Rush County Community Foundation has received a grant of $500,000.00 as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative.   With GIFT VII, the Endowment is making up to $125 million available to help Indiana community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve.

Rush County Community Foundation can use this matching fund grant to build our financial assets and support our charitable activities. The matching fund grant will be designated to support the growth of Rush County Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowments, which over time will provide flexibility to help the foundation to meet community needs.  The Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to Rush County Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowments during the matching period, October 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020.

“We are thrilled that Lilly Endowment Inc. has made another GIFT opportunity available for community foundations throughout the state.  GIFT funding was the impetus for the formation of the Rush County Community Foundation in 1991, and since then we have been fortunate to receive millions of dollars for Rush County through six grants from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s GIFT program.  We are simply delighted to have the chance to raise additional unrestricted dollars while providing our donors with a $2 for $1 match,” stated Alisa Winters, Executive Director.  “Unrestricted dollars are powerful funds that allow our organization to assess the current and future needs of the community and allocate funds accordingly.  Growing our unrestricted assets provides us with an opportunity to make a substantial impact on the changing needs of the community, forever.”

The Rush County Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1991 to serve donors, award grants, and provide leadership to improve the quality of life in Rush County, forever.  Since inception, assets have grown to $18 million and funds awarded exceed $12 million.

The GIFT initiative is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen Indiana communities and has been a priority of the Endowment since the first phase of GIFT in 1990.  The initiative’s primary aim is to help Indiana community foundations develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize and address local opportunities and challenges.

To encourage the engagement of Rush County Community Foundation’s board of directors, the Endowment also will award an additional $100,000 unrestricted grant if the foundation achieves 100 percent financial support from our board members during the period January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.

Starting in 2019, Rush County Community Foundation will have the opportunity to apply for more funds through GIFT VII’s community leadership grants.  This component includes both planning and implementation grants, which are available to help the foundation deepen its understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing its community; convene key local stakeholders and explore how it can effectively play a leadership role in implementing initiatives and strategies that enhance the quality of life in Rush County.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company.  The Endowment exists to support causes of community development, education and religion.  Lilly Endowment’s community development grantmaking is designed to support efforts that enhance the quality of life in Indianapolis and Indiana.