Lilly Endowment Grant Means Matches For DCF Donors

$500,000 from the Lilly Endowment will magnify donations made to the Dearborn Community Foundation.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - The Dearborn Community Foundation (DCF), Inc. has received a grant of $500,000 as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. With GIFT VII, the Endowment is making up to $125 million available to help Indiana community foundations strengthen the towns, cities and the counties they serve.

DCF is utilizing the Lilly Endowment GIFT VII grant to match contributions to endowment at the Foundation. The Foundation must use at least two-thirds of the $500,000 matching fund grant to support growth of the Foundation’s unrestricted endowment funds (also known as community funds), which over time will provide flexibility to help DCF meet the community’s changing needs. Lilly Endowment will provide $2-for-$1 matches ($2 match for a $1 donation) for contributions to any new or existing unrestricted endowment funds. The GIFT VII grant also allows for a 50-cent match for donations to any other types of new or existing endowments.

“We are very thankful Lilly Endowment has once again provided us with a great opportunity to further develop our community’s perpetual legacy of self-reliance,” said Fred McCarter, DCF Executive Director. “Our hope is this unique opportunity will encourage or challenge more individuals and businesses in our community to participate in philanthropy through endowment at the Foundation.”

DCF has set aside $335,000 of the $500,000 matching fund grant for the $2-for-$1 match for contributions to any new or existing unrestricted endowments. The other $165,000 of the $500,000 in matching funds is set aside for 50-cents-on-the-dollar matches for donations to any other type of new or existing endowments at the Foundation. DCF will match contributions on a first-come, first-served basis as long as matching funds are available. DCF has a deadline of December 31, 2020, for donors to match the $500,000 in Lilly Endowment matching funds.

It’s important to note that contributions from units of government and organizations that are considered in the “charitable sector” do not qualify to be matched, said McCarter, who encourages anyone with questions about the matching program to contact the DCF office.

Established in December 1997 during the early phases of the GIFT initiative, members of the community have been turning to Dearborn Community Foundation for more than 20 years now to make their philanthropic dreams come true. DCF, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt public charity, helps donors’ dreams come true by safeguarding endowments for the community through contributions large and small. Grants awarded by DCF support the needs and interests in Dearborn County in the fields of Art, Culture and Humanities, Community and Public Benefit, Education, Environment and Animal Protection, Human Services, Public Safety and Youth Programs.

In January 2009, DCF received the nation’s highest philanthropic standards for operational quality, integrity and accountability: the seal of approval from the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations Program operated by the Council on Foundations (COF), a national professional association based in Washington, D.C. DCF was reconfirmed for the National Standards by the COF in 2014.

To learn more about DCF and the matching opportunities, call Fred McCarter or Cheryl Wessel at 812-539-4115, or stop by the office at 322 Walnut Street in Lawrenceburg. Donors can also make online donations by going to the “Give Now” page on the Foundation website at dearborncf.org.

The GIFT initiative is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen Indiana communities and has been a priority of the Endowment since the first phase of GIFT in 1990. The initiative’s primary aim is to help Indiana community foundations develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize and address local opportunities and challenges.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support causes of community development, education and religion. Lilly Endowment’s community development grantmaking is designed to support efforts that enhance the quality of life in Indianapolis and Indiana.