Category: News

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Community Foundation gives update on giving, granting, and impact at annual event

CFBMC held its 2017 Annual Report to the Community on November 2. The annual event provided an opportunity to celebrate the organization’s activities that connect caring people, important causes, and community resources. The Foundation gave updates on its endowment, fundraising, granting and leadership initiatives.

“As an organization built on endowments, our mission is focused on both today and tomorrow,” said President and CEO Tina Peterson. “We know that change today is positively essential to sustaining this community’s tomorrow. Our job, as an organization, is to empower those people, organizations, and nonprofits that drive the change Monroe County needs to succeed.”
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Sycamore Land Trust endowment helps ensure environmental education programs live forever

Since 2005, the Sycamore Land Trust Environmental Education Program has provided hands-on learning experiences to people of all ages, free of charge. Today, Sycamore Land Trust provides its educational program to more than 5,000 people per year. In 2015, the Monarch Environmental Education Endowment, housed at the Community Foundation, was created to allow its educational program to grow and sustain long-term.
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Impact grants fuel collaboration to address food insecurity, healthy foods, and job training

We believe the greatest impact is achieved when multiple organizations come together to address a community need or opportunity. We’re pleased to share how Hoosier Hills Food Bank, South Central Community Action Program, Growing Opportunities, and Stone Belt are working together to address food insecurity, healthy foods, and job training. Over the years, the Community Foundation has awarded a number of Community Impact Funding Initiative grants that have made this collaboration possible.
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CFBMC partners with Centerstone to fund transitional home for women recovering from substance abuse disorders

CFBMC is partnering with Centerstone to establish Monroe County’s first transitional housing for women recovering from substance abuse disorders and their children. The program will provide a safe therapeutic environment to serve as a bridge between initial treatment and re-entry into the community. In addition to housing and treatment, the program will help women develop the coping, life and parenting skills necessary for recovery, self-sufficiency, and stability.

“Similar programs in Indiana that allow young children to stay with their mothers are showing tremendous and promising long-term trajectories for women and children,” said Peterson. “Centerstone has the staff, the training, and the expertise to support these women and their children and we are grateful for the opportunity to impact their life-changing work.”
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Thrive by Five Campaign to ensure sustainability of early childhood initiatives

There’s never been a better time to be a preschooler in our community. Like never before, they have opportunities to succeed, to excel, and to conquer life. Since 2009, the Community Foundation has invested $1.2 million to increase access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education through its leadership initiative, Monroe Smart Start.

This year the Community Foundation is planning to build on the momentum for early childhood education by raising $1 million in new funds through the Thrive by Five Campaign. Once the goal is met, this endowment fund will generate $42,500 each year to sustain and support early childhood education programs in our community forever.
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Preschool applications open for On My Way Pre-K program in Monroe County

Help us get the word out! Applications are now available for Monroe County income-eligible families with children to apply for free pre-K starting this January. Indiana’s state-funded prekindergarten program, On My Way Pre-K, provides tuition-free education grants for 4-year-olds from low-income families to attend high-quality pre-K. The Community Foundation also provides grant dollars as part of the 5% required On My Way Pre-K community match contribution.

For information on enrollment and eligibility, go to ONMYWAYPREK.org.

2018 Lilly Scholarship finalists announced

Congratulations to Monroe County’s 2018 finalists for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship! These ten high school seniors were recently honored at the Community Foundation’s Annual Report to the Community.

Two of the finalists will be selected to receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to an accredited Indiana public or private college of their choosing. Monroe County’s 2018 Lilly Endowment Scholarship recipients will be announced in early December.
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Sixty-five nonprofits receive annual distributions

Sixty-five nonprofit agencies recently received annual grant distribution checks from funds established at the Community Foundation. This year, more than $316,000 was distributed to agencies. These endowed funds were created by single donors, groups of donors or by the agencies themselves. Grants from agency and designated funds provide much needed operational support for local organizations and represent some of the ways that the Community Foundation distributes funds to support local nonprofits. Thank you to the donors who make these distributions possible each year through gifts to long-term endowments and to the nonprofits that do incredible work in our community. See List of Nonprofits

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Donors establish 17 new funds this year

The Community Foundation fuels lasting impact in Monroe County through our 217 funds designated to address a range of community needs. Since July 1, 2016, we’re thrilled to share that 17 new funds have been created! Thank you to the generous donors that made these funds possible.
See List of New Funds

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Community Foundation welcomes three new board members

CFBMC added three new members to its Board of Directors this year. Jessika Hane (human resources director at Oliver Winery), Jeff Wuslich (co-founder of Cardinal Spirts) and Jeremiah Young (president of Nature’s Way) have been elected to serve a three-year renewable term effective July 1, 2017.

