KENDALLVILLE — The Dekko Foundation, a private family foundation located in Kendallville with a mission of fostering economic freedom through education, awarded more than $590,000 in grants and pledges to 12 youth-serving organizations during its most recent round of grantmaking.
The foundation, started in 1981 by the late businessman and philanthropist Chester E. Dekko, invests in projects and programs that help build knowledge, skills, and character in children and young people from birth through age 18 so they can be self-sufficient and grow up to be economically free, according to a news release from The Dekko Foundation.
Its grantmaking is concentrated within 13 counties in four states — Indiana, Iowa, Alabama and Minnesota — where Dekko had business or personal interests.
Local organizations receiving grants and pledges were:
• Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce Foundation Inc., Warsaw: $25,515 to support the county’s early learning coalition so it can provide professional development for early learning educators and help improve learning environments.
• Sacred Heart Catholic School, Warsaw: $250,000 to support the renovation and expansion of the school so it can increase the number of grades served and improve learning environments for students.
If you’d like to learn more about how investments such as these support children and young people so they can achieve economic freedom later in life, contact a Dekko Foundation program officer at 260-347-1278. Or visit dekkofoundation.org to explore the foundation’s mission and funding priorities, review its grantmaking process or send a grant proposal.