NORTH VERNON — A $750,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation will provide major benefits for local nonprofit programs in Jennings County, the director of the county’s community foundation said Tuesday.
Jennings County Community Foundation (JCCF) Executive Director Kelly Kent announced the grant as part of the Lilly Foundation’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII) initiative. The money will support:
- The Food Security Coalition of Jennings County
- The Park Theatre Civic Center
- Leadership development programs through the Jennings County Economic Development Commission
Some of the grant money also will supplement the Jennings County Community Foundation’s unrestricted community grant endowment fund, which will allow the foundation to distribute more money to assist nonprofit organizations in the county.
Kent, who began as the community foundation’s leader in November, said the county received the full amount of GIFT VIII funding it requested. The $750,000 from the Lilly Foundation must be matched by local donations, which the Jennings County Community Foundation will begin raising during a kickoff event next month.
While the foundation is currently accepting gifts on behalf of the matching fund grant, Kent said an official launch will occur at the foundation’s 30th Anniversary Gala on May 18. More information about giving opportunities and the 30th Anniversary Gala is available at jenningscountygives.org.
Explaining the difference the GIFT VIII grant will make in Jennings County, Kent said, “There’s always more need than there is money,” and funding for nonprofits in the past has been tighter, so the foundation has had to pick and choose how best to distribute funds. “This will give us the ability to fund more of those great opportunities out there in Jennings County.”
Kent said this grant funding also will help the Food Security Coalition put more “blessing boxes” throughout the county and get more food to people in need. It also will help the Park Theatre with some major planned facility upgrades.
Additionally, the grant will provide opportunities through the economic development commission so that “those who don’t want to go to college can get some workforce training and leadership development right here in their own community,” Kent said.
“This is a huge opportunity for Jennings County,” Kent said. “With this grant we can bolster great projects already going on in our community and build the unrestricted community grant endowment fund to provide opportunities for other worthy causes right here in Jennings County.”
The foundation is a countywide not-for-profit organization created in 1994 to meet the needs of individual donors and Jennings County human service organizations. The foundation offers a single philanthropic organization for donors of various interests and purposes. The organization traces its founding to a humble start of $67 placed in a coffee can by a few resolved to making a difference, dedicated to helping donors create a lasting impact and positive change.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion, maintaining a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
About the grants
Through GIFT VIII, Lilly Endowment awarded matching fund grants totaling $133.8 million to community foundations serving all 92 of Indiana’s counties. Eligible community foundations submitted proposals requesting grants ranging from $100,000 to $15 million based on the population of the counties they serve.
The grants aim to help community foundations strengthen the towns, cities, and counties they serve. Matching fund grants are designed to help community foundations promote long-term viability; further strengthen their abilities to lead; encourage board engagement; and support and develop strategic efforts to enhance quality of life in their communities.
