In March of this year, the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation awarded 52 grants totaling $641,310 to Michigan City Area charitable organizations. Since inception in 1997, the Enrichment Corporation has granted over $16,500,000 in assistance to charitable organizations that directly benefit the people of the Michigan City area. Awards are only given to organizations that submit complete and timely grant applications. All applications must include evidence that their organization is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service to be a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. All applicants must perform their charitable service within the boundaries of the Michigan City Area School District. The Enrichment Corporation is a public benefit corporation created on June 10, 1997 by agreement between the Blue Chip Casino and the City of Michigan City. The Enrichment Corporation is independent of Michigan City government and has nothing to do with the Michigan City budget. According to the agreement, the Enrichment Corporation receives $750,000 per year from the Blue Chip Casino, of which $100,000 is paid annually to the Washington Park Zoo, and at least $100,000 for programs that benefit the children of the Michigan City community. The Enrichment Corporation Board has nine members who serve three-year terms, for no compensation. George Kazmierczak serves as the Board’s current President. The Enrichment Corporation bylaws state, “The utmost of impartiality, integrity and neutrality shall be required in distributing the corporation’s funds.” In addition to selecting grant recipients, the Enrichment Corporation board is responsible for filing reports to the Indiana Gaming Commission and Internal Revenue Service, for ensuring that grant awards are spent properly, and countless other year-round duties. In March of 2019 we had received 72 grant requests and awarded $633,610 for 48 grant awards. This year’s Grant Awards have just been distributed to the recipients. We received 86 grant requests and selected 52 recipients. There are 34 different organizations that received the grants. Of the grant awards 31 were for $10,000 or less. Our board encourages any charitable 501(c) (3) organization that serves the Michigan City Area School District, to submit a grant application. The 2021-2022 grant applications will be available by late September 2020. Completed applications must be submitted on line at www.mccec.com . This will be the only grant cycle for 2021-2022. Grants are only awarded once per year. If you have any questions about the Application process, please call our voice-mail at 219-873-1402 or email mccec@emichigancity.com and a representative from the Enrichment Corporation Board will be in contact with you.