When Betsy Williams learned about women’s giving circles, she reached out to her friends and mutual RCCF supporters – Pam Hoeing, Shelly King, Heather Meckes, Amy Ploeger, Cindy Taff, with a dream in tow. Pam recalled, “Each one of us had gained valuable experience serving many years with the RCCF in numerous ways. We all agreed there was a significant opportunity to do big things with a group of like-minded, creative women collectively. With that in mind, the CIRCLe was born!”

The CIRCLE (Chicks Impacting Rush County Life) Fund is an RCCF fund that offers women the chance to combine their resources and make a large grant each year to a transformative project. CIRCLe members grant 80% of donations to an organization voted upon by the membership. The remaining 20% is endowed and continues to grow forever.

The competitive grant offers local programs the chance to dream big and serve the community in innovative ways. “TOGETHER we find a way to ‘make lemonade’ with the many challenging requests that are placed in front of us. We always deal with a committed sense of fairness. With everyone’s help and patience, we know that we are doing everything possible to make Rush County RISE year after year,” Pam said.

Since 2013, grantees have included: The Boys & Girls Club of Rush County, M.o.R.E. for Kids (Mentors of Rush County Empowering Youth), Rush AIC Recovery Housing, Inc. and the Rush County Historical Society, among others. Each grant is dear to the members’ hearts, but Cindy admitted, “Probably my favorite grant so far is for the Futsal court because it allowed the Parks Department to offer something brand new to the community.”

Are you a Rush County female who would like to support programs making a meaningful impact locally? Then the CIRCLe Fund is looking for you!

“We have so much MORE to do… the ball is rolling in Rush County and the needs continue to GROW. It is super exciting to be an integral part of building a better community one grant at a time. We are women who choose to RISE to the occasion! We need our women’s group to continue to grow so those challenging needs can continue to be met,” shared Pam.

The group is now collecting $300 annual membership contributions and would like to challenge their previous members to spread the word and invite a friend to join this year. If you are interested in becoming a member, or renewing your membership of this circle of women working together to improve life in Rush County, you have until 2/28/2021 to join and become a participant in the selection of this year’s grant.

Checks should be made payable and mailed or delivered to the Rush County Community Foundation, ATTN: The CIRCLe Fund, 117 N. Main St., Rushville, IN 46173 or may be processed securely online.