Thanks to a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the Blackford County Community Foundation is now offering a 2-to-1 match program (GIFT Forward) for any donation to the unrestricted endowment funds at the Foundation. That means that for every dollar donated to the funds, $2 more will be added. So the total donation is now $3.

Unrestricted endowment funds provide 50% of the money that is awarded each year in grants to local nonprofit organizations. Because these funds are “unrestricted,” they can be used for any need that might surface in the community—hunger, homelessness, abuse, health issues, arts-related projects, safety, education, community development, to name just a few. The uses to which these funds may apply is wide-ranging, that is, not “restricted” to certain areas of interest or certain organizations.

These funds are also “endowed,” meaning only the investment earnings can be spent in any given year. So the same money continues to be invested every year and produces income that turns into grants every year. And the process goes on forever.

So a $1 donation becomes a $3 donation. After a full year of investment, 9 cents to 15 cents is available for grantmaking in the next calendar year; and after the second year, another 9 to 15 cents will go for grants and so on for 7 to 10 years. At that time, the original $1 has been given out to grantees, and yet that $1 donation will continue earning and distributing grants forever after.

That’s how a community foundation continues to serve the needs of its community through many generations to come.

For more information, look here.

Donate online (use “GIFT VII” in the Purpose blank) or send a check or deliver a check in person to
Blackford County Community Foundation
121 N. High St., P.O. Box 327
Hartford City, IN 47348
765.348.3411