Matching funds grant announcement
The Community Foundation of Randolph County has received a grant of $500,000 as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. With GIFT VII, the Endowment is making up to $125 million available to help Indiana community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve.
The Community Foundation of Randolph County can use this matching fund grant to build our financial assets and support our charitable activities. At least two-thirds of the matching fund grant must be designated to support the growth of the Community Foundation of Randolph County’s unrestricted endowments, which over time will provide flexibility to help the foundation to meet community needs through grantmaking. The Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to Community Foundation of Randolph County’s unrestricted endowments during the matching period, October 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020.
The Community Foundation of Randolph County may choose to designate up to one-third of the matching fund grant to support the foundation’s own operating needs or specific community or charitable projects. The Endowment will provide 50 cents for every $1 that Community Foundation of Randolph County raises during the matching period for these purposes.
“Our Foundation Board is determined to work towards making an even greater impact in our county. This is no small task as it requires asking and answering difficult questions. Because our sights are already set on this course, we were thrilled to receive notification from Lilly Endowment announcing GIFT VII. We are excited for the challenge of raising these matching funds for the benefit of Randolph County. – Lisa Jennings, Executive Director
The Community Foundation of Randolph County has been bringing people and resources together since 1993. In that time, assets have grown to $10 Million. The Foundation uses unrestricted funds each spring and fall to provide grants to non-profit organizations who serve and benefit Randolph County residents .Past grant recipients include the food pantry, PAWS, YMCA, Journey Home, Preservation Society, Jay-Randolph Developmental Services, Historic Farmland, Ward 5 School, Community & Family Services, Youth Services Bureau, Art Association of Randolph County, and Randolph County Literacy Coalition, to name a few.
The Community Foundation’s primary unrestricted fund is the Community Enrichment Fund. In 2015-2016, during a previous Lilly Endowment initiative, several new unrestricted funds were opened including the Randolph County Heroes Fund, Wicks Employee Giving Fund, Chip & Ruth Loney Fund, James and Linda Noffsinger Fund, Thom and Janice Powers Fund, Starr Family Fund, and the Whitacre Family Charitable Trust. Two additional unrestricted fund that were recently opened are the Rural Randolph Cares Agricultural Endowment Fund and the Joel and Jane Flesher Family Endowment Fund. All of these funds will be eligible to receive the 2 to 1 match during Gift VII.
The GIFT initiative is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen Indiana communities and has been a priority of the Endowment since the first phase of GIFT in 1990. The initiative’s primary aim is to help Indiana community foundations develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize and address local opportunities and challenges.
To encourage the engagement of Community Foundation Randolph County’s board of directors, the Endowment also will award an additional $100,000 unrestricted grant if the foundation achieves 100 percent financial support from our board members during the period January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.
Starting in 2019, Community Foundation of Randolph County will have the opportunity to apply for more funds through GIFT VII’s community leadership grants. This component includes both planning and implementation grants, which are available to help the foundation deepen its understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing its community; convene key local stakeholders and explore how it can effectively play a leadership role in implementing initiatives and strategies that enhance the quality of life in Randolph County.
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