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Author: Shelly Jones

06 Nov

Posted at 18:29h in Featured Story
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Brandon A. Barrett is the friend who always showed up, the leader who put others ahead of himself, and the guy who could make you laugh and make you feel important in the same breath. Those are the stories Kristin Marcuccilli Green still tells about her high school sweetheart and best friend, the young man she grew up with in Marion many years ago. Years later, she still thinks about him often. Capt. Brandon A. Barrett, a Marine, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010, but she keeps his story alive by telling it as often as she can to young people who never had the chance to meet him. “We grew up in Marion and shared many of the experiences that shape who you become as a young person,” Kristin said. “Even after our lives took different paths, the friendship remained. Brandon had a gift for making people feel special, which is why so many people considered him one of their closest friends. I still think about him often and carry many of the lessons he taught me about friendship, loyalty, and putting others first.” Carrying on his legacy is the reason family members, Kristin, and other friends built a lasting tribute out of...

03 Nov

Posted at 14:55h in Featured Story
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Linsie Middlesworth has a lot to share. A high school sweetheart-turned-husband, gone too soon. A father laid to rest recently. And in between, 25 years of quiet giving to a community that has meant so much to the people who have mattered most in her life. Linsie prefers to “start at the end” of the story when discussing the K.C. Runyan Scholarship Fund, which was set up at the suggestion of her father to honor the memory of her husband, K.C., after a tragic car accident. “This scholarship is an opportunity,” she said of the fund, which she established 26 years ago at the Community Foundation of Grant County, “It's an opportunity for someone to honor somebody through a donation to a scholarship.” Her most recent opportunity to encourage people to support the fund was after the recent passing of her father, Jerrell "Reece" Peacock, who was a guiding light in her life. To Linsie, a scholarship is a way to turn grief into something that lasts. A gift made in someone's memory keeps working year after year, carrying that person's name to a young person they may know personally or have never met. “It’s a way of giving, and now the scholarship is giving...

30 Oct

Posted at 13:17h in Featured Story
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One of the most common areas of confusion (understandably!) for donors and fund holders is how to use IRAs and other retirement accounts to further charitable goals. And it’s an important topic because Americans who’ve been in the workforce for a few decades have watched their 401(k)s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts grow nicely! Retirement accounts are a major asset on many families’ balance sheets. At the Community Foundation of Grant County, we understand how tricky it can be to keep track of all the rules. We're here to work alongside you and your tax and estate planning advisors to help you develop a charitable giving plan that achieves your goals, including ways to use your retirement assets to Give To Grant. As year-end approaches, here are five important things to know! 1. Age 70½ is still an important charitable giving milestone. If you've reached age 70½, you may be eligible to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from your IRA to an eligible charitable organization. This opportunity begins even though Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) generally don't begin until age 73 or 75, depending on your birth year. In other words, you don't have to wait until RMDs begin to start using QCDs for...

13 Oct

Posted at 13:23h in Community News, Featured Story
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Marion, Indiana — The Community Foundation of Grant County has received a matching fund grant totaling $1,500,000 as part of the ninth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s initiative, Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT IX). Community Foundation of Grant County will use $900,000 of the funding to grow its unrestricted endowment and $600,000 to support Project Leadership’s long-term organizational sustainability and capacity-building efforts. Qualifying gifts to the Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment will be eligible for a $2-to-$1 match from Lilly Endowment, meaning every $1 donated will become $3 invested in Grant County’s future. Unrestricted endowment funds provide flexible grantmaking resources to respond to the community’s changing needs and opportunities. Qualifying gifts supporting Project Leadership’s long-term sustainability efforts will receive a $1-to-$1 match, doubling each eligible gift. The Project Leadership match will help strengthen the organization’s long-term financial stability, leadership continuity, and capacity to continue providing college and career readiness services to Grant County students. Through GIFT IX, Lilly Endowment has awarded matching grants totaling $124.5 million to community foundations across Indiana. Eligible community foundations submitted proposals requesting grants ranging from $250,000 to $13.2 million based on the population of the counties they serve. “GIFT IX is an incredible opportunity for Grant County,” said Dawn Brown,...

08 Oct

Posted at 19:45h in A Message from Dawn
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“Sit on it, Potsie” was a phrase you’d often hear if you ever watched Happy Days, that nostalgic show from the ‘70s depicting the classic ‘50s. It’s where Gen X met The Fonz, Ralph Malph, Ritchie Cunningham, and, of course, Potsie—all at Arnold’s Drive-in. With an 11-year run through the 70’s and 80’s, we all learned the catch phrases of exactamundo, Fonzie, bucko, yowsah, yousah, yousah, and—still used today—jumping the shark. These were days long before social media. We had nary an idea what people had for dinner, much less a picture of it at our fingertips. Followers and keyboard warriors didn’t exist and the hottest tea on the show typically involved necking at Inspiration Point. It makes the 50’s and the 70’s seem like such simpler times. I miss it. Recently, I saw Anson Williams who played Potsie on a talk show. He was telling this fascinating story about Happy Days being the TV show that has saved the most lives in all of television history. I had no recollection of any life-saving antics happening in their 255 episodes and I’m quite sure I saw them all—at least twice—so, I tuned in. Oddly enough, Williams had a cousin who he called Uncle Henry...

