What We Do
CICF provides the philanthropic, operational, and strategic support that helps good work move forward across Central Indiana.
We help people give with purpose.
CICF works with individuals, families, companies, and advisors to inspire and grow philanthropy across Central Indiana. We help make giving more meaningful, effective, and connected to community needs, so generosity can improve lives and strengthen the region we share.
Explore examples of this work below.
CICF works closely with individuals and families to help them give in ways that are meaningful, effective, and aligned with their personal goals. Our philanthropic advisors have deep knowledge of the Central Indiana community and are here to guide fundholders toward giving opportunities that reflect their values and make a real impact. We offer a variety of fund options to fit different interests and levels of involvement.
We work alongside tax, legal, financial, and estate planning advisors to complement their expertise with practical philanthropic guidance and deep knowledge of our community. Whether their client is exploring charitable options, building a long-term giving strategy, or looking to make a more meaningful impact, we’re here to support and strengthen the service they provide.
CICF provides personalized support to major funds and family foundations, partnering closely with families and their trusted teams to help them advance their philanthropic goals. We offer strategic guidance, administrative support, and deep knowledge of the local community to ensure their giving is both meaningful and effective. Whether a family is focused on a specific cause or taking a broad approach to impact, CICF helps manage the details so they can stay focused on the vision.
Examples include:
CICF provides personalized support to all of its funds, working closely with them to advance their philanthropic goals.
Examples include:
We support nonprofits doing good work.
Nonprofits know their communities, focus areas, and missions best. They are doing the daily work that helps Central Indiana become stronger, healthier, and more connected. CICF helps support the sustainability and business of running a nonprofit so organizations can stay focused on the people, places, and causes they serve.
Explore examples of this work below.
CICF supports charitable organization fundholders at CICF and through its foundation partners. By investing with us, nonprofits have direct access to our team of sustainability professionals and fund management experts. Whether it’s guidance on planned giving or complex gift administration, nonprofit operations or professional development, or help making meaningful connections across the community, by working with CICF, nonprofits gain a long-term partner committed to helping their endowments grow and missions thrive.
CICF’s quarterly, virtual Office Hours sessions give nonprofit leaders and staff a chance to connect, share experiences, and walk away with ideas they can put into action right away.
Planned giving is all-too-often overlooked at many nonprofits, yet it is a major contributor to long-term sustainability. Stronger Partners, Brighter Futures is CICF’s approach to elevating the conversation and activity of planned giving through a nine-month cohort designed to help nonprofits build long-term sustainability. Over the first five years of the program, participating nonprofits have secured an estimated $66,532,323 in planned and outright gifts.
This cohort, offered in partnership with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and The Fund Raising School, supports new nonprofit executive leaders with less than three years of experience in executive leadership roles. Participants build skills, confidence, and a peer network to help them lead with greater clarity and support.
We provide the support behind community work.
CICF provides operational, philanthropic, and strategic support to peer foundations, funds, and nonprofits so they can focus on their communities, issue areas, and missions.
Depending on what each organization needs, that support may include finance, investment management, human resources, technology, marketing, grants administration, scholarship administration, fund management, philanthropic advising, operations, and/or strategic support.
Explore examples of this work below.
CICF provides operational, philanthropic, and strategic services that help community foundations focus on serving their communities and advancing their priorities. CICF provides these services to:
Parks Alliance of Indianapolis is a fund of CICF. CICF provides operational and administrative support that helps Parks Alliance focus on transformational parks, community partnerships, signature events, and action that strengthens Indianapolis’ parks system.
The District Theatre is a supporting organization of CICF. CICF provides operational and administrative support that helps The District Theatre focus on presenting, supporting, and amplifying the voices of performing artists, particularly those who represent the diversity of human experience.
Nextech is a supporting organization of CICF. CICF provides operational and administrative support that helps Nextech focus on preparing Indiana students for the future through computer science, AI, data science, teacher training, classroom resources, and industry partnerships.
CICF is proud to support grantmaking that strengthens and uplifts our communities. While CICF itself does not directly award grants, several of its funds offer both competitive and private grant opportunities. CICF supports funds and foundations with the systems, compliance, reporting, and technical processes that help grantmaking run efficiently and responsibly.
Generous community members have established scholarships to help make education more accessible for students in our community. CICF administers the scholarship application and award process for these scholarships, which are housed at CICF and our foundation partners.
We bring Central Indiana together around regional priorities.
CICF helps bring people, data, ideas, and resources together to support community-led solutions, regional collaboration, and long-term investment in quality of life and quality of place.
