Historic New Harmony offering $500 grants for New Harmony beautification projects

The University of Southern Indiana's Historic New Harmony announced Jeremy Efroymson and the Efroymson Family Fund has generously made available $10,000 to fund individual $500 grants for beautification projects in the town of New Harmony. 

Historic New Harmony is responsible for managing and administering the program which is open to an individual, business or entity in the town of New Harmony for public facing projects that add to the beautification, safety or flow of the town. 

Only one grant will be awarded per project, however an individual, business or entity can apply for multiple grants.  

Examples of beautification projects could be, but are not limited to: 

• planting flowers or trees in public spaces
• painting public facing building facades, fences, etc. 
• pressure washing of a public facing building or sidewalks
• murals
• landscaping of a public corner or intersection
• park clean up and maintenance 
• tree trimming beyond the scope of what the town already does
• vacant lot clean-up
• streetlamp cleaning and maintenance
• new banners for the downtown lampposts
• tourism signage
• community gardens
• new bat and or bird houses on the trails

"What a fantastic opportunity and generous show of support for our amazing town. Jeremy and his family's foundation not only work to help connect our town with other cultural centers, but also work to creatively help improve the quality of life here in New Harmony," said Dan Mason, Assistant Director of Historic New Harmony.    

Mason stated it was important to Jeremy to make this process as simple as possible so anyone has an opportunity to make an impact on the New Harmony community.  

The process of applying for a $500 beautification is as follows: 

1. The requestor would apply for the grant and explain the scope of the project and budget. The application form can be found at edu/beautificationgrant
2. Grant applications will be reviewed by a team from Historic New Harmony to ensure it is within the scope of the program.
3. If the grant request is approved, HNH will request that the requestor complete a W9 form for the University.
4. The $500 will be mailed to the requestor from the University within approximately 30 business days.
5. The grant should be spent within 30 days of receipt.
6. Historic New Harmony requests that the requestor provide before and after pictures as a final report for documentation that the grant has been completed.

"The Efroymson Family is proud to support the work of the University of Southern Indiana Foundation and its mission to attract, acquire and manage donors' charitable gifts to support and sustain the goals of USI," stated Brian Payne, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and The Indianapolis Foundation.   

Additional questions about the grant can be emailed to Dan Mason, Assistant Director of Historic New Harmony at dcmason@usi.edu or call 812-682-4488.  

For more information about Historic New Harmony, contact Erin McCracken Merris, Marketing Specialist for USI Outreach and Engagement, at emccracken@usi.edu.