“This is a multiyear project,” said Sally Newkirk, director of the Carnegie Center. “This gives us a great boost to get started.”

The Carnegie Center is teaming up with the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association to sponsor the sculpture exhibition.

The two largest grants handed out Thursday — $25,000 each — went to Community Coordinated Child Care Inc. and the Howard Steamboat Museum Inc.

Several educational facilities, including Indiana University Southeast, Providence Jr./Sr. High School, S. Ellen Jones and Silver Street elementary schools received grants, as did Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The smallest grant totaling $1,000 went to the Tri-County Health Coalition.



SO YOU KNOW

Horseshoe Foundation grant recipients

• Howard Steamboat Museum Inc., $25,000

• Clark County Youth Shelter and Family Services Inc., $5,000

• Tri-County Health Coalition, $1,000

• Indiana University Southeast Athletic Department, $1,570

• Blue River Services Inc., $1,835

• Indiana University Southeast Music Department, $2,000

• Floyd County VFW Post No. 3281, $2,500

• Louisville Visual Art Association, $2,500

• Silver Street Elementary School, $3,000

• Floyd County Community Corrections, $4,380

• Indiana Youth Institute, $4,400

• NA-FC School Corp. Opportunities For Success, $4,520

• Friends of the Culbertson Mansion Inc., $4,800

• House of Ruth, Inc., $5,000

• St. John’s Lodge No 8 P.H.A., $5,000

• Hosparus — Hospice of Southern Indiana, $9,000

• Indiana Grantmakers Alliance Foundation, $10,000

• S. Ellen Jones Elementary, $10,500

• Floyd County Youth Services Bureau, $11,000

• S.I. Net Surfers LLC, $12,500

• Providence Junior/Senior High School, $15,000

• Georgetown Optimist Club, $15,000

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, $15,000

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana, $15,000

• Bilingual Education Center for Adults, $15,000

• Fairmont Elementary School, $17,360

• Rauch Inc., $18,500

• Grant Line Girls Softball Inc., $20,000

• Youth Count, $20,000

• Floyd County Head Start, $23,925

• Cancer Care Center, $24,865

• Carnegie Center for Art & History, $24,870

• Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc., $25,000