HISTORY
The first actual community foundation was started in 1914 in Cleveland Ohio by a banker, Fred Goff, who was looking for a way for his clients to leave money for the good of the community that would meet changing community needs and not get tied up when the donor’s original intent was no longer practical or necessary. While many other businesses have come and gone from the Cleveland area, the Community Foundation started there almost a 100 years ago, has maintained its focus and now boasts a $2 billion endowment that inspires confidence, builds community, and attracts business and enterprise.
In Indiana, Community Foundations as we know them are the “baby” of Lilly Endowment Inc. Lilly Endowment was started in 1937 by JK Lilly Sr. and his sons; JK Jr. and Eli to help the people of their city and state build a better life. In the years when Senator Lugar was Mayor of Indianapolis, a great portion of the Lilly Endowment income was poured into revitalizing the capital city. It wasn’t long before the rest of the state saw how the transformation from “naptown” to a world-class city was accomplished in Indianapolis and Lilly Endowment Inc began remembering the rest of the state. They knew they were not in a position to effect change simply by pouring money into the communities. They needed a way to let local leaders be the conduit and so the plan became to establish Community Foundations throughout the state. In 1990 Lilly began to help local communities grow their own resources into community foundations and for many years provided matching dollars as an incentive to donors to give. You may remember some of the early matching Phases. Lilly also provided technical support and program support in the early years. They began with a 15-year dream and a plan that ended in 2005 with every county in Indiana benefiting from a community foundation.
The Cass County Community Foundation was originally part of a five county consortium known as the Northern Indiana Community Foundation and began in 1994. However, as you might expect, people in Cass County were so committed and generous that the Cass County portion of contributions was growing at rates way beyond the other counties in the group. In 2000, Cass County separated from the NICF and became a stand-alone community foundation to benefit the people of Cass County and here we are!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
02-18-2010 SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE APPROACHES!
The deadline for High School Seniors to submit applications for the 2010 General Scholarship Program is Friday February 26th at 4:30pm. Applications made be hand-delivered to the CCCF Office at 417 No...[more]
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IF I AM SELECTED, DO I RECEIVE THE CHECK(S)? [answer]
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