RFOTD (Random Fact of the Day): Community Foundations
Apparently, 10% of the community foundations in the U.S. are in Indiana (I can’t find a source of this online, but I heard it from Jim Siegmann, Program Officer (and long time Elkhart County entrepreneur) for the Elkhart County Community Foundation). Mainly, thanks to the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, which many years ago gave each county in the state an opportunity to receive a lot of money if they started a community foundation. From the Ohio County Community Foundation’s website:
In 1990, there were fewer than a dozen community foundations in Indiana. In 1998, there were over 90, representing all counties in Indiana. This sudden emergence of community foundations is due mostly to a private foundation in Indiana, the Lilly Endowment Inc., who primarily focused its funds in Indianapolis, but, in 1990, created a huge program called GIFT-Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow. Each phase of the program offers matching grant programs to eligible community foundations in Indiana. As each year went by, more and more community foundations were created in Indiana, in large part because they were able to take advantage of the GIFT Program and its matching dollars.
