Pokagon Band, Four Winds Casinos donate $860K to city of South Bend and local nonprofits

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi have paid the final installment in a voluntary five-year agreement with South Bend to donate $860,000 total annually to the city and several local nonprofits from its revenues generated at its Four Winds South Bend casino.

According to a release from the Pokagon Band and Four Winds, the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County and the Food Bank of Northern Indiana each received $20,000; the YWCA of North Central Indiana received $25,000; Jobs for America’s Graduates Indiana received $50,000; and Beacon Health Foundation, the Bowman Creek Project and the South Bend Community School Corporation each received $100,000. Additionally, South Bend Venues, Parks and Arts received $445,000 for the renovation of Howard Park.

A five-year commitment:Four Winds Casino gives millions from revenues and in donations to South Bend, local groups

Each year since 2018, each nonprofit partner received a check for the same dollar amount it received on Thursday. In all, the Pokagon Band and the casino donated $4.3 million during the five-year agreement.

"The Band felt that we wanted to contribute to the greater community, as we've always been here, but with the casino being established … we wanted to share in that fortune and be able to help the community know that we're here as a partner," Pokagon Band Tribal Chairwoman and CEO of the Pokagon Gaming Authority Rebecca Richards said.

When Four Winds South Bend opened in 2018, the Pokagon Band agreed to make annual payments to South Bend from revenue derived from its Class II gaming devices at the casino in place of paying property taxes. Federal law exempts tribal land from state property taxation.

According to the release, 1% of the Class II revenues is paid directly to the city and another 1% is paid to the South Bend Redevelopment Commission to contribute to the improvement of educational opportunities and address poverty and unemployment in the city.

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Richards said the tribal council took great care in selecting nonprofit organizations it felt provide vital services to the community.

"The tribal council that looked into these organizations really saw a benefit in partnering with our community as our (tribal) citizens live in the community," Richards said. "We also wanted to create something as a good neighbor to be able to share, and we've been fortunate enough to be able to provide this type of contribution."

The agreement between South Bend and the Pokagon Band is similar to agreements in the three Michigan communities where other Four Winds casinos operate: New Buffalo, Hartford and Dowagiac.

Nonprofit leaders praise the Pokagon Band's donations

Executive Director and CEO of the Food Bank of Northern Indiana Marijo Martinec said she is grateful for how gracious the Pokagon Band has been to her organization over the past five years. Since 2018, the food bank has received a total of $100,000 from Four Winds South Bend's Class II gaming device revenue.

The food bank has used the donations to fund its Senior Nutrition Program, which provides monthly boxes of food, cleaning supplies and personal care items to seniors living in low-income senior housing. The boxes feature both shelf staples, such as oatmeal and cereal, as well as perishable items.

Four Winds South Bend and the Pokagon Band "have really embraced our mission to feed hungry neighbors," Martinec said. "We are humbled by their generosity."

YWCA of North Central Indiana President and CEO Susan Tybon said her organization has used the $125,000 it has received from the Pokagon Band over the past five years to develop and expand its crisis services and empowerment programs.

"We have a shelter, and we are monitoring our parking lot and our facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep people safe," Tybon said. "We use some of the funding for that staff."

She added the funding also has helped the YWCA teach women job and financial management skills and help them find housing and further their education. The donations also made possible a computer skills program that prepares women for employment.

From 2016:South Bend, Pokagon Band reach agreements related to casino project

"It's not often that you get a five-year commitment from somebody," Tybon said. "So we're grateful to the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi … When you've got that relationship for five years, they start to feel like friends, and some of them have even come to the shelter for a tour."

One of the Pokagon Band's largest donations over the past five years was its $500,000 contribution to the Beacon Health Foundation, which helped build a new home for Beacon Children's Hospital.

However, Beacon Health Foundation Senior Major Gift Officer Ryann DeMoss said this is only one of the many ways the Pokagon Band has supported and continues to support the children's hospital.

"They help us every year with equipment that really helps us expand our projects and programs within in Beacon Health System, especially on the pediatrics side," DeMoss said. "They've invested in new incubators for us, powerlifts for our pediatric ambulances, MedFlight ultrasound, giraffe warmers in the NICU … We are so incredibly grateful for not only their friendship, but their partnership."

Email Tribune staff writer Claire Reid at cereid@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Four Winds Casinos donate $860K to South Bend, local nonprofits