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We Are Thankful for You
It’s Thanksgiving Eve, the night before the holiday season officially begins. I, for one, will be grateful to hit the pause button, turn down the volume, so to speak, on all the news and rhetoric that accompanies election season and to focus instead on those values that are central to this season of gratitude.
Evidence that those values are alive and well in our community can be found throughout this edition of the Community Foundation’s newsletter. I encourage you to take a few moments to see for yourself. You will be reminded that our community is populated by people who are thoughtful, generous and kind. Were it not, the Community Foundation would not exist.
Please accept our warmest wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving and a peaceful holiday season! We are so grateful for the role you allow the Community Foundation to play and the opportunity to work with each of you in making sure Monroe County is a place we are all proud to call home.
-Tina
During this season of gratitude, we at the Community Foundation are reminded of the incredible generosity you show to people living in Monroe County.
Because of your compassion, we will all be strengthened for tomorrow, not just for today. You are building a better quality of life for future generations. So today, we want you to know how grateful we are for you and your vision for a better community – thank you.
A Generational Celebration
On November 3, the Community Foundation hosted its 2016 Annual Report to Community. The theme focused on one generation supporting the next – through their deeds, gifts, and engagement. As the Community Foundation moves beyond its 25th birthday and into its second generation, we are proud to celebrate the people, the causes, and the organizations that make Bloomington and Monroe County great. Thank you for celebrating with us! See more photos.
2017 Lilly Scholarship Finalists Announced
Eleven area high school seniors were selected from among nearly 100 applicants for this year’s scholarship, the highest number of applicants ever received in Monroe County.
Monroe County’s 2017 Lilly Scholarship Finalists include:
- Alex Newquist, Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship
- John Garrett, Edgewood High School
- Frances Kincaid, Bloomington High School North
- Naomi Showalter, Bloomington High School North
- Connor Starks, Bloomington High School North
- Ivy Kehoe, Bloomington High School South
- Nathan Browning, Lighthouse Christian Academy
- Hannah Kasak-Gliboff, Bloomington High School South
- Betsy Beggs, Bloomington High School South
- Ellen Bergan, Edgewood High School
- Anthony Sparks, Indiana Academy
The 2017 finalists were honored at the Community Foundation’s Annual Report to the Community on November 3. Two of the finalists will be selected to receive a four-year, full tuition scholarship to an Indiana public or private college of their choosing. In addition to the cost of tuition, they will receive a $900 annual stipend for books and other required materials. Monroe County’s two 2017 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship recipients will be announced in early December. Read more.
CFBMC Adds 11 New Funds This Year
The Community Foundation fuels innovative ideas and lasting impact in Monroe County through a diverse menu of funds designated to address a range of community needs. This year, CFBMC added 11 new funds! Thank you to the generous donors that made these funds possible.
New Unrestricted Funds
These funds allow the Community Foundation the flexibility to address Monroe County’s ever-changing needs through strategic grant making, year after year. Unrestricted funds are used to facilitate innovative responses to our community’s most compelling opportunities or respond to the most pressing needs.
- BloomBank Community Fund
- Carol and Mayer Maloney Fund
- Frisbie Family Fund
- German American Bancorp Community Fund
- Herald-Times Fund for Bloomington and Monroe County
New Designated Funds
- Language Conservancy Endowment Fund: Provides support to the Language Conservancy nonprofit organization
- Partners for Places Fund for the City of Bloomington: Provides support to reduce energy use in local residences, municipal facilities, and K-12 schools through outreach, technical assistance, and volunteer mobilization in the City of Bloomington
New Donor Advised Funds
- Carolee A. Mehlinger Fund for Children and Youth
- Duke Energy Fund
- Richey Family Fund
New Scholarship Fund
- Carl Deal Jr. Scholarship Fund
View complete list of CFBMC funds.
Nonprofits Receive Annual Distributions
Each of the nonprofits listed below recently received an annual grant distribution from a fund established at the Community Foundation for their benefit. 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 and to the nonprofits that do incredible work in our community.
- Amethyst House
- Area 10 Agency on Aging
- Bloomington Developmental and Learning Center
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Bloomington Community Band
- Bloomington Hospital Foundation
- Bloomington Montessori School
- Bloomington Parks and Recreation Foundation
- Bloomington Playwrights Project
- Bloomington Posoltega Committee
- Bloomington United Presbyterian Church
- Boys and Girls Club
- CASA
- Catholic Charities
- Center for Justice and Mediation
- Community Kitchen
- Edgewood Dollars for Scholars
- Ellettsville Main Street
- Farmer House Museum
- Franklin Initiative
- First United Methodist Church
- Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools
- George E. Archer Foundation
- Girls, Inc.
- Habitat for Humanity
- Hannah Center
- Harmony School
- Hoosier Youth Philharmonic
- Ivy Tech Foundation
- Kappa Kappa Gamma
- Leadership Bloomington
- LIfeDesigns
- Lotus Education and Arts Foundation
- Monroe County United Ministries
- Middleway House
- Monroe County Historical Society
- Monroe County Humane Association
- Monroe County Public Library Foundation
- New Hope Family Shelter
- Pinnacle School
- Planned Parenthood
- Richland Bean Blossom School Foundation
- Salvation Army
- Sassafras Audubon Society
- Shalom Community Center
- Stonebelt
- Sycamore Land Trust
- United Way of Monroe County
- Volunteers in Medicine
- WFHB
- Windfall Dancers
- WonderLab
- Writing for a Change
- YMCA
- Youth Services Bureau
Black Friday. Cyber Monday. #GivingTuesday.
