In late 2023, Lilly Endowment Inc. announced the eighth iteration of Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII). The Community Foundation received a Matching Fund Grant that provides a $2 to $1 match for all gifts to unrestricted endowment funds. Your gift today will have triple the impact!

To capture a little over $2 Million in matching funds, The Community Foundation needs to raise $1,012,500. As of July 1, 2024 - we are just $60,000 away from our goal!

Consider a gift today to The Unrestricted Fund of The Community Foundation or any named unrestricted fund. Your gift will be matched $2 to $1 and have a lasting impact on Muncie and Delaware County.

Finish the Match

Your gift today can help us close the $60,000 gap to finish the match!

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County received a $2.25 million Matching Fund Grant through the eighth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII). This grant is one of three funding opportunities available to The Community Foundation through GIFT VIII for which Lilly Endowment has allocated up to $210 million to support Indiana’s community foundations in their efforts to enhance quality of life across the state.  

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County will use its Matching Fund Grant to further develop its unrestricted assets. Ninety percent of the grant must be allocated to support the growth of The Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment, which over time will provide financial resources that enable The Community Foundation to respond to both present and future community needs. Lilly Endowment will provide $2 for every $1 contributed to The Community Foundation’s unrestricted endowment during GIFT VIII’s matching period, October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025, or until funds are exhausted.

The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County has designated 10 percent of its grant to invest in the Foundation’s internal capacity. Lilly Endowment will provide $1 for every $1 that The Community Foundation raises during the matching period designated for capacity-building activities related to the Foundation’s building.  

“Donors in our community have helped us meet the match during the first seven GIFT Matching Fund Grants,” said Sara Shade Hamilton, Board Chair of The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County. “We are fortunate to have this opportunity again and can’t wait to partner with our neighbors to capture this match.” 

GIFT is a series of statewide initiatives and programs that began in 1990 as part of Lilly Endowment’s efforts to help establish and strengthen community foundations in Indiana and build their capacity to address the needs of their local communities. The primary aim of GIFT is to help Indiana community foundations in all 92 of Indiana’s counties develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize and address local opportunities and challenges.  

To learn more about GIFT VIII, please visit Lilly Endowment’s website.  

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.