In 1990, Lilly Endowment, Inc. announced the GIFT (Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow) Initiative. GIFT was created to help establish and strengthen Indiana community foundations through challenge grants and technical assistance. Currently, over 90 community foundations and affiliate funds provide philanthropic resources for each of Indiana's 92 counties. The technical assistance component of this initiative is housed at the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance. For technical assistance, email GIFT's technical assistance team.

Materials provided to community foundations* by the Community Foundation Committee

• Donor Education/Marketing Materials
  
  
• Crescendo
  
  
• Planned Giving E-booklets
• Planned Giving Answers Online (PALS)
• Instructions on how to give your professional advisors access to PALs.

*materials are available to community foundations which have agreed to comply with Indiana or National Standards

• What is Philanthropy? streaming video clip, produced by WFYI for Indiana's community foundations. You may download this file and distribute to your local media or use in foundation presentations. The video clip is also posted at www.wfyi.org under the "WFYI in the Community" heading, under National Philanthropy Day.

• GIFT Trainings
  Includes upcoming sessions, registration forms, and handouts from previous workshops.
  
  
• ANDI (Assets and Needs Data for Indiana)
  Nonprofit organizations serving Indiana communities require information to assess the needs in their community. To assist community foundations with important data research, GIFT is sponsoring the ANDI website, created by the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at IUPUI. In one location, you can access a variety of relevant data from many sources and download and customize data about your county. Login is required; to request access to the site, email gift@indianagrantmakers.org.
  Download the ANDI training manual
  Download the ANDI Step-by-Step guide
  
  
• Your Indiana colleagues
  Have a question for the other community foundation executive directors in Indiana? Email them by sending your question to GIFTEXECUTIVEDIRECTORS@listserv.indianagrantmakers.org. Note: only community foundation executive directors have access to email this list.

• Economic Development: A Checklist for Funding
  This guide is designed to help the board members and staff of Indiana Community Foundations evaluate whether a community or economic development project complies with charitable purposes as defined by the Internal Revenue Service.
  
  
• Transfer of Wealth Resources
  View / download the full TOW report and download the PowerPoint presentation that can be customized to your county and foundation. Use the PowerPoint for presentations to donors, community leaders or other agencies in your community.
  
  
• Sample Documents for Community Foundations
  
Examples of working documents and policies from community foundations are posted here, such as job descriptions, board positions, policies on confidentiality, conflict of interest, gift acceptance, personnel, and supporting organizations, among others. Samples from Indiana community foundations are available too.


• Public Policy
  
  
• Rural Philanthropy
  The Aspen Institute and New Ventures in Philanthropy have developed several wonderful resources focused on rural philanthropy, including tactics on developing donor pools, working with professional advisors, and growing rural endowments. The Philanthropy Index helps communities determine the sustainability of an endowment fund.
  
  
• Indiana Ethical and Operational Standards for Community Foundations (pdf)
  In 2000, the Community Foundation Committee of the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance adopted standards for Indiana’s community foundations, as public trust is the key to a community foundation's success. The standards can be related to the five areas of community foundation activity: governance, management, grantmaking, resource development, and communications and public relations. At present, 96% of the community foundations have adopted these standards.
  
  The report that each reviewer uses to examine each foundation's binder of documentation is available for download. This report is useful as it clearly states what the reviewers are looking for as proof of compliance with each standard. Download reviewer's report
  
  
• Giving Circles



• Community Foundation Locator
  Find a community foundation by searching by county. Note: only legal entities are listed; affiliate funds are listed through the appropriate legal entity.



• GIFT Update - Summer 2007- Log on to access.

For technical assistance, email GIFT's technical assistance team.

For additional resources, go to the Begin to Give section of our Web site.

©2003 Indiana Grantmakers Alliance, Inc.
32 East Washington Street, Suite 1100
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204
Phone: (317) 630-5200 | Fax: (317) 630-5210
Email: info@indianagrantmakers.org