December 7, 2020 Contact Information: Pete McCown, President, Community Foundation of Elkhart County, (574) 295-8761, [email protected] ELKHART — Community Foundation of Elkhart County has received a Large-Scale Community Leadership Grant of $2 million through the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative. The grant will support efforts to construct and operate a new Tolson Center for Community Excellence in Elkhart. Community Foundation of Elkhart County is one of 11 community foundations in Indiana to receive a Large-Scale Leadership Grant as part of a competitive component of the GIFT VII initiative. Through GIFT VII, Read More »

Columbus Survey shows ongoing growth of Community Foundation of Elkhart County      November 18, 2020                                               ELKHART, Indiana. — The Community Foundation of Elkhart County is ranked among the top 75 community foundations nationally in four key categories, according to the recently released Columbus Survey. Each year CF Insights, a national association of community foundations, publishes peer data collected from community foundations across the country. Earlier this year, Community Foundation of Elkhart County voluntarily submitted the institutional data along with 237 other foundations for the 2019 fiscal year. The report shows the ongoing growth of assets, grants and number of gifts and Read More »

October 23, 2020 ELKHART, Indiana – The Community Foundation of Elkhart County’s Board of Directors approved $2,102,822 of new and multi-year grants to dozens of nonprofits and programs throughout Elkhart County. The grants were given in the categories of placemaking, kids and families, and career pathways, reflecting the priorities of the Community Foundation. “Even in this challenging era, we are able to partner with nonprofits in our region who serve Elkhart County to build our community,” said Candy Yoder, Chief Program Officer. “Our committees, staff and board are working with others to build more and improved pathways in our community.” Read More »

Money will help plan for new Tolson Center & Park October 5, 2020ELKHART, Indiana — Community Foundation of Elkhart County has received a Community Leadership Grant of $200,000 as part of the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative. With the grant, the Community Foundation will continue planning for a new and improved Tolson Center & Park. Community Foundation of Elkhart County is one of 84 foundations in Indiana receiving grants through this round of GIFT VII grantmaking. Lilly Endowment created GIFT in 1990 to help local communities in Indiana develop the philanthropic Read More »

Fifteen people join the board to lead process of rebuilding neighborhood center in Elkhart August 10, 2020 ELKHART — The new Tolson Center board met for the first time in the closing week of July to begin the process of rebuilding the facility and how it serves the residents in surrounding neighborhoods. A total of 15 people were named to a board after a nomination process involving the public, Mayor Rod Roberson and both the Community Foundation of Elkhart County and Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.  The volunteer board is comprised of Nekeisha Alexis, Norman Anderson, Kenya Barhams, Kevin Bullard, Read More »

The Community Foundation of Elkhart County’s Board of Directors approved $2,940,325 of new and multi-year grants to dozens of nonprofits and programs throughout Elkhart County in April 2020.

The COVID-19 Community Response Fund, created by United Way of Elkhart & LaGrange Counties and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, has received a gift of 10,000 N95 respirator face masks, donated by Bill and Kristin Fenech.

Organizations can apply for grants from Elkhart County's COVID-19 Community Response Fund.

A message from Pete McCown, president of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County March 16, 2020 At the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, we take the threat of the coronavirus very seriously. From the possibility of widespread infection to the economic effects, we realize the layers of negative impact this pandemic can have on all aspects of the Elkhart County community. Our priority is to keep our team and their families safe while we support our partners and community. We will keep monitoring the situation and will share additional updates in the event we need to take further action. Meanwhile, we Read More »

December 2016 ELKHART — The Community Foundation of Elkhart County approved $2.3 million in Key Initiative Grants to end the first grant cycle of the 2016-17 fiscal year. The competitive grant awards come from the Community Foundation’s unrestricted fund, Fund for Elkhart County. This is the third year under the new grant model which was established in July 2014. Key Initiative Grants are awarded to organizations whose requests are above $250,000 and whose work is related to the Community Foundation’s three priorities: Youth Development, Vibrant Community and Quality of Life. These grant requests begin in the Community Investment Grant (CIG) Read More »