South Bend relaunches transportation benefit program for nonprofit organizations

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The City of South Bend announced the relaunch of the Community Nonprofit Partner Program (CNPP) a public-private partnership that provides subsidized and free transportation to St. Joseph County employees, volunteers, and nonprofit clients and customers.

The partnership is through Commuters Trust,

“The expansion of Commuters Trust to relaunch the Nonprofit Program is indicative of our community’s need and its measurable impact,” said Director of Civic Innovation, Madi Rogers. “We’re looking forward to building its reputation as an award-winning program by serving more residents in need.”

Officials say the program will provide up to 10 organizations with transportation benefits, including eight free Uber rides and an unlimited Transpo bus pass every month, per participant, for one year.

Organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Have 501(c)3 status or equivalent
• Has a business location within St. Joseph County, Ind.
• Directly serve clients that live or work in St. Joseph County, Ind.
• Provide services to clients who face transportation insecurity causing inability to access food, healthcare, work, education, or childcare
• Agree to support participant referral and enrollment (and renewal/unenrollment), basic participant support, and data collection

Transportation Program Manager, Lynn Wetzel, says, “During its last iteration, CNPP supported over 225 participants with over 46,000 rides between Uber and Transpo.”

Commuters Trust is hosting an informational webinar on Wednesday, April 10 for interested organizations to learn more about CNPP and the application process.

Applications will open on Friday, April 12 and close Monday, May 6.

The program will start June 3, and go through May 31, 2025.

For further information and to register for the webinar, you can click here.