“These three individuals are exceptional advocates for our community and passionately believe in the mission of the Community Foundation,” said President and CEO Tina Peterson. “We’re fortunate to have them on our team!”
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Great ways to give through appreciated stock and IRA distributions

Guest column by Scott Walters. There are many wonderful methods of charitable giving. While I am a firm believer that all charitable giving is important and purposeful, I also believe that there are often better, more efficient ways to give.

Gifts of appreciated property are one of the most effective ways to fulfill your charitable goals. Other types of gifts, such as real estate, mineral interests, art, and other collectibles, are examples of the assets that may often be appreciated and, therefore, are candidates to be given to a charity. The most common asset that is used for this technique is appreciated stock.
Read More

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End-of-year giving and holiday hours

The holidays and the end of the year are quickly approaching, but you still have time to make a charitable gift to the Community Foundation and take advantage of 2017 tax benefits! Support your favorite organization or cause by donating to one of our 217 funds or choose to make an unrestricted gift to help meet Monroe County’s most pressing needs. Regardless of how you give, your gift will continue to have an impact well beyond this year through our growing endowment.

Online Donations: Contributions through our website are processed immediately and securely. Gifts can be made up until 11:59 pm on December 31 to count as a 2017 tax deduction.

Checks: Checks must be dated and postmarked on or before December 30 to be considered a 2017 tax deduction.

Stock Transfers: Donating appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual funds is quick, simple and may provide you with significant tax benefits. These gifts are transferred directly from your brokerage account to a fund at the Community Foundation. Please call us at (812) 333-9016 for more information.

IRA Rollovers: If you’re receiving taxable income from an IRA, the Charitable IRA Rollover Act allows donors age 70 ½ or older to donate up to $100,000 from their IRA without counting the distribution as income. View our IRA Rollover Fact Sheet for more information. Donors interested in an IRA rollover gift for the 2017 tax year should contact their financial advisors soon to take advantage of this benefit by December 31st.

We’re open weekdays 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. to assist you. However, we will be closed November 23-24, December 25-26, and January 1. Contact us with your end-of-year giving questions at (812) 333-9016 or [email protected].
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Upcoming events and important dates

February 7: 100+ Women Who Care Quarterly Meeting. More information.
February 23: 50+ Men Who Care Quarterly Meeting. More information

On an overcast morning in the fall, 15 Bloomington High School North environmental science students gather near a stream at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve. They divide into groups and gather equipment — nets, collection bins, test tubes, and even hip waders. Sycamore Land Trust‘s Environmental Education Director, Shane Gibson, describes the river watch exercise the group will conduct that day. With the help of Gibson and Sycamore volunteers, the students spend the next two hours in the stream collecting and analyzing data on water flow, habitat, chemicals, and macroinvertebrates.

Later that same week, Gibson travels to Unionville Elementary School to meet up with a class of 15 kindergartners. He leads the class in an exercise all about trees — from seedling to root system, to trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. The class then goes outside to gather tree nuts of all varieties to learn how and why squirrels collect and store them for winter.

“Once you gain an appreciation for nature, that’s when the conservation and deeper level of understanding kicks in,” says Gibson. “We’re providing those initial experiences of awareness and observation that we hope later in life contribute to greater understanding.”

Since 1990, Sycamore Land Trust has preserved more than 9,100 acres of land in 26 southern Indiana counties, including hardwood forests, native prairies, family farms, wetlands, and critical habitat for threatened and endangered species. Sycamore’s Environmental Education Program was added in 2005 to connect people of all ages with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.

Sycamore provides hands-on educational opportunities on its nature preserves as well as in classrooms and schools. Gibson works closely with educators and community groups to customize lessons that meet teaching objectives. Lessons often include math, science, discovery, hiking and exploring, reflective writing, experimentation, collection of data, analysis, and interpretation.

In 2015, Sycamore Land Trust collaborated with the Community Foundation to create a new endowment fund that would allow its educational program to grow and be sustainable long-term. The Monarch Environmental Education Endowment is one of three designated endowment funds that support the organization and will help to ensure that these programs can continue to touch lives forever.

“Partnering with the Community Foundation is a natural fit because, like Sycamore Land Trust, the Community Foundation is also in the business of forever,” said Christian Freitag, Executive Director of Sycamore Land Trust.

