The Community Foundation Serving Howard, Carroll and Clinton Counties has received Community Leadership Planning Grants totaling $175,000 as part of Lilly Endowment’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. The Endowment has made up to $5.75 million available through Planning Grants for Indiana community foundations. Howard County received a $75,000 grant, and Carroll and Clinton counties each received a $50,000 grant. Grants were based on county population.
The Endowment’s Community Leadership Planning Grants are meant to enable Indiana community foundations to evaluate their local landscapes and identify and prioritize community needs and assets, develop a deeper understanding of what their roles should be within the community, and prioritize and develop strategies to address high-priority challenges and opportunities.
“We are excited about the opportunities this opens up to us as a Community Foundation,” said Greg Aaron, President of the Community Foundation Serving Howard, Carroll and Clinton Counties. “Our first step in the evaluation process is to reach out across our communities and conduct community conversations, and distribute a survey to nonprofit organizations. The conversations and survey will help us to better understand the current needs in our communities. As we look to move forward, there is potential for additional funding. However, we have to do our homework first as we look to discover any compelling ideas that emerge and can potentially be addressed.”
The additional funding includes a Community Leadership Implementation Grant from the Endowment. Community foundations can submit proposals to implement strategic initiatives and programs designed to address key challenges or opportunities identified and prioritized during the planning process. For especially compelling challenges that arise during the discovery process, the Endowment has also included a larger scale funding opportunity.
GIFT VII also includes a Matching Fund Grant for Indiana community foundations. The Community Foundation Serving Howard, Carroll and Clinton Counties announced the matching gift initiative in December 2018. At least two-thirds of the Matching Fund Grant must be designated to support the growth of the Foundation’s unrestricted community endowment funds, which provide flexibility to help meet community needs. The Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed through the Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowments. For every $1 given to the Foundation’s other types of endowed funds, the match is $.50 — $.25 to the same fund as the gift and $.25 to an unrestricted community endowment fund. The match initiative runs through Dec. 31, 2020.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support causes of community development, education and religion. Lilly Endowment’s community development grantmaking is designed to support efforts that enhance the quality of life in Indianapolis and Indiana.
The Community Foundation Serving Howard, Carroll and Clinton Counties is a nonprofit charitable organization. The purpose of the Foundation is to serve the interests of donors, to make grants and to act as a catalyst around issues of community importance in Howard, Carroll and Clinton counties. For details about making a charitable gift or establishing a permanent endowment fund to benefit a charitable organization or interest, contact Greg Aaron at (765) 454-7298 or [email protected].