WABASH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 2 Letter from the President 21 Ways to Make a Difference 4 Lilly Endowment Inc
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WABASH VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 2 Letter from the President 21 Ways to Make a Difference 4 Lilly Endowment Inc. 22 Funds GIFT VI Challenge 26 Donors Make a Difference 6 Making a Difference in 32 Legacy Society the Wabash Valley 34 Memorials and Honorariums 12 Grants 36 Financials 18 Scholarships 38 Boards 20 Make a Difference through the 40 Staff, Interns, and Committees Community Foundation THE DIFFERENCE IS YOU. At the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, we realize The Difference is You. When you donate to the Community Foundation, you are one of many individuals choosing to make a difference by building a strong future for our communities. When you partner with us to fulfill your charitable goals, you help nonprofit organizations transform our communities, making Clay, Sullivan and Vigo counties better places to live, work and play. Whatever your reason for choosing to make a difference, we are proud to assist MISSION you and help you realize your philanthropic dreams within our communities. The mission of the Wabash Valley For good. For ever.® Community Foundation is to engage people, build resources and strengthen community in the Wabash Valley. VISION The Wabash Valley Community Foundation will be the primary steward of endowed funds and a leader that encourages broad-based charitable activity in the Wabash Valley. You HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE. Thank YOU! 2016 WAS an extraordinary year for the Wabash 23 years of renting, we decided to invest in our carried out their stewardship roles by conducting Valley Community Foundation. I have completed own property, adapting a mid-century modern an arduous Request for Proposals process for both my fourth and final year as president of THE building to provide office space for us and a marketing firm and an investment consultant. meeting space for the community. We now COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. All of them have been have an effective, energy efficient community Much of what I have talked about in this letter is good, but this one has been the best. headquarters to better serve the Wabash Valley. beyond the normal routine of the Community Foundation, which of course is our most important First and foremost, you, the citizens of Clay, You support us, and you expect us to be task. The Community Foundation exists to give Sullivan and Vigo Counties, stepped up to the responsible stewards of the Community you the opportunity of helping our communities challenge of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s GIFT VI Foundation. To assure that, we went through the by contributing toward permanent funding of initiative, an unexpected challenge grant which rigorous process of applying for and successfully scholarships and projects that will carry out your enriched our resources by $2 million. Along with receiving accreditation from National Standards wishes For good. For ever.® other gifts and a successful investment year, the for U.S. Community Foundations, certifying that success of this challenge moved our asset base to a the Community Foundation does indeed meet the I am proud to be involved with the Community record $49,565,515. All board members stepped up highest standards for philanthropic excellence. Foundation, and I have enjoyed working with an both monetarily and by their leadership. And you This is assurance to you that your money is being excellent board of directors, our executive director stepped up, as well. managed well and expended in accordance with Beth Tevlin and her staff, and with you, who have your wishes. made it all happen! What does this mean? Well, it means the Community Foundation will have more to invest During the last four years, we have worked hard to in scholarships and in grants to community expand our staff to meet your expectations of a Thank You. projects. This year, we approved over $533,330 in professional and responsible organization. We scholarships and $1,005,932 in grants. Those have always been blessed with good people doing projects and scholarships are listed in this annual good work. Now, as the demands are greater, we report. It is an impressive list, and I hope you take have a fully equipped staff prepared to meet those the time to review it. Next year, and forever, our challenges. larger endowment base will yield more income, if history is a guide. We are also blessed with a wonderful set of volunteers for our board and committees. Our Along with other Hoosiers, we celebrated the board is committed to continued improvements as bicentennial of our state, and our Bicentennial the Community Foundation grows. We continue to Legacy Project was a new headquarters to serve review ways we can utilize our reserves to the Wabash Valley for the next century. After strengthen our communities. Our committees have 2 | LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Fred