In 2016, Sycamore rallied support for its educational endowment and took advantage of a Community Foundation agency endowment match opportunity. Thanks to generous donors and supporters, the Monarch Environmental Education Endowment has continued to grow every year. Sycamore expects this fund to reach more than $900,000 in early 2018, with a concerted effort to reach a $1.3 million goal by the end of the year. Once this goal is met, distributions from this fund will cover the majority of costs of the educational program on an ongoing basis. In the meantime, Monarch Fund endowment fund distributions help to make it possible for Sycamore to provide its environmental education program free of charge to more than 5,000 people per year.

“Sycamore Land Trust can sit in people’s living rooms and say, ‘Because of your support, because of your investment, Indiana will be a different place in 100 years,’” added Freitag. “Our children are going to have access to life-changing programming that they wouldn’t otherwise have. I think the future is only going to grow for this program.”

Learn more about Sycamore Land Trust’s Environmental Education Program. To support this endowment, Donate Now, and select Fund Name: “Monarch Environmental Education Fund.”

Guest column by Scott Walters, chair of the Community Foundation Professional Advisor Council.

There are many wonderful methods of charitable giving. While I am a firm believer that all charitable giving is important and purposeful, I also believe that there are often better, more efficient ways to give.

Gifts of Appreciated Stock

Gifts of appreciated property are one of the most effective ways to fulfill your charitable goals. The most common asset that is used for this technique is appreciated stock. Other types of gifts, such as real estate, mineral interests, art, and other collectibles, are examples of the assets that may often be appreciated and, therefore, are also candidates to be given to a charity. 

For example, if you’ve owned 100 shares of a stock for many years in a company that has been successful and, as a result, the value of the stock has risen significantly from when you bought it at $10/share to $100/shares today. The shares that are now worth $10,000 have a tax cost basis of only $1,000. If you were to sell the stock and give the resulting cash for charitable purposes, the proceeds of the sale would first be exposed to the capital gains tax, typically in the range of 20% or higher for most taxpayers. So, the $10,000 sale proceeds, once reduced by the tax of $1,800 ($9,000 x 20%), is now only $8,200 that would be available to be given to the charity.

If instead of selling the stock in the example above you would give the stock to the charity directly, the full value of the stock ($10,000) would be realized by the charity. In addition, you receive a federal charitable deduction of $10,000, rather than $8,200 when the stock is sold before being given to charity. The combined benefit of avoiding capital gains tax and the greater charitable deduction make a very clear case for giving appreciated stock.

Charitable Distributions from IRA Accounts

A relatively new provision of tax legislation allows you to use an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to make a charitable gift, or Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). To qualify for this opportunity, the IRA holder must be 70 ½ or older and may give up to $100,000 per year to any number of charitable organizations. Only public charities qualify for this technique of giving. So private family/corporate foundations, donor-advised funds, and split-interest charitable trusts do not qualify.

This is a particularly effective giving method when the IRA holder is able to direct some or all of their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to this method. In effect, they avoid paying tax on the amount that is directed to the charity. This can be very effective if the IRA holder does not itemize deductions on their tax return and, therefore, does not get the benefit of the charitable deduction.

So, isn’t it great that not only can you fulfill your instincts to give to causes that you care about and also, at the same time, satisfy the need to be as efficient as possible with your financial resources? I think so!

The Community Foundation seeks to invest in programs that allow Monroe County to take advantage of its most compelling opportunities and address core issues facing our community. Given our focus on the long-term success of Monroe County, we seek out projects that offer the potential for lasting change.

We have found that grant proposals for programs that are innovative, transformative, and solution-oriented while demonstrating long-term sustainability are good predictors for success. We also believe that the greatest impact is achieved when multiple organizations come together and collaborate to address a community need or opportunity.

We’re pleased to share how Hoosier Hills Food Bank, South Central Community Action Program, Growing Opportunities, and Stone Belt are working together to address food insecurity, healthy foods, and job training in our community. Watch the video above to learn more.

Over the years, the Community Foundation has awarded several Community Impact Funding Initiative grants that have made this collaboration possible. The Hoosier Hills Food Bank received an Impact Grant in 2011 to install a high-capacity, walk-in fresh food cooler, supplying 84 percent more produce to regional community kitchens, pantries, short-term shelters, and member agencies.

