|
$1.2 million investment makes community a better place |
|
|
|
Saturday, April 19 2008 |
By TJ HEMLINGER
Staff writer
It’s been a good run for the Whitley County Community Foundation. In 2007, for example, it received 1,500 donations totaling more than $1.5 million, and it has more than $15 million in assets.
That translates into 969 grants worth more than $1.2 million being invested in the community over the years, September McConnell, executive director of the WCCF, said.
Members of the foundation’s board of directors spoke to the monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday and gave a glowing picture of the foundation’s health.
John Lefever, a board member, said the first community foundation started in Cleveland in 1908, and the one in Whitley County, now 11 years old, has three purposes: serving donors, enhancing local non-profit endeavors and acting as a catalyst for improvement in the county.
He said Eli Lilly started an endowment for community foundations throughout the state, and now Indiana is No. 1 in the country with 90 foundations with $1.9 billion in assets.
Kay Fleck, a founding board member, said that the Dekko Foundation approached her with an offer to help start the foundation with a $100,000 gift, and soon Lilly and Dekko were matching all gifts.
McConnell said the foundation provides donor services, works as a grant-maker and serves as a catalyst for action in the community.
“The neatest part of the job is working with people who have special interests and helping them channel and help non-profit organizations,” she said. “There has been a generation of donors in Whitley County.”
Aileen Meier, president of the foundation, reported that since 1998 there have been 16 Lilly scholarships awarded in the county, which provide tuition, room and board for four years at an Indiana college.
The foundation also has contributed money toward the renovation of the South Whitley library, the renovation of the Clugston Hotel and $100,000 to the senior citizens center to get its new building started. That, to date, represents the largest single grant.
The foundation also has contributed money toward Columbia City’s splash pad, one of six in Indiana to receive a Kellogg Foundation grant.
John Slavich, the program officer for the Whitley County Community Foundation, said, “If we don’t do it, who will?”
He added that the program is trying to connect with the youth of the county, with programs such as a youth theater, tutoring and acting classes.
Laurie Steill, a board member, said another outreach program involves women with a free mammogram. The foundation also sponsors “Look Good, Feel Better” for cancer survivors.
McConnell summed up the presentation, saying, “(The foundation) is blessed — blessed with donors. Anybody can give to the community.
“In 2007 we have more than 1,500 donations totaling $1.5 million, and only 21 were more than $10,000, so that means there were a lot of $25 and $50 donations.
“We’re blessed to be in Whitley County, and blessed to be able to give back to the community.”
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, April 21 2008 )
|