Nation, President LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT | 3 A $5.2 MILLION DOLLAR DIFFERENCE the Community Foundation raised a total of $3.2 million in new endowment funds of all types. This amount fully In August 2014, Lilly Endowment Inc. launched the GIFT leveraged the $2 million from Lilly Endowment, resulting (Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow) VI initiative, a in a total of $5.2 million added to the permanent statewide challenge to community foundations. With a community capital for the Wabash Valley. distribution goal of $66 million, the Endowment’s grant initiative offered incentives that included a $1-for-$1 The funds, which have since been invested, will grow match. This matching challenge specifically focused on over time and create a greater impact year after year. building community endowments that were unrestricted and would have the greatest flexibility to respond to “Completion of these challenge grants will provide local opportunities within the communities. more funding for grants within the communities,” said Beth Tevlin, executive director of the Wabash The Endowment’s match varied in amounts from Valley Community Foundation. “By our 2018 fiscal $500,000 to $2 million, depending on the population of year, the full amount of the unrestricted gifts and the the county. The Wabash Valley Community Foundation Lilly Endowment challenge grants will be providing was eligible for $2 million provided we met our match additional and recurring community capital to fund challenge by March 31, 2016. Once met, the challenge worthwhile programs and projects.” grant would yield matches of $500,000 in Clay County, $500,000 in Sullivan County and $1 million in Vigo Larry Tempel, president of the Clay County Community County. Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for seeing how the additional funds will transform his community. Fred Nation, president of the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, said the challenge opportunity came during “We’re thrilled to see the difference that the increase a time when there was continued uncertainty in the in funding will make in Clay County,” he said. “Thanks to market. “Many thought it would be incredibly hard the generosity [we received], we expect to award $70,000 to [meet the challenge],” he said. “While it is never an per year compared to the roughly $30,000 we’ve been easy time to raise money, I think the Wabash Valley is able to award in the past.” special. We have citizens who believe in the future of our communities and hope for a better future and are willing The additional funding has also inspired our volunteers to invest in it.” to seek out additional ways that the Community Foundation can continue to make a difference in the The citizens of the Wabash Valley certainly stepped up Wabash Valley. to the challenge in order to make a difference in our communities. In the span of 20 months, “This process has allowed our board to have discussions about the future of our county,” explained Howard LILLY ENDOWMENT inc. Unger, former Asset Development Committee chairman for the Sullivan County Community Foundation. “We have looked at the current state of our county and have begun to dream about the difference we can make with the increase in funding opportunities GIFT VI has GIFT VI CHALLENGE provided!” This success would not have been possible without the AUGUST 1, 2014 - MARCH 31, 2016 generosity of those who believe in the future of our communities and are willing to make a difference. To all of our contributors, board members and volunteers, thank you for making a difference For good. For ever.® 4 | GIFT VI NEW FUNDS ytd THE IMPACT OF GIFT VI AND OUR COMMUNITY FUNDS A desire to make a difference is precisely what prompted the Wabash Valley Community Foundation board to engage in discussions pertaining to our Vigo County grant guidelines. With the successful completion of GIFT VI, we expect to have additional unrestricted funding for our community grant process by our 2018 Fiscal Year; however, preparations were 47 40 23 necessary to ensure that the contributions received during GIFT VI will be used forever to VIGO cLAY SULLIVAN achieve a lasting, positive impact in our communities. “We want to invest [your] contributions in projects that are going to create the greatest return COUNTY in bringing about positive changes that impact our communities,” said Kelli Miller, program COUNTY COUNTY director for the Wabash Valley Community Foundation. “We look at grants as investments that are being made in partnership with community agencies and organizations. With this mindset, we can create a partnership to focus on investing in solutions that, over time, will lessen and eliminate chronic problems.” As a result of the discussions, the Community Foundation board implemented new grant guidelines for Vigo County with new guidelines also being discussed for Clay and Sullivan counties. 1,915 TOTAL DONORS There are now two types of funding by which a nonprofit agency can apply: Impact Grants and Urgent Need Grants.