In 2015, Hoosier Hills Food Bank received another Impact Grant to facilitate the purchase of the Garden Route on Wheels, a refrigerated delivery van to make it easier to distribute fresh produce and healthy food on a regular basis.

In 2014, the Community Foundation awarded an Impact Grant to the South Central Community Action Program to support the development of Growing Opportunities. Growing Opportunities is an urban hydroponic greenhouse that provides job-training to low-income people with barriers to employment, such has people with disabilities. Stone Belt clients work in the greenhouse learning transferrable job skills and gaining confidence before entering the workforce in the community.

Growing Opportunities sells its lettuce and produce to local groceries and at the Farmer’s Market. It has also donated excess produce to local food pantries and the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. This year, we’re thrilled to share that Hoosier Hills Food Bank received an additional grant from the Walmart Foundation, allowing it to purchase at least 250 heads of lettuce each week from Growing Opportunities for distribution across member agencies and through its mobile pantry program.

“We never expected that the Hoosier Hills Food Bank grants would intersect with the workforce training grant we funded in support of the Growing Opportunities program,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Tina Peterson. “However, the power of collaboration has grown exponentially as HHFB and SCCAP have taken their grants beyond our original expectations. This translates to increased impact and the best possible use of the dollars entrusted to the Community Foundation.”

The Community Foundation fuels lasting impact in Monroe County through 217 funds designated to address a range of community needs. Since July 1, 2016, we’re thrilled to share that 17 new funds have been created! Thank you to the generous donors that made these funds possible.

Unrestricted Funds

Jefferson and Mary Shreve Unrestricted Fund
Phil and Margaret Hathaway Unrestricted Fund

Donor Advised Funds

Cole Family Virtuous Cycles Fund
Hane Family Fund

Charitable Gift Annuities

Jane A. Gouker Charitable Gift Annuity Fund
John and Gerry Miller Charitable Gift Annuity
Tomi and Jim Allison Charitable Gift Annuity

Field of Interest Funds

Curry Family Fund for a Compassionate and Caring Community
Flick Medical Emergency Fund
Geraldine Newton Jones Fund
Lewis Fund for Early Childhood Education
Simpson McCarty Family Fund

Agency and Designated Funds

Judith B. Feldpausch Fund
Switchyard Park Endowment Fund

Non-Permanent Funds

Dandelion Fund
McRobbie Family Advised Fund
Urschel-Jarvis Community Fund

We’re pleased to share that sixty-five nonprofit agencies recently received annual grant distribution checks from funds established at the Community Foundation for their benefit. This year, more than $270,000 was distributed to agencies!

These endowed funds were created by single donors, groups of donors or by the agencies themselves. Grants from agency and designated funds provide much needed operational support for local organizations and represent some of the ways that the Community Foundation distributes funds to support local nonprofits. Thank you to the donors who make these distributions possible each year through gifts to long-term endowments and to the nonprofits that do incredible work in our community.

Animal Welfare, Arts & Environment

• Bloomington Community Band
• Bloomington Community Radio, Inc. (WFHB)
• Bloomington Playwrights Project
• Farmer House Museum
• George E Archer Foundation, Inc.
• Hoosier Youth Philharmonic
• Indiana Limestone Symposium
• Lotus Education & Arts Foundation
• Monroe County Historical Society, Inc.
• Monroe County Humane Association
• Sassafras Audubon Society
• Sycamore Land Trust, Inc.
• Windfall Dancers
• Writing for a Change Foundation of Bloomington

Education & Learning

• Bloomington Developmental Learning Center
• Bloomington Montessori School
• Community Justice and Mediation Center
• Delta Association of Kappa Kappa Gamma
• Edgewood High School Dollars For Scholars
• Foundation of Monroe County Community School Corporation
• Franklin Initiative
• Harmony School
• IU-Courson Greeves Scholarships
• Ivy Tech Foundation, Inc.
• Leadership Bloomington Alumni, Inc.
• Monroe County Library Foundation
• Pinnacle School
• Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corporation
• WonderLab Museum

Health & Recreation

• American Red Cross-Monroe County Chapter
• Bloomington Hospital Foundation
• Bloomington Parks & Recreation Foundation
• Cornea Research Foundation of America, Inc.
• Monroe County YMCA
• Orange County YMCA
• Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky
• Volunteers in Medicine

