HANCOCK COUNTY — The Community Foundation of Hancock County has been passing on the generosity of the local community, recently handing out more than $685,000 in annual grant awards through nearly 100 different designated funds the foundation manages.
The Community Foundation also recently showed the love for Hancock County’s four education foundations, one in each of the county’s public school systems.
The CFHC awarded a $5,000 grant to each of the school foundations, which were invited to apply for their most immediate need, whether that was programming, capital improvement or operating expenses.
Eastern Hancock Education Foundation was awarded funding for outreach methods to drive donor engagement and giving. Greenfield-Central School Foundation will use its funds for its Educational Enrichment Grants, as well as Work Ethic Certificate programming.
Mt. Vernon Education Foundation will use its grant for utilizing Boomerang, a donor management and tracking program, and OneCause, an event management and fundraising platform.
New Palestine Education Foundation’s funds will be used for teacher mini-classroom grants, professional development and scholarships for career-learning opportunities for students.
While those grants will focus primarily on education, the more than $685,000 recently doled out through the 98 designated funds the community foundation manages touch upon a wide number of needs.
Recent recipients ranged from Agape Therapeutic Riding Services to Zion Lutheran School.
Community Foundation president and CEO, Mary Gibble, said the CFHC stewards designated funds on behalf of donors who designate funds to benefit a specific charity or cause.
Gibble said designated funds are not limited to supporting charities only in Hancock County. The foundation can send designated grants to charities across the United States, so long as the organization is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
The Community Foundation conducts due diligence to ensure all grantee organizations are in good standing, she said.
Gibble said a designated fund is ideal for the donor who wishes to support a particular charity but wants third-party oversight, wants to support several named charities through one substantial gift, or who wants to make an endowed gift to a new, small or struggling organization or charity that doesn’t have extensive investment management capability.
“Designated endowments enable donors to exercise generosity with a long-term vision in partnership with the Community Foundation,” said Gibble. “Grants made from designated endowments provide an annual source of income thus reducing the pressures of fundraising that tends to divert time away from the nonprofit’s mission of providing services to those in need.”
Each donor has the assurance that the charity they choose will forever benefit from their support, she said. In the event that a charity or nonprofit ceases to exist, however, the foundation’s board of directors will preserve the donor’s intent by redirecting the fund toward an agency with a similar mission.
Those interested in establishing a designated fund with the Community Foundation of Hancock County can contact advancement officer Emily Wilson at 317-462-8870 or [email protected].
