Community News

13 Oct CoFo Receives $1.5 Million GIFT IX Grant to Multiply Local Giving

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 A Son’s Tribute to the Town That Made Him

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 Behind the Doors: The Giving That Keeps the Grant County Family YMCA Running

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...

24 Jul Press Release: Riverfront Canvas Issues Call for Artists

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...

08 May CoFo Invites Public Ideas for Riverfront Canvas Murals

Marion, Ind. — The Community Foundation of Grant County is inviting the public to help shape the Riverfront Canvas Public Arts Initiative, a community-driven mural project that will transform the Grant County riverfront into a public art gallery celebrating local stories, people, and places. Centered in downtown Marion’s Arts District, the Riverfront Canvas will turn the Foundation’s historic 100 South Washington Street building into a vibrant visual narrative of Grant County’s identity. The initiative is guided by a five-member public art commission chaired by Marion Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr., with members Eric Marshall, Ron Mazellan, Courtney Middlesworth, and Keenan Davis. Since its formation earlier this spring, the Commission has convened to develop both a project brief (See attached for details) and a community application process, outlining the themes, values, and goals that will guide the murals. Together, these tools ensure that public participation is central to shaping each stage of the project, from concept to creation. “This project is about more than artwork on walls, it’s about telling the story of who we are as a community,” said Dawn Brown, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Grant County. “We want every resident, student, business owner, and neighbor to see themselves reflected...