As 2016 comes to a close, it’s the start of a new year for the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. The organization just approved more than $2 million of Key Initiative Grants for the first grand cycle of the 2016-2017 fiscal years.

These grants are awarded to organizations that request more than $250 thousand and their work is related to the Community Foundation’s three priorities: youth development, vibrant community and quality of life.

There is a process of application for these types of grants. First, they go through the community investment grant process.

Once that gets approved, they are forwarded to the key initiative committee. The chairperson of the prior process, board members and former board members sit in on the pending approval.

Since 1989, the Community Foundation has awarded around $78.5 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations.

These grants  come from the foundation’s unrestricted grant, Fund for Elkhart County. This year marks the third year under this new grant model, which was established in July 2014.

Just in the fiscal 2016 year, the foundation has awarded more than $16 million.