Crown Point Community Foundation (CPCF) and Legacy Foundation have received a combined grant of $2.5 Million for Lake County as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. With GIFT VII, Lilly Endowment is making up to $125 million available to help Indiana community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve.
CPCF and Legacy Foundation can use this matching fund grant to build their financial assets and support charitable activities county-wide. At least two-thirds of the matching fund grant must be designated to support the growth of CPCF and Legacy Foundation’s unrestricted endowments, which over time will provide flexibility to help the foundations to meet community needs. Lilly Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to CPCF and Legacy Foundation’s unrestricted endowments during the matching period, October 1, 2018, through December 31, 2020.
CPCF and Legacy Foundation may choose to designate up to one-third of the matching fund grant to support the foundation’s own operating needs or specific community or charitable projects. The Endowment will provide 50 cents for every $1 that the CPCF and Legacy Foundation raise during the matching period for these purposes.
“Legacy Foundation thanks Lilly Endowment for their continued support of Indiana community foundations. Ultimately it will be the residents of Lake County who benefit from this generous gift. GIFT provides an opportunity for donors and organizations to create an endowment fund or build upon one of the 320 existing endowments with Legacy Foundation. Endowments provide sustainable support that can help insure that the needs of our residents will continue to be met long after we are gone,” said Legacy Foundation President Carolyn Saxton.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to come together and grow the Funds held at our Foundations for the betterment of all residents in Lake County through our grantmaking efforts,” stated Mary Nielsen, President of the Crown Point Community Foundation. “We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for its years of support to enrich all communities in our great state of Indiana,” she continued.
The GIFT initiative is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen Indiana communities and has been a priority of Lilly 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 the CPCF and Legacy Foundation’s board of directors, the Endowment also will award an additional $100,000 unrestricted grant if the foundations achieve 100 percent financial support from their board members during the period January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.
Starting in 2019, CPCF and Legacy 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 Lake County.
