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2023 Annual Report
Table of Contents:
- Letter From the President and Board Chair
- Croghan Launch Marks Milestone for Local Quality of Place
- Investing to Support Local Affordable Housing
- Local Organization’s Future Gets Planning Boost
- Building a Monument of Reflection & Hope
- Kids Helping Kids Improve Southern Indiana
- Scholarships for Class of 2023 Eclipse $1 Million
- Advisor Spotlight: J. Terrence Cody
- Legacy Spotlight: Donna Riley & Joe Wayne
- Looking Ahead: Triple Your Giving with GIFT VIII Matching Grant
- 2023 Financial Highlights
- Board of Directors
A Letter From the President and Board Chair:
Community foundations across Indiana represent more than just a source of funding – we are custodians of local dreams and architects of communal well-being. Our role goes beyond merely disbursing grants. We act as connectors – between donors and causes, needs and resources, challenges and solutions.
At the heart of our work is a deep understanding of our local communities. We don’t just witness the growth and challenges of our regions; we actively engage with them. By listening to and understanding the diverse voices within our communities, we can direct resources to where they are most needed and can have the greatest impact.
We believe our strength lies in partnerships. By collaborating with local nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and donors, we work collaboratively to create synergistic solutions to complex community problems.
When you support your local Community Foundation, you’re not just giving to a single entity – you’re investing in the entirety of your community. Together, we have the power to address pressing challenges, unlock potential, and nurture the seeds of growth and prosperity for everyone in our community.
We hope this annual report serves as a powerful reminder of how collective efforts, grounded in local needs and aspirations, can yield meaningful change. We never underestimate the power that comes from all of us working together to improve our community.
Croghan Launch Marks Milestone for Local Quality of Place
In 2021, the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana’s Board of Directors decided to kick-off the giving to the Foundation’s new grant program – the Quality of Place: Pathways to Progress – with a $100,000 discretionary grant to River Heritage Conservancy.
The funding supported the organization’s first project within Origin Park: a kayak and canoe launch point. Nearly two years later, their vision came to fruition with the opening of Croghan Launch in Clarksville, Indiana.
The access point allows paddlers to launch canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards into Silver Creek. People of all experience levels will be able to travel from Blackiston Mill Road to the Ohio River – a beautiful 4.5-mile stretch that will eventually access Origin Park’s Quarry Pond.
More importantly, the grant marked the first CFSI investment in a project designed to serve people with the least access to safe, high-quality public spaces and amenities. Since the Quality of Place: Pathways to Progress Grants Program’s inception, funding has been awarded to organizations with projects in Jeffersonville, New Albany, and Charlestown.
Investing to Support Local Affordable Housing
Claysburg residents welcomed a new community of neighbors this past year – thanks, in part, to a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana.
The discretionary grant – which came from CFSI’s Community Impact Fund – supported Habitat for Humanity Clark & Floyd Indiana’s Spring Hill Station Project. Located near Riddle Street in Jeffersonville, the 11-home cul-de-sac will be comprised of financially educated, invested, and empowered families, most of whom will be new homeowners for the first time in their lives.
“The lack of available affordable homes in Southern Indiana is a major issue affecting residents, their
quality of life, and their hopes of creating wealth for their families,” said Linda Speed, CFSI President
and CEO. “We hope this project will pull families in the Claysburg neighborhood out of the rental
vortex, put them into affordable housing, and begin building generational wealth.”
Nicknamed the Spring Hill Station 11, Habitat for Humanity began construction on the first five homes
in May, with a goal to complete the 11-home project by 2025. In total, these homes will serve approximately 19 adults and their children.
Local Organization’s Future Gets Planning Boost
Lillian Rose, the Hispanic Connection of Southern Indiana’s President & CEO, has dedicated her life to ensuring immigrants of all nationalities get the support they deserve to become successful, legal residents of the United States. Since 2003, her organization has helped over 2,000 families obtain their permanent legal status and U.S. citizenship.
But at 82 years old, Lillian knows her professional career will conclude soon.
With no immediate succession plan, she learned about a new grant program focused on improving the inner workings of nonprofits: the Community Foundation’s Capacity Building Grants Program. Launched in 2022, the program allows organizations to seek hard-to[1]come-by funding for their own internal capacity, leading to growth and sustainability, and allowing them to better serve their constituents.
In the program’s first round of grantmaking, the Hispanic Connection was awarded $23,710, which allowed them to hire a consultant to help develop an internal succession plan for its leadership positions.
“This grant was just what we needed,” said Lillian. “Of all of the foundations that do this work, the Community Foundation is the most compassionate and successful organization because of programs like this – it truly answers the needs of us, the nonprofits.”
Building a Monument of Reflection & Hope
“It was a flagpole. It had a concrete base with some flowers, but that’s it.”
In Mike Hemphill’s opinion, the original Henryville Veterans Memorial monument was lackluster. So, when the time came to replace it, Mike worked with the Henryville Community Association to secure support for the project. This included applying for a Community Assist Grant from CFSI, which provides funding for projects up to $5,000.
Initially, the request was not selected. Though the application was deemed appropriate, there simply wasn’t enough funding available to support every request. However, while Mike continued working on the project, unbeknownst to him, the grant process wheels were still churning behind the scenes at CFSI.
The project was included in the Foundation’s Unfunded Grants list, which spotlights applications that weren’t funded. Mailed quarterly, the list not only keeps donor advised fundholders directly involved with CFSI’s grantmaking, but it also gives unfunded requests a second chance of fulfillment.
