Shelby County United Fund and Blue River Community Foundation are pleased to announce that they have been approved to receive a $275,000 COVID-19 Economic Relief Initiative Grant, made possible through a partnership between Lilly Endowment, Inc. and Indiana United Ways, the state professional association of which SCUFFY is a member.  These special funds will be used to boost the efforts of selected area human and social service nonprofits on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“SCUFFY has been a key convener and coordinator of our community’s response to meet human needs for decades. Even before this crisis, we knew that20% of families in Shelby County were not able to make ends meet - despite working. Without arobustlocal nonprofit safety net, those needsare bound to become even more dire.Thanks to generous support from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., weare now more strongly positioned to help our community’s nonprofits deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19,” said Alecia Gross, Executive Director of SCUFFY.

“The Blue River Community Foundation connects resources with our community’s greatest challenges or opportunities,” said Amy Haacker, Executive Director of BRCF. “In this case, the COVID-19 crisis is unique and especially challenging, as it affects so many in different ways.  This support from Lilly Endowment, Inc, and other caring donors in our community who have been giving generously to support human needs, will enable us to provide much needed relief to those affected most, recover, and then ultimately build resiliency against future catastrophes.”

The COVID-19 Economic Relief Initiative Grantcalls for agencies that receive funding to leverage partnerships and relationships to better meet COVID-related essential and basic needs. Shelby County has established a cross-sector group of community leaders to determine distribution of these funds.

Our local Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Human Services, Shelby County Health Department, Department of Child Services, Major Health Partners, Shelbyville Central Schools, St. Vincent DePaul, Shelby County Early Learning Coalition, Catholic Charities, The Children's Bureau, Pantry Pals (representing all local food pantries), Work Force One, Shelby Senior Services, local government, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, and the Shelbyville / Shelby County Animal Shelter have committed to serve as members of this coalition.

Some of the top unmet needs identified include: rent assistance, utility assistance and child care availability/assistance. In the coming weeks, the coalition will gather to begin the process of awarding grant funding.