What is a Community Foundation?
Put simply, community foundations gather funding from multiple philanthropic sources to contribute to the benefit of a local region. Community foundations have three core functions: charitable fund management, grantmaking, and community leadership.
Why Give to a Community Foundation?
Local Impact
At CICF, we have decades of experience with our area’s nonprofit sector. We know how and where to give to make an impact. That’s because we live in the Central Indiana community we serve. For us, being good at our jobs means creating a better home for us all.
Local Engagement
When donors become more acquainted with local needs and the ways they can serve, they better understand their community. By giving, you are also setting an example for those around you, leading more to give and serve.
Personal Benefit
Along with a more positive and localized social impact, giving can also be part of your financial planning. Community foundations help more efficiently administer complex assets like property, business interests, stocks, etc.
History of Community Foundations in Central Indiana
Hoosiers established one of the first-ever community foundations in the country in 1916—the Indianapolis Foundation, a member of the CICF Collaborative.
One reason charitable institutions flourished early in Indiana was the young state’s commitment to a more limited government. That left many services to be offered at the community level by a nascent nonprofit ecosystem.
In this way, community foundations, and philanthropy in general, are often thought of as ways to fill service gaps between the public and private sectors.
As Central Indiana communities grew, they strategies became more regionally focused. Consequently, CICF was formed in 1997 when Indianapolis Foundation and the Legacy Fund (today’s Hamilton County Community Foundation) entered into an agreement to combine resources to better serve the larger Central Indiana region.
Today’s Nonprofit Sector and CICF’s Role
Central Indiana is now home to more than 17,000 nonprofit organizations, generating over $40 billion in economic activity annually and employing about 1 of every 10 working adults in the region.
It is CICF’s job to connect those who give with those who serve; that includes providing resources and services to other community foundations in our region. To do this means knowing about effective nonprofits, listening to communities, and keeping donors and their advisers informed on how best to achieve philanthropic goals with maximum benefit.
Other Community Foundations in Central Indiana
-Community Foundation of Boone County
-Hamilton County Community Foundation
-Community Foundation of Hancock County
-Hendricks County Community Foundation
-Indianapolis Foundation (serving Marion County)
-Johnson County Community Foundation
-Madison County Community Foundation
-South Madison Community Foundation
-Community Foundation of Morgan County
–Blue River Community Foundation (serving Shelby County)
