It’s summertime in Indiana and that means…. county fair time!!! As a ten year 4-H member myself, I loved showing livestock, baking pies to exhibit, eating elephant ears and seeing all the other sights and sounds the county fair had to offer. Being so involved in 4-H I also knew the amount of time and resources that went in to the upkeep of a fairgrounds; buildings, arenas, barns, pens, etc. And from time to time today I get questions from citizens wanting to know about grants for their fair facilities. What I always suggest to them is to check with their local community foundation. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; foundations are great resources for smaller projects with a quick turn-around time. Most community foundations want to utilize their funds on projects that directly benefit their community. A fairgrounds project would be an ideal applicant because of how many people attend the fair or utilize the fairgrounds throughout the rest of the year.

I have listed two websites here with contact information for the community foundations in the state of Indiana for your reference. Feel free to check out the ones in your area and find out more about their application process and what types of projects/activities they offer funding for.

http://www.tgci.com/funding/cfs.asp?statename=Indiana&statecode=IN

http://www.nonprofitexpert.com/community%20foundations/in.htm