Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
KENDALLVILLE — The Dekko Foundation, a private family foundation located in Kendallville, with a mission of fostering economic freedom through education, awarded more than $447,000 in grants and pledges to 10 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.
Its grantmaking is concentrated within 13 counties in four states — Indiana, Iowa, Alabama, and Minnesota — where Mr. Dekko had business or personal interests.
Local organizations receiving grants and pledges were:
• Cardinal Services Inc., Warsaw, $25,000 to support the organization’s workforce-readiness programs for young people with disabilities so they can be successful in finding employment.
• Kosciusko County Soil & Water Conservation District, Warsaw: $880 to support the district’s educational programs in which young people learn about aquatic ecosystems and water quality.
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.
