Update on 2024 Grant Recipients

It is hard to believe an entire month of 2025 is already in the books! Before we begin the 2025 grant cycle, let’s take a look at what our 2024 grant recipients have been able to accomplish thanks in part to Impact 100’s generous gifts. 

91 Place Buys Flagship Home

On August 30, 2024, 91 Place closed on and officially became owners of the Oxford House. Oxford was the first home to house young adults in their program and became the first home that 91 Place owns. The process to purchase the Oxford home was a dream that was in the works, but the generosity of Impact 100 and 2 anonymous donors moved their timeline up exponentially. 

91 Place continues to train and recruit staff who are versed in their 7 components of wellness model when working with the young adults they serve. They know that once stable housing is secure, a person can begin to think ahead to things like job training, therapy or schooling. 

“This house is more than four walls, it is a pillar of our program and serves as a gathering place for our clients and staff in addition to housing individuals in our program,” said Jenna Shaffer, CEO of 91 Place. “This grant has also allowed us room to leverage the equity in the home and a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor, which means we were able to direct those funds to other areas of 91 Place and do more for our clients.”

Coburn Place Improves Literacy Through School’s Out Summer Camp

The $11,000 unrestricted funding from Impact 100 allowed Coburn Place to strategically support their Children’s Services department, particularly through their 2Gen-focused programming with the School’s Out Summer Camp. This program provides impactful programming, such as a phonics-based literacy program in partnership with Marian University, alongside outdoor recreation and social-emotional learning opportunities.

Support from Impact 100 made it possible to achieve outstanding outcomes for children and families served in the summer camp. A key highlight was the phonics-based literacy program which resulted in measurable improvements in foundational skills like letter recognition, phonics, and handwriting for regularly attending participants.

“Leadership opportunities such as the Lemonade Stand Day fostered confidence, teamwork, and financial literacy among the children,” said Rachel Scott, CEO of Coburn Place. “And the inclusion of diverse recreational and educational activities such as tennis lessons and family-oriented field trips like a trip to the Newport Aquarium, promoted physical wellness, social-emotional learning, and family bonding. These successes demonstrate the far-reaching impact of this funding, which empowered children to grow academically, socially, and emotionally while strengthening their families as a whole.”

iibada Dance Company Improves Dance Studio and Expands Programming

iibada Dance Company was able to accomplish many things thanks to Impact 100’s grant. They combined a portion of the Impact 100 gift with a generous donation that a dance family contributed to get their floor replaced. This upgrade significantly improved the quality of their dance studio, providing a professional-grade foundation for their youth. As a grassroots organization that has always focused on providing exposure to inner-city youth who may not have access otherwise, it is essential to their mission that they offer the same quality dance studio foundation as other, more prominent studios that the majority of their families cannot afford.

Thanks to the timely gift from Impact 100, they provided an enriching production season for their youth, which concluded with a full production at a state-of-the-art venue. The funds also allowed them to fairly compensate professional tech crew personnel, including a stage manager, audio technician, lighting director, graphic designer, costume team, production manager, and much more.

One other way the Impact 100 grant was used was to fill the open role of part-time Program Manager. “With the support of Impact 100, we were able to expedite this transition, significantly increasing the effectiveness of our Dare to Dance program,” said Tierre Clark, Executive Director of iibada Dance Company. “This program is our way of reaching and impacting the lives of elementary, middle, and high school youth. Our instructors visit several partner public schools weekly, bringing the joy of dance and formal training to inner-city youth without access to studio instruction.

Kids’ Voice of Indiana Expands Access to High Quality Educational Programming

Thanks in large part to the unrestricted Community Support Grant from Impact 100, Kids’ Voice of Indiana has been able to kick-start an expansion of the Educational Liaison Program that focuses on preschool age children ages 2-5, known as Little Voices–Big Futures. All children served through these programs are involved in the child welfare system and many are living in foster care or other placement. 

One success of their program has been significant growth in program capacity, allowing Kids’ Voice to serve many more children in the target age range of 2-5 years old. Since the award of the Community Support grant less than six months ago, the Educational Liaison/Little Voices–Big Futuresteam has served 73 children ages 2-5. For comparison, throughout the entire year of 2023, the Educational Liaison team served 56 children in this age range.

“We are passionate about advancing Little Voices–Big Futures because every child deserves the opportunity to participate in high quality educational programming during the critical preschool years,” said Amy Pangburn, Grants and Strategic Initiatives Manager at Kids’ Voice. “Access to early education services not only lays the foundation for future success and fulfillment of potential, but for children in the child welfare system, it helps to mitigate the traumas related to abuse or neglect, being removed from their home, and other instabilities.The life-long impact truly cannot be overstated!”

Medical Mutts Offers Shelter Dogs New Lives Through Mutt Mentors Foster Program

Medical Mutts Service Dogs believes in the extraordinary potential of shelter dogs and the life-changing impact they can have on people with disabilities. They used the grant from Impact 100 for their Mutt Mentor Foster program, which provides foster homes and essential training for shelter dogs, creating a nurturing environment that extends training time without increased kennel time. Delivering improved quality and quantity of training with the Mutt Mentors Foster program reduces overall training costs by nearly a third (~$10,000). Thus, significantly enhancing their impact on human lives.

“Our Mutt Mentors provide essential training and gain knowledge of effective, ethical dog interaction. This approach fosters a community of humane, compassionate treatment of animals, promoting kindness towards all dogs,” said Liz Boskovich, previously the Director of Development, Marketing and Communications at Medical Mutts. “Additionally, Mutt Mentors learn teaching methods that enhance their understanding and compassion towards people with disabilities, fostering community empathy, connection, and inclusion. Impact 100’s grant has helped us to save more human and dog lives, empowering both to live with purpose and thrive together.”