Henry County Community Foundation 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.
Henry County Community Foundation is using this matching fund grant to build their financial assets and support their charitable activities. The Foundation’s board of directors designated the matching fund grant to support the growth of Choose Henry Flex Fund unrestricted fund, which over time will provide flexibility to help the foundation to meet community needs. Lilly Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to the Choose Henry Flex Fund during the matching period, October 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020.
“Our goal is to meet this generous match of $500,000 from Lilly Endowment to strengthen support for our community. The Choose Henry Flex Fund gives us the ability to respond to both needs and opportunities in Henry County,” said Mark Taylor, board chairman.
According to president and executive director, Beverly Matthews, “This is a great opportunity to grow our Choose Henry Flex Fund – where every donation gets tripled. Whether $10 or thousands, every donation adds together to create benefits now and in the future.”
The Henry County Community Foundation is a publicly supported philanthropic institution governed by a volunteer board of local citizens. The foundation manages contributions donated by individuals, businesses and corporations as a permanent community endowment. Distributions from these funds are given back to the community in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations. To date, more than $20.6 million has been awarded to enrich the lives of the residents of Henry County.
The GIFT VII 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 Henry County Community Foundation’s board of directors, the Endowment also will award an additional $100,000 unrestricted grant if the foundation achieves 100 percent financial support from their board members during the period January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.
Starting in 2019 Henry County Community Foundation 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 Henry 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 and Indiana.