In the best interest of our donors, volunteers, visitors and staff, our office will remain closed. This has been a really hard decision; we miss you! But we feel it’s the most responsible one we can make to do our part to keep our community safe and well.

We’re always just a phone call (765-938-1177), email (info@rushcountyfoundation.org) or Zoom away. If those options won’t work, please give us 24 hours notice for an in-person, socially distant meeting.

There is a lot of good work taking place behind the scenes. We’ve been spending time training and preparing for our transition to a new accounting/donor/grantmaking/scholarship software. This will be our first upgrade since 2002! Once we’re fully acclimated, it will make many processes more efficient. Our reporting capabilities will be enhanced. Our donors will see more transparency in reporting and, eventually, even have access to their own login to review their fund statements, gift history, and more in real-time! And all four of us will be able to access it at the same time. Currently, only two staff members can at a time. That is real progress.

In August, we’ll be rolling out a fully online scholarship process, beginning with this year’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application. This streamlined approach will save time for students, staff and committee alike, while conserving trees, too. While the involvement might be different than years prior, the online scholarship process will ensure that our donors have the opportunity to remain involved, regardless of COVID or their location.

Our National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations accreditation was renewed. This ensures that that we meet high expectations to demonstrate evidence of excellence, accountability, impact and distinction. As a donor, you can be certain that we will be good stewards of your gifts.

Even though our doors are closed, be assured that we’re still open and working for you and our community.