The Brown County Community Foundation has been awarded $500,000, and its charge is to give it — and some more — back to the community.
The foundation received the money as part of the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its “Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow,” or GIFT VII initiative, said new foundation CEO Maddison Miller.
Twenty-five years ago, the community foundation was created in Brown County with a challenge grant from GIFT I.
In 2014, the foundation participated in GIFT VI and received $500,000 to distribute to the community. During that GIFT phase, the foundation’s community grants fund grew by $500,000 after 24 new unrestricted endowments were created. That allowed for an additional $20,000 in community grants to be awarded each year.
As part of the GIFT VII initiative, Lilly Endowment will give $2 for every $1 donation made to “unrestricted endowments” through Dec. 31, 2020.
“A gift of $100 instantly becomes $300. A gift of $1,000 becomes $3,000. Unrestricted funds are at the heart of our grant-making capacity and are used to award competitive grants that strengthen the community,” Miller explained.
In the past, grants have been awarded to support the preschool scholarship program in Brown County Schools, establish the Brown County Radio Hour and renovate the Brown County Art Gallery. Grants also have been used to support organizations like the Brown County Career Resource Center and the Brown County Literacy Coalition, Miller added.
“Unrestricted funds are fundamentally crucial to the work we do here at BCCF,” she said.
Donations to unrestricted funds are joined with the rest of the foundation’s investment pool, and a percentage of the earnings from the invested endowments are what funds the grant cycles, she said.
“I recently read a fantastic quote from another foundation executive that stated we are merely temporary stewards of an extraordinary community asset, which is 100 percent true,” Miller said.
“We run the community foundation on the premise that it will be here forever, and try to structure our investments so that the principal amount remains intact, only spending investment income, which ensures that the endowment will not only continue to grow, but will be here to serve the community forevermore.”
If people wish to make a donation to the $2 matching grant opportunity, they can establish a named unrestricted fund, which allows the foundation’s board to direct where the money is most needed.
“For example, the ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith Family Fund’ would be listed on BCCF’s annual report and their donation would be pooled in to our invested endowment,” Miller said. Donors also can remain anonymous.
Unrestricted funds differ from designated funds, which people establish for specific causes. Miller said people interested in opening a named fund to take advantage of the $2 match can reach out to her to sign a fund agreement, which will detail their charitable wishes.
For those who already have unrestricted funds with the foundation, Miller said donations to those funds also can be matched $2 for every dollar donated.
The giving doesn’t stop there.
Until the end of this year, the foundation has decided to designate one-third of the matching fund grant to assist local nonprofits with current needs and charitable projects.
During the last GIFT phase, this portion of the matching grant was primarily used to support the new Project Helping Hands building at the Brown County Fairgrounds.
Miller said that this time around, the foundation’s board has decided to award several smaller grants “to bolster local organizations in the middle of year-end fundraising campaigns for specific projects.”
Any organization that wishes to receive these match dollars needs to contact Miller and submit a one-page application that details the project and how money will be spent. All donations for these projects will have to come through the foundation to be eligible for a match.
After a donation is made, the foundation will take a 2-percent administrative fee, then set aside the remaining donation with available match dollars in a pass-through fund, which organizations will be able to draw from at the start of 2019, Miller said.
“In this scenario, a $1 donation is received by BCCF, 2 cents will go toward administration, 98 cents will be added to the 50-cent match from LEI (Lilly Endowment Inc.), making a total $1.48 donation,” Miller said.
“The administrative fee is necessary because we’re essentially acting like a bank for these organizations, receiving, tracking and processing hundreds of donations. It’s a large undertaking for such a small staff. The office is buzzing with activity.”
The foundation is encouraging its board of directors to give back, too. The endowment will award an additional $100,000 unrestricted grant if the foundation achieves 100-percent financial support from its board members from Jan. 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, a press release states.
The foundation currently has more than $11 million in assets and has granted more than $11 million back to the community since it was founded in 1993.
The foundation was eligible for this phase of GIFT because of its previous participation in GIFT phases, Miller said.
“When applying, we had to to demonstrate that financial controls and procedures are in place to safeguard and account for our assets,” she said.
Miller said the “generosity of our donors,” along with the trust they have put in the foundation, has made grant money available to the community every year.
“This is a unique opportunity to double the impact of your charitable giving and to support local needs and organizations by growing our endowment and increasing available grant dollars,” Miller said of GIFT VII.
She encourages the community to donate.
“It’s our job to keep our finger on the pulse on the community through our collaboration with local nonprofits and community leaders,” she said.
“It is our hope that we can continue to be innovative with our grant dollars in 2019 to address serious community needs while making Brown County a better place to live, work and play.”
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Interested in making a donation to the Brown County Community Foundation? Do you wish to set up your own fund or endowment? Are you from an organization looking to receive additional financial help? Contact foundation CEO Maddison Miller at 812-988-4882 or email her at [email protected].
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