"Helping People Improve Their Communities"
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The Western Indiana Community Foundation is a public charity, founded in 1990, conceived by a group of citizens whose desire is to use donated monies for the betterment of their communities. The Foundation shares the same dream as its forefathers: prosperity, expansion, and enhancement for its citizens. The Foundation has four separate and distinct affiliate funds serving their geographical areas, which consist of:| ~ Attica ~ Community Foundation |
~ Southeast Fountain ~ Community Foundation |
| ~ Covington ~ Community Foundation |
~ Vermillion County ~ Community Foundation |
HIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Every year many Americans devote their time and resources to causes and charities they care about. This year has been no different; in fact, it has been exceptional to see people responding to 2020’s health and economic challenges with amazing generosity to help loved ones, neighbors, strangers and charities.
As you plan your year-end gifts for 2020, please consider any of our 300 endowment funds that benefit Fountain and Vermillion County, Indiana.
THANK YOU!
ECENT FOUNDATION NEWS:Fountain and Vermillion County are home to many wonderful people who have made a deep impact in the community.
Are you looking for a way to memorialize a loved one or friend who is no longer with us? Or perhaps you would like to honor a family member, friend, co-worker, or service provider who has a positive influence in your daily life? MEMORIAL & HONOR GIFTS are great ways to honor those who are or have been significant in your life or the life of your community. Your gift will go to the fund you specify, in the name of the one you’re honoring.
The following individuals have recently passed away and the families have designated that donations in their memory go to the Community Foundation. We honor the following individuals (click on the name for more details): Paul Kent, Harry Hoagland, Ron Howard, Charles Swingle, Barbara Clark, Steven C. Dice, Florence B. Fultz, Max N. Hoffman, Lulu Belle (Trott) Woodrow, JoAnn Murray, Erwin (Ernie) Johannes, Art Clawson, Jeff Youngblood, Fred Paxton, Mary Bowles, Janet Clark, C. David Curts, Caleb Duncan, Patricia Head, Jack Macy, Edna Jordan, James Kochell, Neva Tillotson, Delores Hicks, Carl Hicks, Daniel McGrady, Max Keller, Freeman “Bugs” Lanum, Georgeanna Ford, Bill Deck, Helen F. Shelby, Elizabeth “Lib” Barnhart, Charline Allen, Jeffry Ingalsbe, John Woodrow, Carol Gooding, Richard “Dick” Shelby, Betty Shull, Marvel Dunham, Mary K. Young, Marcia Cooper, Carol V. Myers, James “Jim” McCormick, Rosemarie Haas, Marilyn Gebbink, Jean (Frances) Blickenstaff, Robert “Bob” Branam, Larry Carlson, John Cotten, Sr., Mirriam (Newmark) Fogel, Helen Freas, Heidi (Shambach) Johnson, Joan Rennick, Vicki (Collins) Stevens, and Arley White.
All memorial and honor gifts are acknowledged to the person or people you designate so that the loved one’s family, or the person you are honoring, is aware of the gift. Or you can make an anonymous gift if you desire to do so. The amount of the gift is, of course, confidential and only you will receive a gift acknowledgement for tax purposes. It’s very easy to give a memorial or honor gift – just CLICK HERE to get started.
The Western Indiana Community Foundation is pleased to announce its awarding of a $30,000 grant to the Fountain County Fairgrounds Capital Improvement Project.
Cheri Krug of the Friends of the Fountain County Fairgrounds says, “We are excited about this generous donation by the community Foundation. We have now raised $140,000 towards our $155,000 goal. Our plans include a new concession stand/kitchen, restrooms and multipurpose room with Wi-Fi access and air conditioning. This new ADA compliant addition will be a great improvement to the current facilities and is key for creating a welcoming and inviting area for our community.
