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Author: Shelly Jones

15 Mar

Posted at 19:44h in Home Featured, News
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Together, the Grant County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Grant County Economic Growth Council, Greater Grant County, Indiana Wesleyan University, and the Community Foundation of Grant County are all partnering together to bring a Community Development Course to Grant County. “Each of these sponsors believe that to remain relevant and, ultimately, to thrive, communities of all sizes must tackle challenges and pursue opportunities comprehensively, creatively, and collaboratively," said Kylie Jackson, President/CEO at Greater Grant County. “That means, assets and trade-offs must be understood and investments in people and place require increased focus.” “That’s why we’ve invited Ball State University’s Indiana Communities Institute, in partnership with Creative Insight Community Development, to deliver a 2.5-day Community Development Course to help build a foundation for a stronger and more sustainable Grant County,” said Dawn Brown, President/CEO at the Community Foundation of Grant County. The Indiana Communities Institute (ICI) at Ball State University, in partnership with Creative Insight Community Development (CICD), will help local communities work together to realize positive change through the Community-Based Action Planning (CBAP) process. The facilitators from both organizations have more than 150 years of community development experience. CBAP is a participant-oriented, “learn by doing” experience rooted in social science research and built on practical...

28 Feb

Posted at 13:59h in Home Featured
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The gold standard for many nonprofits is the ability to provide reliable services to the people who are counting on them, regardless of economic ups and downs. In the face of the sheer unpredictability of when community needs might arise, it’s often hard for a nonprofit organization’s board and staff to balance fundraising for long-term security on one hand, with generating enough funding to support the organization’s operating budget from year to year on the other hand. To protect against economic ups and downs, and also to be prepared if a disaster or tragedy hits their community, many nonprofits build and maintain a financial cushion. Sometimes this takes the form of a rainy day fund or reserve fund, which can be accessed by the nonprofit’s board and staff to fill the gaps in budget shortfalls. Many organizations, in addition to building reserve funds, establish formal endowments to help ensure that the organization can meet its mission for years to come. Endowments are designed so that the corpus is preserved and increases in value over the years. Interest earned is used by the nonprofit only according to the stated purpose of the endowment. Donors may not always realize the flexibility they have in...

02 Feb

Posted at 18:40h in Home Featured, News
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Every day at the Community Foundation of Grant County, individuals and families create lasting impact for the betterment of Grant County by ensuring their generosity will benefit generations to come through endowment. Last week, $316,000 was distributed to 65 local nonprofit organizations that benefit from an endowment fund at the Community Foundation. This Designated Grant Cycle is the first of six grantmaking cycles offered in 2023 by the Foundation. The grants come from designated funds, which support one or more specific organizations. The funds have been established by the organization itself or by donors to provide a reliable source of support for organizations they care about. This year’s designated fund grants range from $110 to more than $22,000. “No doubt, nonprofit budgets continue to be challenged. We are grateful for the donors who have established these funds and for the opportunity to provide these designated grants to support the good work of our nonprofits,” said Dawn Brown, Community Foundation President and CEO. “Because the funds are endowed, our nonprofits can count on these grants every year.” Earnings provide an additional source of annual income for the nonprofit organizations. Each year, a portion of each organization’s fund growth is distributed through a grant and a...

30 Nov

Posted at 18:17h in Home Featured, News
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The Community Foundation of Grant County announced recently that it is committed to building a bold new way to accelerate positive social outcomes through a local impact investing program as an extension of its community leadership efforts. The Foundation recognizes that its assets, over 90% of which are endowed, positions the organization to bring new tools, such as local impact investing, to address the needs and opportunities of Grant County. The purpose of the Impact Investing program is to make socially impactful loan investments that provide a financial return and measurably advance a prosperous Grant County via the social return on investment. The program will invest in people, projects, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that address economic prosperity, quality of life, and access to opportunity for residents of Grant County. “We believe that philanthropic capital can further the betterment of Grant County through grants as well as investments,” said Dawn Brown, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “More than any nonprofit organization, community foundations have the ability to deploy a diverse set of tools to address community needs, including grantmaking, donor engagement, and loan investments. As community foundations seek innovative ways to build community wealth and health, more are adopting impact investing...

17 Nov

Posted at 21:08h in News
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The Community Foundation of Grant County joins more than 1,000 other community foundations across America to mark Community Foundation Week, set this year for Nov. 12 to 18. Our goal in participating is to raise awareness about the role of philanthropy and to foster local collaborations and innovations to address persistent civic and economic challenges in our community. Launched Nov. 12, 1989, through a proclamation by former President George H.W. Bush, the first Community Foundation Week included a congressional briefing about the work of community foundations throughout the nation and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private and nonprofit sectors to address community challenges. The first community foundation was established in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. Community foundations in Indiana alone made more than $194 million in grants in 2020 and held more than $4.3 billion in assets. Your Community Foundation of Grant County manages more than $28.5 million in assets. Last year, it awarded $1.12 million in grants and scholarships. Former Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson once described the role of community foundations this way: “Community foundations in Indiana play a key role in identifying and solving problems across our state. Each foundation has an in-depth knowledge of local concerns,...