November 29 is #GivingTuesday, an international day dedicated to giving. You can be part of the celebration in our community by making gifts, volunteering your time, and advocating for your favorite causes.
We encourage you to join the #GivingTuesday movement. Some ideas include:
- Make a gift in honor of someone who taught you that giving back matters.
- Let your favorite nonprofit know you want them to serve Monroe County well into the future by giving to one of our more than 75 agency endowment funds.
Let’s create positive impact together this #GivingTuesday. We hope you’ll join us. Give Now!
Monroe Smart Start: Ready for School, Ready for Life
Monroe Smart Start is now in its fifth year of helping our community’s youngest learners! A leadership initiative of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Monroe Smart Start helps to ensure children are ready for school and ready for life. The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County has invested more than $1 million in support of early learning in our community over the last five years. Initiatives supported include increasing access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education; supporting early childhood educators in providing quality care; and family and community engagement.
2016 Early Childhood Education Snapshot:
CFBMC Impact: Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard
Serving over 11,000 low-income community members each year, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard (MHC) is a Bloomington-based food pantry that works to increase access to healthy food to anyone in need.
With the help of a 2016 Impact Grant, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard was able to purchase the building they formerly leased at 1100 W. Allen Street and devote more time and resources to securing food and expanding its programs. In the four years that MHC has occupied this building, the space has been transformed into a vibrant community food resource center that also offers nutrition education, cooking classes, tool share, and community gardening programs to help people become healthy, self-sufficient, and environmentally conscious.
Congratulations MHC on the building purchase, and on being recently recognized in the James Beard Foundation’s 2016 Good Food Guide, an annual publication recognizing U.S. organizations creating better food systems.
John & Gerry Miller Create Legacy & Maximize Impact with Charitable Gift Annuity Match Initiative
Have you heard about our new Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) Program? A CGA is a great opportunity for you or a loved one to support the causes you care about most while also receiving lifetime income.
How does it work? You make a one-time gift to the Community Foundation, and we agree to pay you a fixed amount every year for your lifetime. You can also choose to name up to two people you love to receive the annuity payments.
John and Gerry Miller became the Community Foundation’s first donors with a Charitable Gift Annuity early this year. “We chose a CGA simply because we wanted to support the Community Foundation,” say John Miller. “The CGA is one option that allows us to maintain some income while supporting an organization we believe in.”
The Millers were also able to take advantage of our limited-time matching opportunity. Donors who start a CGA during the 2016-2017 fiscal year will receive a matching gift that can be directed to an existing fund at the Community Foundation of the donor’s choosing.
| CGA Gift Amount | Matching Gift |
| $10,000-$50,000 | 10% of CGA amount |
| $50,000 or more | $7,500 |
To take advantage of the CGA Matching Initiative, contact Development Director Meagan Niese at (812) 333-9016 or [email protected].
Read more about life income plans.
ROI: Advancing Economic and Community Prosperity in Southwest Central Indiana
Have you heard about Regional Opportunity Initiatives, Inc.? ROI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a supporting organization of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County.
Established in 2016 to advance economic and community prosperity in Southwest Central Indiana (SWCI), ROI is implementing an education and workforce plan and a regional opportunity fund for quality-of-place investments in an 11-county area encompassing Brown, Crawford, Davies, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen and Washington counties.
ROI currently shares office space with the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County and Foundation President and CEO Tina Peterson is also serving as interim CEO of ROI.
ROI is seeking to hire an advanced manufacturing specialist, work-based learning specialist, and education specialists. Visit SWCIndiana.org to learn more.
Learn more about ROI.
New Office Location
After 26 years in Fountain Square Mall, we’ve moved across the street into the downtown Chase Building at the corner of College and Kirkwood Avenues. Come see us in our new location. We love visitors! And, stay tuned for details on our upcoming Open House.
100 S. College Ave.
Suite 240
Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: 812-333-9016
Fax: 812-333-1153
Email: [email protected]
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 2016 tax benefits! Support your favorite organization or cause by donating to one of our 215 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 made through the site can be made up until 11:59 pm on December 31 to count as a 2016 tax deduction. Give Now!
Checks: Checks must be dated and postmarked on or before December 31 to be considered a 2016 tax deduction.
We’re open weekdays 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. to assist you. However, we will be closed November 24-26, December 23 and 26, and January 2. Contact us with your 2016 end-of-year giving questions at (812) 333-9016 or [email protected].
CFBMC: Powered by Giving
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 $24 million to more than 400 local nonprofit organizations since its incorporation in 1990. With a growing $26 million endowment, the Foundation makes a difference by connecting caring people, important causes, and community resources.
We make grants, offer expertise, and lead in collaboration with others to meet our community’s most pressing needs and seize its most important opportunities. From early childhood development to aging, from basic needs to economic development, from the arts to the environment, our donors fuel innovative ideas and power lasting impact for our communities. Learn more about the areas we impact.