RCCF Participating in Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow Initiative

RCCF intends to apply for a $750,000 Matching Fund Grant to further develop its unrestricted endowments.

(Ripley County, Ind.) - The Ripley County Community Foundation is pleased to announce its intent to apply for a $750,000 Matching Fund Grant through the eighth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII). This grant is one of three funding opportunities available to the community foundation through GIFT VIII for which Lilly Endowment has allocated up to $210 million to support Indiana’s community foundations in their efforts to enhance quality of life across the state.

The Ripley County Community Foundation will be able to use its Matching Fund Grant to further develop its unrestricted assets. At least 60 percent of the grant must be allocated to support the growth of the Ripley County Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment, which over time will provide financial resources that enable the community foundation to respond to both present and future community needs. Lilly Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to the Ripley County Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment during GIFT VIII’s matching period, October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025.

The Ripley County Community Foundation also may propose designating up to 30 percent of its Matching Fund Grant to support community projects and/or programs that are addressing important local needs and up to 10 percent of its grant to invest in the foundation’s internal capacity. Lilly Endowment will provide $1 for every $1 that the Ripley County Community Foundation raises during the matching period that are designated for the projects, programs and/or capacity-building activities approved for these purposes.

“The Ripley County Community Foundation is grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc.’s most recent investment into our community. The GIFT VIII initiative empowers the local community because it provides resources which will be used to respond to local needs and opportunities”, stated Amy Streator - Executive Director of the Ripley County Community Foundation.

Thanks to the Matching Fund Grants, contributions supporting the community foundation’s unrestricted endowments, also known as Community Granting Funds, will be matched at a remarkable rate of $2 for every $1 donated. These Community Granting Funds are the sole source of our Large Grants, Small Grants, Change Ripley County Grants, Food Pantry Grants, as well as programming support to Genesis: Pathways to Success, Ripley Youth Outreach, A Greener Tomorrow, Women’s Giving Circle, Turnover Hunger, and Wreaths Across Ripley County.

GIFT is a series of statewide initiatives and programs that began in 1990 as part of Lilly Endowment’s efforts to help establish and strengthen community foundations in Indiana and build their capacity to address the needs of their local communities. The primary aim of GIFT is to help Indiana community foundations in all 92 of Indiana’s counties develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize and address local opportunities and challenges.

To learn more about GIFT VIII, please visit Lilly Endowment’s website at lillyendowment.org/gift-viii-2/ . To learn about GIFT VIII in Ripley County visit our website rccfonline.org/gift-viii-initiative-enables-matching-fund-opportunities/ or contact the Ripley County Community Foundation at 13 E. George Street, Suite B, in Batesville, over the phone at (812) 933-1098, or online at www.rccfonline.org.