Nina Mason Pulliam believed that every person should give back to his or her community in order to make it a better place. Enriching Community Life is one of the three grantmaking areas of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, focusing specifically on two fields, Arts and Culture and Community Building and Civic Revitalization. Since the Trust began grantmaking in 1998, it has awarded $15,356,685 to 92 nonprofit organizations in the Indianapolis and Phoenix communities to enrich community life. In 2004 the Trust awarded $762,500 to 15 organizations, including family museums, youth art programs, homeownership programs and agencies providing technical assistance to other nonprofits.

Arts and Culture
In 2004, the Trust's grantmaking in this field was sharpened to focus on programs that bring arts and cultural experiences to children and adults most likely to be served by the Trust's Helping People in Need program area. Two organizations that exemplify the Trust's interest in the arts and culture activities directed at this population are Free Arts of Arizona and Young Audiences of Indiana.

Free Arts of Arizona, founded in 1993, provides therapeutic creative arts programs to 5,500 children annually who have been abused, neglected or homeless, working with partner organizations that operate residential treatment centers, group homes and domestic violence shelters throughout Maricopa County. By recruiting creative volunteers to share their talents in the visual arts, music, theater, dance, creative writing and other artistic projects, Free Arts of Arizona helps children build self-esteem by unlocking their imaginations. The Trust has provided $60,000 to support the Strengthening Families through the Arts Program at 18 domestic violence and homeless shelters to improve communication and develop positive parent-child relationships in homeless families.

In Indianapolis, Young Audiences of Indiana works with teachers, artists and arts organizations to present live programs appropriate to the age and educational needs of students, always with an effort to provide equal access to its programs. The program provides opportunities for unique, personal and meaningful experiences in the arts otherwise not included in many school curricula. The Trust committed $273,000 to Young Audiences to pilot Young-at-Arts, a program to help child care workers and artists expand their skills in providing developmentally appropriate arts experiences for low-income and disadvantaged preschool children, who have few opportunities for exposure to the arts. The program has served 600 children and 70 teachers in Indianapolis by offering educational workshops and interactive performances with local artists in music, dance, theater and visual arts.

In efforts to further develop the community's participation in the arts and culture, the Trust has also supported other organizations that enrich community life in this area. In Indianapolis, this includes the President Benjamin Harrison Foundation, Inc., the Indianapolis Children's Choir, International Center of Indianapolis, Storytelling Arts of Indiana and the Writers' Center of Indianapolis. In Arizona, the Trust has funded the Phoenix Family Museum and the West Valley Arts Council.

Community Building and Civic Revitalization
Through this grantmaking area, the Trust supports organizations and programs that assist neighborhoods in decline, increase the level of resident involvement, and/or contribute to the overall vitality and quality of life in the Trust's priority communities of Indianapolis and Phoenix. Awards to Chicanos por la Causa, Rebuilding the Wall, Inc. and NPower are illustrations of Trust funding in this field.

Chicanos por la Causa provides programs and services that address the economic development, social service, education, housing and cultural development needs of the community and serves 100,000 or more individuals annually. Since the agency's beginning 36 years ago, CPLC has purchased and managed more than 4,000 units of affordable multi-family apartments for low-income renters and constructed more than 600 single-family homes and numerous commercial office buildings. CPLC received a $150,000 award from the Trust for the construction of a commercial/retail building to house small businesses in Nuestro Barrio, a low-income, minority neighborhood located in a federally designated Enterprise Community in south central Phoenix. This project provides employment opportunities and contributes to the redevelopment and restoration of the neighborhood. The retail center houses eight small businesses, including a utility bill payment center, a dry cleaner and laundry, a deli-style restaurant, and a beauty/cosmetology school.

Rebuilding the Wall, Inc. (RTW), is a faith-based organization working on the near east side of Indianapolis to rebuild its neighborhood by building relationships across racial and socioeconomic lines and through the rebuilding of vacant and dilapidated houses. By providing safe and affordable rentals, transitional housing, and homeownership opportunities, RTW plans to preserve houses for the indigenous poor. The Trust recently provided operating support to help the executive director and project manager implement the housing rehabilitation program. Through the unique homeownership opportunity that RTW provides, families can share in the redevelopment of our community rather than be displaced.

NPower Arizona and NPower Indiana (both affiliates of a national network of NPower organizations) have each received Trust funds to meet the technology needs of nonprofit organizations serving the Indianapolis and Phoenix communities. Both agencies provide technology services to member nonprofits and the nonprofit community at large, including technology planning, consulting and project management, scheduled network support, web and application development, and software training. NPower Arizona currently works with more than 65 nonprofits in Maricopa County, while NPower Indiana works with 200 nonprofits in central Indiana.

Other agencies that have received Trust grants in the community building and civic revitalization area in Indianapolis include Executive Service Corps, Inc., Irvington Historical Society, Inc., and Rebuilding the Wall, Inc. Arizona grantees include Neighborhood Partners, Inc. and Collaboration for a New Century.

The Trust remains committed to funding nonprofits that enrich community life especially for underserved and/or disadvantaged individuals. If your organization is interested in applying to the Trust for funding under this category and have questions, please contact Lee Ann Hoy, grants programs manager in Indiana, or Belen Martinez, grants programs manager in Arizona.