09 Nov

Posted at 17:31h in Home Featured
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You know how on social media, they place a little blue checkmark by someone’s name who is famous, important, or noteworthy?  Well, in the world of philanthropy in Grant County, you’re a Verified Charitable Hero in our book! That’s why we need your help! (You deserve this icon by your name as a Verified Charitable Hero.) It’s time to make a thoughtful plan about your end-of-year charitable giving. With the holidays ahead, the end of the year will be here before you know it. So, it’s a good time to think about how to leverage the impact of your donation. In math, a square root is a number that multiplies itself to get another number. For example, 4 X 4 = 16; the square root of 16 = 4. That’s how donations work at the Community Foundation. Each donation given through us has a multiplied value—much more than the face value of the donation itself. As the community’s foundation, your gift is combined with the donations of other Verified Charitable Heroes to multiply impact! You give the donation, we grow your donation, and then a portion of that growth makes grants. GIVE-GROW-GRANT That’s why we need a Verified Charitable Hero like you. We're not asking you to do this...

08 Nov

Posted at 20:38h in Home Featured, News
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A new alternative to payday lending in Grant County will provide financially vulnerable families with convenient, small-dollar, low-interest, flexible-term loans. This innovative hybrid loan program will provide families with immediate access to the cash they need to provide some much-needed financial stability while also helping them build a savings account for future financial security. The alternative payday lending program is made possible through a unique partnership between Afena Federal Credit Union and the Community Foundation of Grant County. The alternative payday lending program was designed to help financially under-resourced families in three ways: 1) By providing affordable financing to assist families in getting back on their feet once they return to work following the COVID-19 pandemic, 2) By helping financially under-resourced families build an emergency savings account, and 3) By helping income-vulnerable families improve their credit scores. We know that our professional lenders are working hard to serve the people of Grant County. And we know that there are times when they simply can’t approve a customer’s loan request due to credit issues, income limitations, and other challenges. For people who don’t qualify for traditional financing options, an unexpected expense can quickly spiral into a major problem. Which means if the refrigerator...

13 Oct

Posted at 15:11h in A Message From Dawn
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Pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice granola, pumpkin spice cheesecake, pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin spice pancakes, etc. Tis the season, right? It’s officially fall and we love the taste of fall! The other thing I absolutely love about this time of year is the chill in the air. Even though you see your breath in the morning and wonder why you wore that turtleneck by 3:00 each afternoon, it’s simply beautiful in Indiana right now. And, while I haven’t experienced it yet this year—emphasis on yet—I really do get so excited about finding a random $10 bucks in a coat pocket from last year. Why does is seem like a year-old $20 bill found in the jeans I haven’t worn since last winter feels more valuable than a normal $20? Technically, I could buy a pumpkin spice latte at Starbys with a new $20 in my purse but buying one with an old $20 found in a pocket just feels more special--Like that specific $20 was verified on Twitter or something! Do you all know about verifications on Twitter and other social media platforms? A blue checkmark is used to verify high profile users as authentic. So, when you see a blue checkmark next...

07 Oct

Posted at 17:40h in Home Featured
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We wanted to extend an invitation to you and your lending team to join us for Breakfast on Thursday, October 20th @ 8:00AM at 511 West Third Street, Marion, IN 46952 (the building next door to our main office) to learn more about our Bridge the Gap Loan Program, as an alternative to predatory payday lending. We believe that you most likely work with individuals who may greatly benefit from this resource, however, please feel free to forward this invitation to additional team member(s) that work with low-income families and “un-bankable” clients who may need help dealing with emergency expenses. We know that you are working hard to serve the people of Grant County. And we know that there are times when you simply can’t approve a customer’s loan request due to credit issues, income limitations, and other challenges. For people who don’t qualify for traditional financing options, an unexpected expense can quickly spiral into a major problem. which means if the refrigerator dies, the basement floods, the car gets a flat tire, or any unexpected situation pops up (and it will), paying for it could be a problem. No one wants to have to refer a customer to a predatory lender,...

21 Sep

Posted at 20:33h in Home Featured, News
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On Friday, October 21st at 8AM, Professional Advisors are invited to join the Community Foundation of Grant County for a free breakfast and 3 hours of Continuing Education Credits with speaker, David Bennett, President Community Foundation Research and Training Institute. “Federal tax laws regarding charitable giving have changed dramatically in the last few years – and more changes are on the horizon," said David Bennett, President Community Foundation Research and Training Institute. “In this seminar, we will review recent changes in federal tax law, as well as tax-smart options for your clients. Topics to be covered include federal income and estate taxes, Qualified Charitable Distributions, tax implications of noncash gifts, gifts with income, and retained life estates.” “Philanthropy should be fun, it should be simple and flexible, it should offer tax benefits and professional management with public accountability and transparency," said Dawn Brown, President and CEO. “Which is what we offer to your clients. Some of the greatest opportunities to make charitable gifts arise when making major business, personal, and financial decisions. Let us help.” “Strong community foundations help build strong communities which is what we all want,” said Shelly Jones, Development Manager. “We know our Professional Advisors care about their clients and...