From: Tracy Hamilton Souza, president and CEO of Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County
Columbus
Today is National Philanthropy Day, part of National Community Foundation Week and National Philanthropy Month. The calendar is already crowded with national this day or that day, so why should a day celebrating philanthropy be noteworthy?
Philanthropy and foundations are often called the independent sector because their resources can be used to initiate, create, experiment and highlight important issues. A favorite example of mine is the white line on the right-hand side of roadways. Foundation money supported that important road safety feature until the data allowing public funding was overwhelming.
Indiana boasts more community foundations than any state in the Union. Ninety-five community foundations cover all 92 Indiana counties. Heritage Fund has been Bartholomew County’s community foundation since 1976.
Community foundations play many roles: provider of scholarships, holder of donor-advised funds, grant maker, community convener. The bottom line is community foundations are managed by community volunteers who allocate community resources to make the community better.
At Heritage Fund, some scholarships memorialize individuals who were taken from their families way too soon, like Sgt. Jonathon Hunter, Abbott Forrester Garn and Frank Burbrink. Other funds support specific interests like the Hawcreek Flat Rock Area Endowment or the African American Fund of Bartholomew County.
The Community Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations to support improvement and/or innovation efforts as determined by our Grants Committee. Larger efforts like Envision Columbus, Landmark Columbus and major capital campaigns for projects like The Commons, kidscommons and Mill Race Center happen because of philanthropy.
So please take a moment this month to remember the many ways philanthropy makes our community better. Acknowledging the role that each of us can play in that process is also important. Families establishing a donor-advised fund to engage children in philanthropy, mentors encouraging a deserving young person to apply for a scholarship or individuals making a donation “in memory” or “in honor” of someone special are a few simple ways to be part of the philanthropy process.
