Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT)
South Madison Community Foundation is pleased to announce its intent to apply for a $562,500 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.
South Madison Community Foundation will be able to use its Matching Fund Grant to further develop its unrestricted assets, 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 South Madison Community Foundation's pool of Unrestricted Endowments during GIFT VIII’s matching period, October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025.
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.
The South Madison Community Foundation was begun as a result of the very first GIFT initiative, when a small group of local community leaders seized the opportunity to create a permanent source for charitable support to meet local needs or opportunities. Since that time, South Madison Community Foundation has awarded over $6 million in grants and scholarships while building assets of $12 million for future giving.
South Madison Community Foundation Executive Director Tammy Bowman said, “Our founders took on the original GIFT matching challenge because they recognized the opportunity to touch the future of their community. Because of that foresight, we have resources to support today’s residents and to build additional opportunities for tomorrow. Participating in the current GIFT initiative is our generation's opportunity to expand that legacy.”
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
To learn more about GIFT VIII, please visit Lilly Endowment’s website.