Individuals and Families

• Amethyst House
• Area 10 Agency on Aging
• Bloomington Posoltega Committee
• Bloomington United Presbyterian Church
• Catholic Charities Bloomington
• Community Kitchen of Monroe County
• First Presbyterian Church
• First United Methodist Church
• First United Methodist Church of Orlando
• Habitat for Humanity
• Hannah Center, Inc.
• LifeDesigns
• Middle Way House, Inc.
• Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Monroe County United Ministries, Inc.
• New Hope Family Shelter, Inc.
• Salvation Army-IN Divisional HQ
• Shalom Community Center, Inc.
• Stone Belt Arc. Inc.
• United Way of Monroe County

Youth & Community Development

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana
• Boys & Girls Club
• Ellettsville Main Street, Inc.
• Girls Incorporated of Monroe County
• Heritage Foundation
• United States Fund for UNICEF
• Youth For Christ
• Youth Services Bureau

Foundation announces Thrive by Five fundraising campaign and new funding for Monroe County’s first transitional home for women recovering from substance abuse disorders.

CFBMC held its 2017 Annual Report to the Community on Thursday, November 2. The annual event provided an opportunity to celebrate the organization’s activities that connect caring people, important causes, and community resources. The Foundation gave updates on its endowment, fundraising, granting and leadership initiatives. The theme for the event was “A Vehicle for Change.”

“As an organization built on endowments, our mission is focused on both today and tomorrow,” said President and CEO Tina Peterson. “We know that change today is positively essential to sustaining this community’s tomorrow. Our job, as an organization, is to empower those people, organizations, and nonprofits that drive the change Monroe County needs to succeed.”

Peterson shared that the Foundation received $1 million in gifts during the past year, growing its endowment to $30.9 million, and adding 12 new funds.

“The vehicle for change that the Community Foundation is entrusted to steer has many seats – each one filled by individuals, families, and businesses who have a passion for this community,” added Peterson. “Those passions are diverse – arts, animals, education, essential needs, community development, youth development, those with disabilities, and the environment. Fortunately, our bus is a big one, and there are seats available for all who wish to be the change they want to see in our community.”

Grants and distributions from the Community Foundation’s 217 funds often serve as the vehicles to advance important causes and improve the quality of life in Monroe County. As needs and opportunities arise in our community, the Foundation also provides proactive funding to respond to pressing needs and compelling opportunities. Peterson gave updates on several of these leadership initiatives:

• expanding early childhood education opportunities,
• responding to the opioid crisis in our community, and
• advancing Southwest Central Indiana’s regional economic and workforce initiatives.

The event was also an opportunity to recognize Monroe County’s ten 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Finalists and area nonprofit organizations that have received Community Impact Funding Initiative grants. At the end of the program, the Foundation distributed more than $270,000 in grant checks to 65 nonprofit organizations from its agency and designated endowment funds.

Early Childhood Education
“For the past 6+ years, the Community Foundation has deliberately focused on early childhood education as a key solution-based approach to ensuring that children, families and the community succeeds,” said Peterson.

The Community Foundation has invested more than $1.2 million on Monroe Smart Start initiatives to increase access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education especially for children from less advantaged circumstances. Monroe Smart Start has been supported through distributions from the Community Foundation’s unrestricted funds, selected field of interest funds, and donor advised funds.

Earlier this year, Monroe County was selected to join 19 other counties eligible to participate in On My Way Pre-K, Indiana’s first state-funded prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds from low-income families. Participating counties must provide a local funding match to support the program.

To support this match requirement and to continue the growth of Monroe Smart Start initiatives, the Foundation announced the Thrive by Five Endowment Campaign. The goal of this $1 million endowment building fundraising campaign is to ensure the sustainability of Monroe Smart Start’s early learning initiatives. When funded with $1 million, this endowment will generate $42,500 in interest income to expand the Community Foundation’s early childhood education initiatives, which currently cost more than $150,000 per year.

Peterson introduced CFBMC Board Member Jessika Hane, human resources director at Oliver Winery, and Jessica Merkel, partner at Bunger & Robertson, as chairs of the Thrive by Five Campaign. Hane and Merkel indicated that they were proud to serve as chairs because their own children (five between the two of them) have benefited from high-quality early childhood education programs in Monroe County.

“As working moms, we depend on these programs,” Merkel said. “If childcare is so necessary for us, I can only think of how critical it is for families struggling to make ends meet. The affordability and reliability of childcare can determine whether a parent keeps a job, makes a rent payment, has food for their family, or can fill a prescription. It is invaluable to have quality, affordable childcare in our community. It not only improves the lives of our children but their entire family as well.”

