Dear Friends,
There is a proverb that says, “If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.” I believe that as I begin my role as Chief Program Officer for the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.
The Community Foundation’s work and impact are built on the wisdom and experience of so many individuals, including program officers and those working with our initiatives, those working on our development, marketing/communications, and finance teams, and our many volunteer committees and board members. In addition, they are all working to “improve the quality of life in Elkhart County by inspiring generosity.” I’m privileged to be a part of this team.
Some of you reading this newsletter will know me from my prior service at Bethel University and Goodwill Industries. I look forward to our paths crossing again. If we have not yet met, I invite you to reach out to me so I can spend some time getting to know you and the organizations you serve.
As we begin 2025, I am humbled to be standing with so many Community Foundation colleagues, past and present, whose passion is making Elkhart County a fantastic place to work and live.
Sincerely,
Guy Fisher
Chief Program Officer
The Community Foundation awards more than $2 million in scholarships annually. Our Scholarship Granting Organization program helps donors give money to private schools. Our Lilly Endowment Community Scholars and Gundlach Memorial Scholarship award winners were announced in December.
Our biggest process each year is the Universal Application, which opened January 1 and closes March 1. By filling out this application, a high school or adult student automatically qualifies for all the scholarships for which they are eligible. Those could be scholarships provided by families, employers, or the foundation. In all, more than 40 different scholarships are now part of our Universal Application process.
You may want to apply or have one of your employees or family members do so. We welcome every application from Elkhart County residents.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jackie Rodriguez from our scholarship team.
Nonprofits, schools, and municipalities can apply for grants from the Fund for Elkhart County throughout the year, but the two biggest deadlines are February 15 and August 15. Those are the deadlines for grant requests of more than $25,000.
If you are hoping to apply by next month, please contact one of our program officers:
These three can help guide your application toward completion, review by staff, and then consideration by the grantmaking committees. We are delighted to partner with you to improve the quality of life in Elkhart County.
Our board approves the bulk of our grants at its April and October meetings. It did approve a few grants in December, including:
Kids & Families grants totaling $288,750
Seven grants of $25,000 or less totaling $63,750
Career Pathways grants totaling $409,186
Placemaking grants totaling $102,000
Opportunity Fund
The Community Foundation offers free training opportunities for those who work or volunteer for nonprofits in Elkhart County. The Learning Center enlists top-notch presenters to speak on aspects of nonprofit operations, including fundraising, human resources, and board development. Our workshops are offered roughly monthly in the fall, winter, and spring.
Our upcoming slate of workshops is exciting and we hope to see many of you there. The next one is on building strong collaborations. You can register now:
As we prepare for the March 11 workshop focused on marketing and communications, we’d welcome some input. Your responses to this survey can help us shape the workshop and increase its impact:
You can find the full lineup for the remaining workshops in this season at:
Two new people joined our program team recently.
After retiring from Lippert Components, Andy Murray started using office space at the Community Foundation as he aided nonprofits. Starting January 1, he officially joined the staff as Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Community Foundation, where he supports the work of the Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition and Building Strong Brains. His role is part-time, though anyone who knows Andy understands how passionate and driven he is about helping our community. We’re thrilled Andy is part of our team.
Karla Beasley has a long history of working with volunteers at Goshen Health and then at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. In November, she joined the Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition as its Assistant Director. Her role includes promoting the use of the trails, reinforcing the work of the coalition, and building on the current frameworks for future trail systems. She and her family members are avid users of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail and we’re delighted that she’s now working with us to improve our trails around the county.