Austin Area Foundation announces grants of over $25,000 to be distributed to 19 area non-profits in 2021

The Austin Area Foundation announced grants of over $25,000 from the Austin Legacy Endowment Fund will be distributed to 19 area nonprofits for 2021. An additional $6000 was gifted to the Salvation Army Food Shelf from AAF’s Basic Needs Fund.

Austin Area Foundation annually awards grants to local non-profit organizations and recipients for 2021 include Austin Area Arts for the $5 kids studio arts classes, the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce and Discover Austin for a portable sound system, the Austin Symphony Orchestra for supplemental budget support for performances, the Austin Tutoring Association for free one to one tutoring for low income children, Catherwood Home Childcare for partial funding for Catherwood driveway repairs, the Cedar River Watershed District for creating a walk-in access for Turtle Creek, Community Ed/Readers’ Cafe for the purchase of books for the cafe, and the Hormel Nature Center for the purchase of people counters for their trail system.

Other grants were awarded to the Hormel Historic Home for funding no-cost half-pints field trips, Hot Meals on Wheels, Inc. for meals to be delivered to elderly and disabled residents, I.J. Holton Intermediate School and the Hormel Institute to provide buses for students to visit the Institute, also to Matchbox Children’s Theater to provide a live theater experience for students at Sumner Elementary, the Mower County Historical Society for updating digital camera equipment for preservation, Nevlen and Matchbox Children’s Theater for 280 tickets at $6 each, the Parenting Resource Center for purchasing diapers and wipes for the diaper bank program, Rachel’s Hope for diapers and supplies for the While You Learn Program, the St. Olaf Lutheran Church Backpack Program for purchasing food for Head Start program children, the Salvation Army and the Feed a Family program for purchasing food for qualified persons for Christmas, and to the Zonta Club for support for families in transitional housing.