Pathway to Potential Mental Health Grant Awards

Pathway to Potential Mental Health Grant Awards is sponsored by United Way of Southwestern Indiana. Grants aimed at improving community resiliency and youth opportunity by strengthening the mental and emotional well-being of students and addressing the root causes of poverty. Specific focus on mental health services for youth.

Pathways to Potential - United Way South All applications are evaluated and scored by content expert taskforces. The highest scorers are passed to United Way’s Community Impact Cabinet who makes funding recommendations to the Board of Directors . For more detailed information on our funding process, click here .

Pathways to Potential is United Way SWI’s issue-based, competitive grant process to address the root causes of poverty. Due to the large and complex nature of poverty, we prioritize the following pathways toward upward mobility: employment, mental health, youth services, and a two-generation approach to social stability.

Applicants must be either a 501(c) 3 organization registered with the IRS or a community group with a 501(c)3 organization serving as its fiscal sponsor. Proposed projects must provide services in Spencer, Vanderburgh, and/or Warrick County.

Empowering individuals with the resources needed to secure and maintain living-wage employment Advocating for, and improving, access to mental health care Equipping children and youth with skills to thrive both socially and academically SOCIAL STABILITY & GROWTH Strengthening relationships that serve as a safety net and alliances that expand opportunities for growth UNITED IS THE PATHWAY TO POTENTIAL FOR THESE RECIPIENTS OF ROUND 2 FUNDING: Social Stability & Growth Grantees Evansville Christian Life Center – $250,000 Warrick and/or Spencer County expansion of GAIN initiative which helps low-income people build relationships through a cohort training on financial management and life skills, as well as pairs them with mentors.

Dream Center Evansville – $246,000 Expansion of their current “cradle to career” model by training additional volunteer community members to serve as peer mentors and coaches for Dream Center families. Expansion of their neighborhood revitalization efforts, including strengthening relationships with residents and completing action projects.

Habitat for Humanity – $192,749 A pilot program that helps applicants previously denied homeownership due to debt challenges improve their financial situation. Mentors will work directly with the participants and connect them to relevant resources. Catholic Charities – $94,000 Support for an additional eight months to Neighbor to Neighbor program graduates to ensure progress toward financial stability and goal achievement.

Hospitality & Outreach for Latin Americans (HOLA) – $90,000 SS&G funds will help prepare the younger generation for higher education and career achievements by providing mentors to assist with college visits, financial aid, college applications, and job shadowing.

Thriving Next Gen Grantees Southern Indiana Mentoring Academy (SIMA 100) – $267,400 Expansion of in-classroom mentors at 3 EVSC schools and begin process of adding mentors in all elementary and middle schools. Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center – $255,080. 70 Offer mentoring, tutoring, after-school programming, workforce readiness coaching, and summer programs.

Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville – $236,480. 30 Partner with Glenwood Leadership Academy to execute three programs designed to foster critical thinking and development. The Potters Wheel – $250,000 Supports cradle-to-career social and educational interventions at Bosse High School and its feeder schools.

Southern Indiana Resource Solutions, Inc. (SIRS) – $135,424 Support a full-time resource navigator for Spencer County middle and high school students with disabilities. YWCA – Live Y’ers Program – $200,000 Afterschool learning and activities for girls in grades 3-8 and mentoring opportunities beginning in grade 6. Mentoring services for boys in grades 6-8.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of SWI – $186,620 This program will train high school students to serve as mentors to middle school students. Dream Center Evansville – $150,000 Student Success Coaches at three schools to understand a student’s academic needs and deliver on interventions to promote sustainable growth.

Catholic Charities – $152,440 Support a part-time, bilingual licensed social worker (LSW) for the outpatient counseling program and underwrite community language interpretation training for three staff members. United Methodist Youth Home – $177,631 Expansion of therapy program for at-risk youth to include those recently discharged from UMYH inpatient programs and youth in need of outpatient services to prevent court intervention.

Support evidence-based youth mental health prevention programs in five EVSC schools with larger low-income populations. This work addresses critical, underlying challenges that improve mental health and break cycles of poverty. Success Through Mentoring – $88,924 Underwrite one full-time position and expand mentoring opportunities further into Spencer County.

The organization connects adult mentors to kids from lower-income, underserved communities. Empowering Employment Grantees ARK Crisis Children’s Center – $332,940 Expansion of Ark’s Working Parents Program that provides childcare based on when a family needs it with prioritization given to those experiencing active crisis, homelessness, and DCFS involvement.

Carver Community Organization – $231,060 Increase the number of spaces available for second-shift childcare (Ages 6 weeks to 12 years). Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce Board – $165,000 Support neighborhood-based employment assistance in Vanderburgh, Warrick, and Spencer Counties through Neighborhood Employment Navigators (NENs).

Missing Pieces Community Development Corporation – $125,000 Support and expand their worksite transportation program. Legal Aid Society of Evansville – $11,000 Upgrade software legally required for processing expungements and storing protected client information. Two of the four Pathway Grants are awarded each year as part of a two-year cycle.

The Impact Cabinet assesses the financial resources available and determines funding pools for each Request for Proposal.

In advance of a scheduled Pathway Request for Proposal release, a taskforce of content and context experts is assembled to: Assess the need in the respective Pathway area Determine the specific impact goal for the RFP Develop the RFP, including eligibility criteria and evaluative measures Evaluate and score grant applications.

Additionally, a taskforce of financial experts is assembled to review applicants’ financial position and program efficiency. Applications are evaluated via a blind review, ensuring no potential favoritism by anyone who may have professional relationships with applicants. Scores are reviewed by the Impact Cabinet and funding recommendations are based on both applicant scores and available resources.

All funding recommendations are then approved by our Board of Directors. Grant Management Platform We utilize the e-CImpact software to manage grant applications, progress reports, and accountability documents. If you are a new applicant, you will choose the “New to e-CImpact” selection at the bottom of the login page.

If you are a United Way Community Partner or potential grant applicant, click here to enter. If you are an Expert Reviewer or Community Impact Cabinet member, click here to enter.