In the case of the Henryville Veterans Memorial, it wasn’t picked up by a single fundholder. It was funded by two. Thanks to The Reinhardt Family Fund – plus the help of another anonymous donor – the organization received two separate $2,400 grants, totaling $4,800
Kids Helping Kids Improve Southern Indiana
Kids helping kids – it’s a goal of parents across the nation.
So, when Miles for Merry Miracles (M4MM) discovered their annual ‘Seasons of Service’ project in 2010 met the criteria for CFSI’s Youth Philanthropy Council (YPC) grant program, it presented an opportunity for the two primarily youth-led organizations to partner together.
“We try to get kids younger than us involved because they need to know that they can make a difference,” said Hailey Barrett, M4MM’s co-President. “Kids talk to each other. If one teen says they are having fun doing service projects that help the community, it could encourage their friends to do the same. Getting youth involved is so important because ultimately, it will only help the community more in the long run.”
More than 12 years (and $22,000 in funding) later, the two organizations are still collaborating. This year, the YPC awarded M4MM $1,000 to help fund its ‘2023 Seasons of Service’ project, which supports local families during the holiday months.
Scholarships for Class of ’23 Eclipse $1 Million
In 2023, local students helped the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana (CFSI) surpass a milestone it had not yet achieved in its 30+ years – to award more than $1 million in scholarships in a single year to students in Clark and Floyd counties.
Behind a record-breaking 161 scholarships, CFSI awarded a total of $1,208,430 in support of Southern Indiana students, which includes the high school graduating class of 2023, as well as current college enrollees. It’s the most funding – and number of scholarships – the organization has ever awarded.
Approximately $499,000 of the total amount was awarded to four recipients of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which provides funding for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation for required books and equipment for four years of study at any Indiana public or private college.
“The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship was life-changing for me,” said Alyssa Leezer, a 2023 recipient and Clarksville High School graduate. “This scholarship allows me to achieve my dreams of attending Indiana University-Bloomington and working toward a career in sports analytics. Thanks to the Lilly Scholarship, it is going to make the process much easier.”
Advisor Spotlight: J. Terrence Cody
J. Terrence Cody knows the value of thinking long-term.
Upon receiving his undergraduate degree from Xavier University and his law degree from Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, he moved back to New Albany, practicing law at his father’s firm (Cody & Neely) for 24 years.
In 1998, Cody was elected Circuit Court Judge in Floyd County, where he would be re-elected three times before retiring at the end of his fourth term on Dec. 31, 2022. On the bench, Cody saw different sides of his community, including the direct results of lack of planning and foresight. Many times, that ended with conflicts among family members that were litigated.
During Cody’s time in private practice, he routinely stressed the importance of long-term thinking to his clients. For some, those plans included charitable giving, which led to his discovery of the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana – a partnership he would keep for more than 25 years, serving as a multi-term board member and member of the organization’s investment and finance committees.
“I know that whatever my former clients chose to do, I never had to worry about their wishes being fulfilled,” Cody says. “I can trust the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana. Each day, it continues to prove that it can make a difference in our community.”
Legacy Spotlight: Donna Riley & Joe Wayne
Philanthropy knows no bounds when it comes to family involvement. While some envision family philanthropy as solely a venture for those with children, the truth is that families come in all shapes and sizes, each with its unique dynamics and opportunities for giving back.
Donna Riley and Joe Wayne are no strangers to service. In fact, they have devoted much of their adult lives to giving back. But after 18 years of marriage, this duo wants to involve family members in their next ambitious philanthropic goal: legacy giving.
“I know my days are in fewer numbers with each passing moment,” Donna said. “I don’t have kids that I can pass things on to – I have my nieces and nephews, who are like my kids. So, to have something to be able to pass along to them is exciting. It might not be a typical family bequest gift, but I know they’re going to get something so much better because of this fund.” To educate her family, Donna even took the time to write her nieces and nephews a letter explaining the fund and its purpose.
Following their passing, both Donna and Joe have separate bequest gifts that will pass to their donor advised fund, which will benefit causes, in their names, for future generations. Their beloved nieces and nephews will be listed on the fund as advisors, which the couple hopes will encourage and inspire their current (and future) family to always give back.
Looking Ahead: Triple Your Giving with GIFT VIII Matching Grant
Since 1991, CFSI has played a pivotal role in shaping the present – and inspiring the future – of our community in tangible, meaningful ways. This is exhibited by the Foundation’s grantmaking: over the last 33 years, the nearly-300 charitable funds held at CFSI have awarded more than $63 MILLION in grants – mostly to local organizations and programs.
One endowment fund, however, is responsible for nearly $4.4 million of that total: the Community Impact Fund. The sole purpose of the unrestricted Community Impact Fund is to make grants that address the highest needs and greatest priorities of our Clark and Floyd County service area.
Now, as a community, we have an opportunity to create even more of an impact for those in need.
Thanks to a generous opportunity from the Lilly Endowment, CFSI has been awarded $3,750,000 in funding to match contributions to its unrestricted Community Impact Fund as part of the Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow, Phase viii (GIFT VIII) initiative. The match is a $2-for-$1 matching grant, meaning the Foundation will need to raise $1,250,000 in contributions from our community to earn the entire match.
So, what does that mean? Simply put, this initiative presents an opportunity to award more grants annually – by a substantial margin. And as a donor, you can TRIPLE your charitable impact to any gift made to CFSI’s unrestricted Community Impact Fund – which supports the greatest needs of our community, now and forever.
