The CICF Collaborative

Complex issues require innovative and coordinated solutions.

The CICF Collaborative thinks big and works together on what matters most to our entire region.

About the CICF Collaborative

The CICF Collaborative is a formal partnership among several interconnected philanthropic organizations.

The five cornerstone organizations of the CICF Collaborative—Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana—work together to solve regional challenges in Central Indiana.

Each entity within the CICF Collaborative brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unities the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together.

While each entity has its own mission and vision, we are aligned by a shared commitment to equity and philanthropy. These core values guide all our work and ensure we remain united in our purpose, even as each entity pursues its own focus area.

Our Collective Impact

$113 M

Total dollars out into the community in 2024 (includes all fund types and all entities)

$147 M

Total dollars contributed to entities within the CICF Collaborative in 2024

$1.2 B

Total assets held by entities within the CICF Collaborative

$2.1 M

Scholarship dollars awarded in 2024

Partners within the CICF Collaborative

Cornerstone Entities

Central Indiana Community Foundation
The community foundation for Central Indiana

Hamilton County Community Foundation
The community foundation for Hamilton County

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IMPACT Central Indiana
Facilitates social impact investments into Central Indiana

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Indianapolis Foundation
The community foundation for Indianapolis and Marion County

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Women’s Fund of Central Indiana
Supports women and girls in Central Indiana

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Supporting Organizations

Supporting organizations are mission-aligned organizations that receive tailored services from the CICF collaborative based on their individual needs. Services include assistance with HR, finance, operations, or philanthropy, ensuring each organization can successfully fulfill its role in the community.

Supporting organizations within the CICF Collaborative are:

FAQs About the CICF Collaborative

The CICF Collaborative is a group of community foundations and nonprofits that work together, because we’re stronger together. While each organization has its own mission and identity, we collaborate to:

  • Share knowledge, resources, and services
  • Grant donor dollars more efficiently
  • Learn from one another and grow stronger together
  • Make a greater impact

Each entity decides how it collaborates and how it uses shared services, but we are all committed to making our community stronger.

Each of our organizations is independent and has its own identity, mission, and leadership. But we also work together through the CICF Collaborative. That means we receive shared services (like finance, HR, marketing, IT, and philanthropy support) and we collaborate on projects and initiatives to create greater impact in our community.

Working as the CICF Collaborative allows us to:

  • Make a bigger impact across Central Indiana
  • Use donor dollars more efficiently
  • Share expertise and learn from one another
  • Unlock larger grant and funding opportunities
  • Support our communities more effectively

We still operate independently, but we’re better when we move forward together.

While your fund is held with Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, or Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, CICF provides shared philanthropic services on behalf of those foundations as part of the CICF Collaborative. That means the philanthropy team at CICF supports all fundholders across the CICF Collaborative by helping with donor grants, fund questions, strategic giving, and more. You’re still connected to your local foundation, but CICF is part of the team working to ensure you receive consistent, high-quality service no matter which entity your fund is with.

CICF provides shared services on behalf of the CICF Collaborative. That means when you receive a grant notification, hear from our People & Culture (HR) Team, receive marketing materials, or interact with our finance team, you may be working directly with someone at CICF, because CICF supports those functions across all entities.

Even though the entity you’re engaging with is locally focused and has its own brand, CICF helps power that work behind the scenes so its partners can focus on their mission.

Grant opportunities come from several of the cornerstone entities within the CICF Collaborative—specifically, Hamilton County Community Foundation, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana. Some individual donor-advised funds within those entities—and within CICF—also make grants, sometimes through a competitive process.

However, CICF itself does not offer competitive grants. Instead, CICF provides administrative and operational support for the grantmaking process across the CICF Collaborative. That includes helping manage the grantmaking system, delivering payments, and communicating with grantees. Because of this behind-the-scenes role, some organizations may mistakenly believe the grant is from CICF when it’s actually from another entity.

To make things easier, CICF lists all open grant opportunities from across the CICF Collaborative on its website in one place. But it’s very important for grantees to review their grant notification letter carefully—it will clearly state which organization awarded the grant, and that is the entity that should be publicly acknowledged and thanked.

CICF is the regional community foundation for Central Indiana. Part of CICF’s mission is to empower nonprofits in Central Indiana to do their work more efficiently and effectively, which is why it helps them by providing services through the CICF Collaborative.

CICF’s role in the CICF Collaborative includes:

  • Providing and leading shared services to the other entities
  • Bringing entities together to align efforts, share learning, and strengthen impact across the region

CICF does not direct the other entities; It supports them and helps coordinate our work as a collaborative group where appropriate.

Some entities in the CICF Collaborative have supporting organizations, which are legally connected nonprofits. These organizations:

  • Have their own mission and work
  • Receive shared services (finance, HR, IT, etc.) through the CICF Collaborative
  • Benefit from the efficiency and expertise the CICF Collaborative provides

Even though they are separate organizations, they’re part of the broader network of mission-aligned partners.

Any organization that receives shared services from the CICF Collaborative is considered a member of the CICF Collaborative.

  • For HCCF, IF, and WF, being a member means they each have their own independent mission, leadership, and brand, but they receive shared services like finance, HR, philanthropy support, and IT from the CICF Collaborative.
  • For CICF, being a member looks a little different. CICF also has its own mission as the regional community foundation, but part of how it fulfills that mission is by providing shared services through the CICF Collaborative, empowering nonprofit partners and other community foundations to be more impactful across Central Indiana.
  • For supporting organizations, being a member means they receive services from the CICF Collaborative, such as HR, finance, or IT, to help them focus on their mission.

In short, membership in the CICF Collaborative means sharing resources, support, and expertise, while staying focused on each organization’s unique purpose.