The Foundation’s Thrive by Five fundraising campaign committee has already raised $380,000, including a leadership gift of $100,000 by local real estate developer Elliot Lewis. This lead gift establishes the Lewis Fund for Early Childhood Education as the official name of the Thrive by Five Campaign endowment.

“When children have high-quality learning experiences, it impacts the prosperity of the entire community,” added Hane. “Children who are prepared for school and prepared for life have the capacity to change the world.”

Opioids in Our Community
In September, the Community Foundation was the lead sponsor for the first South Central Opioid Summit in Bloomington. The event brought more than 600 people together from across the region with a goal of increasing collaboration around the growing drug epidemic.

“An inspiring and humbling event, the Summit gave those in attendance a greater understanding of the challenges faced by individuals struggling with addiction, the frightening impact the epidemic is having on children and families, and the importance of working together to find solutions,” said Peterson.

Peterson announced that the Foundation is partnering with Centerstone to establish Monroe County’s first transitional housing for women recovering from substance abuse and their children. Through a $50,000 seed grant, Centerstone will secure a facility to support up to 6 women and their children initially. It is anticipated that the program will eventually serve up to 36 women and their children annually.

“Women with addictions are much less likely to seek and receive treatment due to many barriers, including fear of social stigma, domestic violence, lack of adequate childcare, or fear of legal intervention that may result in the loss of their children,” said Peterson. “When mothers do not get treatment, the impact is devastating for their children and often results in trauma that affects a child for a lifetime.”

The program will provide a safe therapeutic environment to serve as a bridge between initial treatment and re-entry into the community. In addition to housing and treatment, the program will help women develop the coping, life, and parenting skills necessary for recovery, self-sufficiency, and stability. The facility will prioritize placement for pregnant women and women with young children.

“Similar programs in Indiana that allow young children to stay with their mothers are showing tremendous and promising long-term trajectories for women and children,” added Peterson. “Centerstone has the staff, the training, and the expertise to support these women and their children and we are grateful for the opportunity to support their life-changing work.”

Regional Economic and Workforce Initiatives
In 2016, the Community Foundation established Regional Opportunity Initiatives, Inc. (ROI) as a supporting organization and separate 501(c)(3) entity. The mission of the organization is to support economic and community prosperity in the 11-county region of Southwest Central Indiana through education, workforce, and quality of place initiatives. Peterson also serves as the CEO of ROI and its ten-person staff shares its offices with the Community Foundation.

“Ultimately, ROI’s goal is to ensure that this region prospers,” said Peterson. “As the largest county and employer in Southwest Central Indiana, Monroe County stands to benefit a great deal from the opportunities ROI makes possible.”

Funded by a $26.5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, ROI is working with the region’s key industry sectors – advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and national security and defense – to establish partnerships and to begin to implement initiatives for strategic alignment.

“For the region to prosper, we believe we must focus on alignment between our key economic and workforce assets and the communities, institutions, and programs that support them,” said Peterson.

Peterson highlighted some of the ROI initiatives currently underway to support these efforts.

Ready Schools – Six regional school districts are currently working with ROI to apply design thinking principles in realigning, K to 12, educational delivery, and curriculum with the workforce needs of the region.

STEM Fellows – Fifteen regional elementary educators were nominated by their school principals and selected by ROI to serve as STEM Fellows within their schools. Fellows participate in professional development and community engagement opportunities to create more relevant STEM learning experiences for students and better prepare students for careers in our region.

I-69 Interchange Analysis – ROI is working with HWC Engineering to analyze the I-69 interchanges in the Southwest Central Indiana region. The goal is to establish a cohesive vision for the system of new interchanges along the I-69 Corridor, outline of the opportunities/constraints to development at each interchange, and identify key strategies necessary to implement plan recommendations.

Competitive Positioning/Regional Branding – ROI is working Dartlet and Fourth Economy to develop a competitive identity strategy for Southwest Central Indiana that will be used to attract talent, business, and investment to our region. This fall several hundred regional partners participated in messaging workshops. Results from the workshops will be combined with information from Southwest Central Indiana’s existing Strategic Plan for Economic and Community Development, Occupational Needs Assessment, I-69 Interchange Analyses, and other regional data to help inform the competitive identity process.

More information on these and other ROI initiatives can be found at SWCIndiana.org.

About Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County:
Created by individuals, families, and businesses who share a passion for Monroe County and a vision for its future, the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County has granted $25 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations since its incorporation in 1990. With a growing $30 million endowment, the Foundation makes a difference by connecting caring people, important causes, and community resources.

