The Western Indiana Community Foundation is embarking on an exciting initiative to understand and address the needs of our residents, and we need your valuable input!

We’ve created a brief Community Needs Survey to gather insights and perspectives from individuals like you in Fountain County. Your responses will play a crucial role in shaping future initiatives and making our community an even better place to live. Specifically, creating a better quality of life for our communities through parks and recreation.

Would you be willing to take a few minutes to complete the survey and share it with your friends, family, and neighbors? Your collective input will help us prioritize projects and allocate resources where they are needed most.

Thank you for being an essential part of our community. Your voice matters, and together, we can build a stronger, more vibrant future.

Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7MD3MT9

A variety of new endowment funds have recently been established to benefits area communities and high school students.  For more details click on the link to learn more about each fund.

The new funds include: Fountain County Teacher Classroom Supply Assistance Program, Dallas Ponder Memorial Scholarship, Mark and Kathy Haas Unrestricted Fund, John & Pauline Bossaer Unrestricted Fund, Clinton Community Improvement Fund, E. Stanley & Vera Shew Unrestricted Fund, Lawrence & Patricia DeSutter Family Farm Memorial Scholarship, Dr. William Somerville Scholarship Fund, Robert & Helen Shelby Community Fund, Marilyn’s Village Inc., John & Madeline Ives Community Fund, Judy Ashton Ferrell Unrestricted Fund, Hunger Relief Fund, Paul & Pat Coolley Fund,  Terry A. Badger III Scholarship Fund, Jackson Township Fire Department Fund, Coal Creek Cemetery Endowment & Pass-Through Funds, and more!

To learn how you can establish a fund to benefit your community contact Dale at (765) 793-0702 or by email at dwhite@wicf-inc.org.

The Western Indiana Community Foundation (Fountain County) has received a $50,000 planning grant as part of the eighth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s initiative, Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII). With the grant, the community foundation will engage with Kimley-Horn an Indianapolis-based consulting firm to evaluate the quality of existing parks and facilities within Fountain County, Indiana based on existing conditions including but not limited to park infrastructure, amenities, and buildings. These grant dollars will be used to further enhance the efforts to create a better quality of life for our local communities through parks and recreation.

The Western Indiana Community Foundation is one of 92 community foundations and affiliate funds in Indiana receiving planning grants through GIFT VIII. These grants are designed to help community foundations collaborate with local partners to engage broad and diverse stakeholders in their communities and deepen their understanding of their communities’ highest-priority challenges and opportunities. In 2024, the Western Indiana Community Foundation will have the opportunity to request funding to implement strategic initiatives and activities developed during the planning period that address especially compelling needs in Fountain County.

“Great parks are more than just a place to play. When careful planning and design come together, parks can provide beauty and tremendous environmental, economic, and social benefits to a community.  This planning grant will provide a thorough study of the 15 parks throughout Fountain County which consist of over 2,000 acres of green space.  We are looking to understand the unique needs of Fountain County and help turn vision into reality,” said Dale White, CEO of the Western Indiana Community Foundation.

Residents should anticipate a needs assessment survey, in both online and printed formats, seeking public input for the project. An in-person kick-off meeting will discuss the project’s vision, goals, and key issues. Concurrently, the consultant will interview key stakeholders, conduct site evaluations, and lead virtual meetings over the next four months.

Lilly Endowment created the GIFT initiative in 1990 to help local communities in Indiana develop the philanthropic capacity to identify local needs and challenges and work with other organizations to help their communities thrive. Through GIFT VIII, Lilly Endowment has allocated up to $210 million to support Indiana’s community foundations in growing their financial resources and further strengthening their ability to address their community’s highest-priority challenges and opportunities.

Western Indiana Community Foundation, established in 1990, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt philanthropic organization that was founded as Western Indiana’s partner, resource, and steward in philanthropy.  The Foundation manages $34.3 million in charitable assets and administers over 315 charitable funds – each of which supports the unique charitable intent of the donor who established the fund.  Annually, the Foundation awards nearly 1.2 million dollars in grants and scholarships to support Fountain County communities and is a National Standards-certified community foundation.

About Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

Haley Webb has been named the recipient of the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Fountain County. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.  Haley is the 43rd Fountain County recipient of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects scholars with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. Both the scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.

Miss Webb, of Fountain Central High School, has plans to attend Indiana State University and pursue a career in Speech and Hearing Sciences.  Haley ranks 1st in her graduating class with a 4.0 GPA.  She is the daughter of Christopher and Krista Webb of Veedersburg.

Haley has been involved in numerous clubs, organizations, and sporting activities as she pursued her high school education including Tennis, Swimming, Spanish Club, National Honors Society, Boys’ Tennis Manager, and more. Haley also teaches a Sunday School Preschool class and has volunteered her time with many different organizations throughout her high school career.

One of Miss Webb’s references wrote, “I have taught preschool for more than 20 years, and in all my time I have never seen a teenager be so devoted to giving back. Haley doesn’t do it because she needs to have more things on her resume. She doesn’t do it because her parents told her she should. She has always been a person who just helps because she knows there is a need. She interacts well with the students and their parents. Haley is just one of those people you are glad you know. She is kind and considerate of others. She leads her peers well as an athlete and in the classroom. She is extremely humble and thoughtful. I can’t wait to see the fruit from all the seeds she has planted in her young life.”

Twenty-seven Fountain County students applied for this year’s Lilly Scholarship.  The first phase of the selection process included the high school faculty of each school recommending up to six applicants from their school to be considered by the local scholarship committee representing the same school district.

The second phase included each scholarship committee reviewing the applications and interviewing each applicant.  Two nominees from each school are selected based on consensus.

The third phase of the selection process included each of the two nominees from each school being interviewed by the scholarship committees representing the two other school districts.  Each committee member independently scores each applicant in six categories including academic performance, school activities and work, volunteerism, financial need, letters of reference and a personal interview with each committee member.

Following the final scoring, finalists were forwarded to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for final selection of the Western Indiana Community Foundation’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipient.

Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-1999 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling in excess of $505 million. More than 5,200 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.

Western Indiana Community Foundation, established in 1990, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt philanthropic organization that was founded as Western Indiana’s partner, resource, and steward in philanthropy.  The Foundation manages $34.3 million in charitable assets and administers over 315 charitable funds – each of which supports the unique charitable intent of the donor who established the fund.  Annually, the Foundation awards nearly 1.2 million dollars in grants and scholarships to support Fountain County communities and is a National Standards certified community foundation.

Lilly Endowment, Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.

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