The fairgrounds hosts a variety of events such as weddings, dances, Cub Scout events, auctions, open livestock show, community events for local groups and the yearly 4-H fair and 4-H meetings. On a typical year, it averages between 1-3 events/meetings per month from March through November (closed during the winter months). Attendance ranges from small group meetings (10-20 people) to larger events when attendance is upwards of 500 people or more. Meeting room space at the fairgrounds is currently limited to the large building at the south end of the fairgrounds. This building is expensive to heat and cool for smaller meetings. The planned multipurpose room will be more economical for small meetings and will have Wi-Fi access. We hope that this county-centralized meeting space provides opportunities for growth, especially in youth and adult educational programs and hosting local small businesses’ meetings and events. The current concession stand is outdated and does not provide a safe food prep area. It is used extensively by the 4-H Junior Leaders during the fair, providing valuable life experiences in management and finances as they operate a food stand during the fair. There are 364 youth currently enrolled in 4-H who extensively use the fairgrounds during the fair and throughout the year for 4-H club meetings.”
According to Dale White, CEO of the Western Indiana Community Project, “It’s been a pleasure to partner with the Friends of the Fountain County Fairgrounds organization. The Attica, Covington, and Southeast Fountain Community Foundations are each awarding $10,000 to this worthwhile project.
The community foundations liked the idea of an organization providing a centralized space to accommodate high quality programs, both for youth and adults, in Fountain County. Improving the fairground facilities will benefit all residents of the county as well as future generations. The multipurpose room included in this project, will bring flexibility and options for groups seeking a meeting place and the concession stand/kitchen is a well-thought out component of the project.”
White closes by stating, “We have enjoyed working with the Friends of the Fountain County Fairgrounds the past few years in their fundraising efforts. We are confident they will reach their goal of $155,000 and hopefully most of that will be done by generous Fountain County citizens by year-end 2020. The community foundation also likes the groups vision of exceeding their goal to have enough money to add some extra touches to the project and to be able to put some money away for the long-term upkeep and maintenance of the new facility. It would be remarkable if our citizens and businesses could help them raise $175,000 to $200,000.”
Donations to the project may be made to: Western Indiana Community Foundation, ATTN: Fountain County Fairgrounds Capital Improvement Project, PO Box 175, Covington, IN 47932 or online at www.wicf-inc.org.
Congratulations to recent grant recipients:
Friends of the Fountain County Fairgrounds ($30,000), Perrysville Fire Department ($8,350), Hillsboro Police Department ($2,000), Attica Early Learning Center ($9,000), Covington Girls Softball League ($8,000), Fountain County Sheriff’s Dept. ($5,000), Servants at Work ($3,000), NICHES Land Trust ($2,133), City of Covington ($6,500), City of Attica ($6,000), Mellott Volunteer Fire Dept. ($9,000), South Vermillion High School ($500), Jackson Township Volunteer Fire Dept. ($3,000), Attica High School – Student Council ($1,000), North Vermillion High School ($500), Fountain Central High School ($2,500), Covington Christian School ($5,415), Attica Jr./Sr. High School ($4,800), North Vermillion High School Music Program ($1,000). More →
Fourteen (14) new endowment funds have recently been established to benefits area communities and high school students. For more details click on the link to learn more about each fund.
The new funds include: Dr. Robert & Sue Ewbank Scholarship Fund, Yale & Orthanna Yager Scholarship Fund, Carol Shew Nursing Scholarship Fund, Christy DeSutter Cancer Fund, Kay Shoaf Scholarship Fund, Randall G. Shoaf Scholarship Fund, Robert & Lucreita (Verrill) Shoaf Scholarship Fund, Patricia Scherer Leath Education Scholarship Fund, William, Johanna & Mario Wilson Charitable Community Fund, Darrell & Edith Dennis Community Fund, Daniel & Renee McGrady Family Fund, CDH Scholarship Fund, Wallace-Minnette Community Fund, George Norman Family Fund, Mark & Cindy Mason Community Fund, and the Michael & Mary Margaret Rhees Community Fund.
To learn how you can establish a fund to benefit your community contact Dale at (765) 793-0702 or by email at dwhite@wicf-inc.org.
Nearly 235 students in Fountain and Vermillion County are the recipients of over $325,000 in scholarship awards to be used for their academic pursuits in 2020-2021. Check this site often for new scholarship opportunities and other updates.
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