Ten Monroe County high school seniors have been selected as finalists for the 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. The 2018 finalists will be honored at the Community Foundation’s Annual Report to the Community on Thursday, November 2.

Monroe County’s 2018 Lilly Scholarship finalists include:

• Zoe Berensztein, Bloomington High School South
• Caleb Cooper, Lighthouse Christian Academy
• Mikayla Deckard, Edgewood High School
• Hadley Knaus, Bloomington High School South
• Zachary Kovach, Edgewood High School
• Aaron Nunes, Bloomington High School South
• Ryan Paquette, Bloomington High School North
• Mac Rogers, Bloomington High School North
• Sage Sherfick, Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship
• Greta Stephenson, Bloomington High School North

This year’s ten finalists were selected from among 68 applicants. In selecting recipients for the Monroe County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, consideration is given to student activities and achievements, community and civic service, academic performance and leadership potential.

“Every year, we are inspired by the quality of applicants for Lilly Endowment Community Scholars program,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Tina Peterson. “Monroe County has no shortage of exceptionally talented young people, and these 2018 finalists excel as leaders in their schools and in our community. We look forward to recognizing each of them at our Annual Report to the Community on November 2.”

Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are awarded four-year, full-tuition scholarships to pursue baccalaureate degrees at accredited public or private nonprofit colleges or universities in Indiana. Monroe County’s two 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipients will be announced in December.

Evaluation of Monroe County’s Lilly Scholarship applications is a two-part blind review process. Applications are first reviewed and independently scored by members of a Lilly Scholarship committee at each Monroe County high school. The scored applications are then submitted to the Community Foundation, and finalists are identified from each school. The Community Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee, which is made up of members of the community and former Monroe County Lilly Scholars, blindly reviews and scores applications from the finalists. Each finalist is interviewed, and their interview scores are combined with scoring from the written portion of their application. The rankings, along with the committee’s recommendations are then submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc., a nonprofit corporation representing 30 regionally accredited degree-granting colleges and universities in the state.

Since 1998, the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program has assisted more than 4,500 Indiana high school graduates with more than $372 million in tuition to pursue baccalaureate degrees at Indiana colleges and universities. The program is administered by Independent Colleges of Indiana and community foundations in each of Indiana’s 92 counties.

The Community Foundation’s Annual Report to the Community begins at 4:30 p.m. on November 2 in Shreve Hall at Ivy Tech Bloomington (200 Daniels Way, Bloomington, IN 47404). This annual event is a celebration the Foundation’s past year of connecting caring people, important causes, and community resources. For more information on the Lilly Scholarship and the Community Foundation’s Annual Report to the Community event, visit www.cfbmc.org.

About Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County:
Created by individuals, families, and businesses who share a passion for Monroe County and a vision for its future, the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County has granted $25 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations since its incorporation in 1990. With a growing $30 million endowment, the Foundation makes a difference by connecting caring people, important causes, and community resources.

Fifty tuition-free preschool education grants available in January; full county roll-out to occur for the 2018-2019 school year.

Beginning September 25, Monroe County families who meet specific income requirements will be eligible to submit applications to participate in Indiana’s On My Way Pre-K pilot program.

The limited program will provide tuition-free education grants for up to 50 Monroe County 4-year-olds from low-income families to attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs beginning January 1, 2018. A full rollout of the On My Way Pre-K program in Monroe County will occur in August 2018 with funding for up to 200 eligible 4-year-olds for the 2018-2019 school year.

Administered by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning (OECOSL), On My Way Pre-K provides grants for 4-year-olds from low-income families to access high-quality pre-K programs the year before they begin kindergarten. Monroe County families who receive a grant may use it at an approved On My Way Pre-K program in our county. To be eligible to apply for On My Way Pre-K, the child must be four as of August 1, 2017 and families must have an income at or below 127 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Family gross income (before taxes) cannot exceed the amounts listed below.

Maximum Gross Income Guidelines
(127 percent of Federal Poverty Level)

Size of Family Unit	Monthly	Yearly
1	$1,276.00	$15,312.00
2	$1,719.00	$20,628.00
3	$2,161.00	$25,932.00
4	$2,604.00	$31,248.00
5	$3,046.00	$36,552.00
6	$3,448.00	$41,376.00

All parents/guardians in the household must also work or attend an accredited/certified education or training program. Applications will be available online at www.onmywayprek.org beginning September 25 and grants will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis according to the submitted application date. Families may choose from a program that is full-day or part-day, as well as from programs that end with the school year or continue through the summer. Families seeking assistance may also call 1-800-299-1627 to speak to an early learning referral specialist.