08 Oct

Posted at 13:15h in Community News, Featured Story, Grantmaking Impact
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Longtime Grant County residents Lawrence and Otie Sanborn never had children during nearly 63 years of marriage. They spent their professional lives working at a local glass plant and living modestly. But when they passed away, the savings from that careful life were directed in perpetuity to meeting the educational needs of other people's children. While the Lawrence & Otie Sanborn Educational Endowment has provided funding to several Grant County educational organizations and institutions, its support of Marion-based nonprofit Project Leadership for more than a decade has changed how local students find their way into careers. The proof of the endowment's impact on the organization sits in Project Leadership's mission to provide equitable access to education and careers beyond high school. "It wasn't until we dug into the Sanborn work that the word 'career' was added to our mission statement," Project Leadership President & CEO Tammy Pearson said. "On paper, the Sanborn Endowment funds are a small share of our budget, but their impact has been far bigger." Project Leadership works with 22,000 K-12 students across 14 school districts in Grant and Delaware counties to prepare them for their educational and career paths beyond high school. This includes advocating for 21st Century Scholars; teaching...

08 Oct

Posted at 13:15h in Community News, Featured Story
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Years before Larry Richards became an architect and professor and taught a generation of students how to design buildings, he learned his very first lessons in his grandmother's living room near Matthews, Indiana. With Larry's father serving in the Navy in Japan, his mother needed support and moved in with her in-laws. His caring grandmother set up a sort of “kindergarten” in her living room. It set Larry on a career path that unfolded in Boston, Florence (Italy), Halifax, and finally Toronto, far from Matthews and Grant County. More than 80 years later, he is sending back some of his success and good fortune to a place that shaped his early years. About a decade ago, not long after his mother died and with neither he nor his partner having children of their own, Larry established the Virginia June and Lowell Byron Richards Fund at the Community Foundation of Grant County in his parents' memory. He did it from Toronto, his home of more than 40 years, and aimed it at the place that largely shaped who he is: Matthews and Jefferson Township. It all makes sense once you know how Virginia and Byron Richards lived, giving themselves to their community. Larry's parents were hands-on...

02 Oct

Posted at 17:20h in Community News, Featured Story
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On weekday mornings at the Grant County Family YMCA, visitors will find people swimming laps, kids playing in the gym, and members working out in a fitness center that continues to grow. Walk in on a night in March, and the gym will be transformed into a Jerusalem street on the same floor where the Marion Giants once played. The building has been many things to Grant County. Since 2008, it has been the home of the local YMCA. The Marion Coliseum opened in 1928 as a memorial to local veterans, and for decades it held some of the county's biggest events. This included basketball games, graduations, and the historic Marion Easter Pageant. By the turn of the century, the building's future was uncertain, and the community faced a decision about whether to save it. In 2001, the Community Foundation of Grant County committed $400,000 toward the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Coliseum, which would become the future home of the YMCA. The grant funding was seed funding, the kind that tells other donors a project is real. It helped turn the Coliseum from an idea into reality when the YMCA opened its doors in 2008 after moving from its former Third Street location. Adam...

28 Jul

Posted at 17:47h in Featured Story
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Let’s paint Grant County’s story—together. From bold ideas to meaningful moments, the Riverfront Canvas project is your opportunity to help bring our community to life along the riverfront. Our people. Our places. Our stories. And what makes this community feel like home. The Riverfront Canvas project is all about celebrating the people, stories, and spirit that make Grant County shine. We're looking for artists who want to help tell Grant County's story through the Riverfront Canvas Public Arts Initiative in Downtown Marion. This application is Step One of the selection process and lets us know you’re interested in participating. Step Two will pair selected artists with one of the community stories or themes identified by the Riverfront Canvas Commission. Once matched, you’ll receive additional background information and instructions for creating your artwork concept. Artists selected to move forward will be asked to submit an original artwork concept sized 8″ × 10″. Selected concepts will then serve as the basis for large-scale murals that will be professionally enlarged and installed as part of the Riverfront Canvas project. Stipend: A $400 stipend will be provided for each piece of work selected. Deadline to submit information to the Call for Artists: August 31, 2026 Design & Submission Period: September 2026 -...

24 Jul

Posted at 22:21h in Community News, Featured Story
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MARION, Ind. - The Riverfront Canvas Commission is calling on artists to help tell Grant County's story through a new series of large-scale murals in Downtown Marion. Applications are now being accepted through August 14, 2026. The initiative invites artists of all backgrounds to lend their creative voice to the community's shared history, character, and future. Interested artists can submit an online application. The application is the first step of the selection process and simply lets organizers know an artist is interested in participating. The second step is when selected artists will be paired with one of the community stories or themes identified by the Riverfront Canvas Commission. Once matched, artists will receive additional background information and instructions for creating their artwork concept. Artists selected to move forward will be asked to submit an original artwork concept sized 8″ × 10″. Selected concepts will then serve as the basis for large-scale murals that will be professionally enlarged and installed as part of the Riverfront Canvas project. A $400 stipend will be provided for each selected piece of work. Design & Submission Period: July 25 – August 2, 2026. All mural-related questions must be submitted via email to Murals@GiveToGrant.org. For more information and to submit information...