The Delaware County Board of Commissioners announced Monday the recipients of its 2020 Community Enhancement Grants, which total $608,526.

The county’s existing CEG program normally has distributed about $160,000 each year since its inception in 2014. The monies have gone to local nonprofit organizations to fund specific capital projects, but, in 2020, the commissioners decided to shift the program’s focus to reimbursing organizations for operating losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We saw two common threads with our nonprofits’ needs,” said Commissioner Jeff Benton, president of this year’s board. “They had either suffered large drops in revenues because of having to shut down their operations entirely or else they didn’t have the staffing they needed to keep up with an increased demand for the services they provide.”

Commissioner Barb Lewis added, “I am hopeful this year’s grants will help soften the damage that the pandemic has inflicted on our Delaware County community.”

Said Commissioner Gary Merrell: “Nonprofit organizations throughout our county have stepped up to provide needed services to those struggling during COVID. These Community Enhancement Funds will help them as they continue to perform their missions in this difficult time or to await better times.”

This year’s recipients and grant amounts are Big Walnut Area Historical Society (Myers Inn Museum): $8,359.01; Central Ohio Symphony: $31,000; Delaware Cooperative Preschool: $2,000; Delaware County Agricultural Society: $57,000; Delaware County Cultural Arts Society (The Arts Castle): $42,000; Family Promise: $75,000; Kilbourne Food Pantry: $28,000; Main Street Delaware: $50,000; NAMI Delaware and Morrow Counties: $58,118.20; Ohio Fallen Heroes Memorial: $2,500; Recreation Unlimited Foundation: $24,555; Safe Harbor: $30,000; Second Ward Community Center: $50,000; Strand Theatre: $67,984; Stratford Ecological Center: $50,000; and YMCA of Delaware County: $32,010.