On My Way Pre-K launched in 2014 as a pilot in five Indiana counties. Earlier this year, in House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1004-2017, the Indiana General Assembly expanded the program from five pilot counties to 20 counties. In June, Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced that Monroe County would be among the 15 additional counties eligible to participate.

Prekindergarten providers participating in On My Way Pre-K may include public schools, community-based programs and private early childcare centers and homes. Participating On My Way Pre-K providers must achieve a Level 3 or 4 rating in the state’s Paths to QUALITY^TM voluntary childcare quality rating system. Level 3 programs meet the health and safety needs of all children, create an environment that supports children’s learning, and offer a curriculum that guides child development and school readiness. Level 4 programs are the highest rated programs and have demonstrated a commitment to high-quality care through the achievement of national accreditation.

“I’m thrilled to be able to offer On My Way Pre-K as an option for families at The Nest,” said Director Emily Pike. “We know that far too many young children don’t have access to high quality early childhood education because the cost is prohibitively high. The Nest is proud to be a part of the solution by participating in On My Way Pre-K. That means more four-year-olds getting the good start they deserve and reaping the benefits for years to come.”

Monroe Smart Start, a leadership initiative of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County is serving as project lead to coordinate and implement On My Way Pre-K in our community in collaboration with FSSA, OECOSL, and Chances and Services for Youth (CASY).

The Community Foundation has invested over $1.2 million in initiatives focused on increasing access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education in Monroe County. The Community Foundation has also committed grant dollars as part of the 5% required On My Way Pre-K community match contribution.

“On My Way Pre-K will increase the number of four-year-olds attending high-quality, tuition-free pre-K in our community,” said Monroe Smart Start Director Jennifer Myers. “While significant progress has been made to increase the number of high-quality childcare providers in Monroe County, only 40 percent of children attend a high-quality early childhood education program prior to beginning kindergarten. On My Way Pre-K will allow more children to benefit from early learning experiences and put them on a path for success in school and in life.”

“We have, as a community, been very thoughtful about improving the quality of early learning experiences and access to these experiences for those families who financially wouldn’t have the capacity to do so otherwise,” added Peterson.
“In the state of Indiana, we know for every dollar we invest in early education, it’s going to generate another four dollars. It pays for itself in the long term. It’s good for families, it’s good for communities, and it’s really good for workforce development and for supporting local employers.”

About Monroe Smart Start:
Monroe Smart Start, a leadership initiative of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, began in 2007 as a coalition of educators, parents, business leaders, and others focusing on the first five years of life and the importance of quality early learning opportunities for school readiness. Monroe Smart Start works on behalf of our community’s youngest learners, helping to ensure children are ready for school and ready for life by

• increasing access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education,
• increasing quality child care,
• increasing family and community engagement; and
• building awareness regarding the importance of quality child care.

About Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County:
Created by individuals, families and businesses who share a passion for Monroe County and a vision for its future, the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County has granted nearly $25 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations since its incorporation in 1990. With a growing $30 million endowment, the Foundation makes a difference by connecting caring people, important causes and community resources. Visit www.cfbmc.org for more information.

About On My Way Pre-K:
On My Way Pre-K is the name of Indiana’s first state-funded prekindergarten program, which was approved as a five-county pilot by the Indiana General Assembly in 2014 and has been operating since 2015 in Allen, Jackson, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh Counties. In 2017, the General Assembly authorized FSSA to add 15 additional counties. For more information, visit www.onmywayprek.org.

We’re proud to share that Cary Curry was awarded the Mirror Ball Trophy at Dancing with the Celebrities on September 9, 2017! Thank you to all of our donors for making this possible and congratulations to the dancers, community organizations, and Arthur Murray Dance Center Bloomington, Indiana for an incredible evening!

The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County partnered with Cary Curry for the 11th annual charity fundraising competition. The coveted Mirror Ball Trophy is awarded each year to the celebrity dancer that raises the most funds for his or her selected charity. Cary Curry is a longtime supporter and founder of two funds at the Community Foundation. Cary danced this year to support the creation of a new Community Foundation endowment. The Curry Family Fund for a Compassionate & Caring Community will support activities that foster greater compassion in our community, such as initiatives for at-risk children and families, mentoring programs, and faith-based community support. Learn more about this fund.