Some organizations focus on specific issues. Others focus on specific communities. As a community foundation for the region, CICF helps connect that work across boundaries, elevate solutions that are working, and attract the investment needed to move them forward.
Explore examples of this work below.
Greater Indy Trailways brings together more than 800 miles of trails across Central Indiana into one connected, user-friendly resource. Led by Visit Indy and CICF in partnership with park systems and destination partners across the region, The Trailways makes it easier for residents and visitors to explore Central Indiana by foot, bike, and trail.
Greater Indy Trailways is the culmination of Connected Communities, a multi-year initiative supported by CICF to improve how people access and move through their neighborhoods. By investing in trails, greenways, and safer connections, Connected Communities helped link homes to parks, schools, jobs, transit, and each other.
CICF supports research that helps the region better understand community needs and opportunities. Recent efforts include regional work related to food insecurity and arts venues, helping partners identify gaps, connect resources, and make more informed decisions.
IMPACT Central Indiana is an investment partnership created by CICF, Hamilton County Community Foundation, and the Indianapolis Foundation. It facilitates social impact investments into community-led development projects, undercapitalized entrepreneurs and small businesses, and affordable and workforce housing developments that generate positive and measurable community impact.
BY-Plus is a collaborative effort between CICF, Indiana Construction Roundtable Foundation, Home Repairs for Good, and the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society. The program supports construction training and development for underinvested, low-income, underrepresented, and underemployed individuals in Indianapolis, helping connect people to rewarding career opportunities in the growing construction industry.
The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is an 8-mile world-class urban bike and pedestrian path in downtown Indianapolis. Founded by CICF in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, the Trail connects neighborhoods, cultural districts, and entertainment amenities while serving as the downtown hub for Central Indiana’s vast greenway system.
The $63 million project was made possible through local philanthropy and federal transportation grants, including a lead gift from Eugene and Marilyn Glick. Since its completion in 2013, the Trail has continued to shape how people move through, experience, and connect with downtown Indianapolis.
CICF has been a longtime partner of Big Car Collaborative, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit arts organization that uses tools of culture and creativity to build community and social cohesion. Over the years, CICF has helped connect Big Car with donors who care deeply about its work and wanted to help make CAMi available to the community.
Through art, place, and community connection, Big Car helps bring people together in ways that boost quality of life and strengthen neighborhoods.
We support the people who power nonprofits.
Every idea, program, and service that strengthens Central Indiana is carried forward by people. Some founded nonprofits to solve a problem they saw in their community. Some created new approaches to improve lives. Many have chosen nonprofit work because they want their careers to be rooted in service.
These are the people doing the work, and the nonprofit sector needs more of them. CICF supports the leadership, talent, information, and workplace resources that help nonprofit professionals grow, stay connected, and continue serving their communities.
Charitable Advisors, a CICF organization, plays a key role in this work. For more than 25 years, Charitable Advisors has helped nonprofit leaders access the information, talent, compensation data, peer networks, and strategic support they need to lead strong organizations.
Explore examples of this work below.
Charitable Advisors publishes Not-for-profit News, a trusted source of nonprofit sector updates, opportunities, events, and resources. Since its founding, Charitable Advisors has published more than 1,200 editions.
Charitable Advisors’ nonprofit job board helps organizations reach mission-driven candidates and helps people find meaningful careers in the nonprofit sector. Since its founding, Charitable Advisors has shared more than 15,000 job postings.
Charitable Advisors supports nonprofit executive searches with deep knowledge of the sector and a focus on helping organizations find strong, mission-aligned leadership. To date, Charitable Advisors has supported 120 executive searches.
Charitable Advisors’ nonprofit salary surveys help organizations make informed decisions about compensation, staffing, and talent strategy. These tools give nonprofit leaders real-time insight they can use to support their teams and plan for the future.
The Nonprofit HR Peer Group gives nonprofit HR professionals and staff responsible for people-related work a place to connect, learn from one another, and navigate common workforce challenges.
Charitable Advisors’ Indiana Nonprofit Consultant Community helps strengthen the consulting network that supports nonprofits across the state. By connecting consultants to one another and to the broader sector, Charitable Advisors helps build more capacity for organizations that need specialized expertise.
Charitable Advisors’ Work for a Nonprofit campaign helps introduce more people to nonprofit careers and the organizations shaping communities across Indiana.
Collaborate with CICF
CICF works with donors, nonprofits, peer foundations, civic partners, and community leaders who want to help strengthen Central Indiana. If you have an idea, opportunity, or question about working together, send us a message. We’d be glad to start a conversation.
Complete the below form to send us a message.