Fall Brings Our Greatest Harvest Yet: Morgan County Meets GIFT VIII Challenge!
Another year has passed, fall is here, and it is harvesting time again for many in our community. The Community Foundation is also harvesting many benefits from our hard work this past year. The greatest harvest\accomplishment is the completion of Lilly Endowment’s GIFT VIII, earning Morgan County $1 million!
Giving Indiana Funds For Tomorrow, GIFT VIII, was rolled out in late 2023 by Lilly Endowment, Inc. (LEI), who started Community Foundations all across Indiana nearly 30 years ago. LEI continues their commitment to us, assisting in our growth every few years through their GIFT initiatives. Like GIFT VIII, these GIFT cycles typically provide matching dollars for any donation. GIFT VIII committed $2 to every $1 donated to our unrestricted account. That account provides critical grants to Morgan County’s nonprofits. The more we grow that account, the more – or greater – grants we can make to Morgan County nonprofits. GIFT VIII required CFMC to raise nearly $500,000 in private donations, and if we reached that goal, Lilly Endowment committed $1 million to Morgan County, AND WE DID IT!
Many, many donors had a hand in this accomplishment. All members of 100+ Women Who Care and Guys Who Give Morgan County contributed to our matching goal by joining these critical giving circles. Thank you to all 182 collective members. I also want to thank our corporate sponsors – Pendill Wealth Management, Fairway Mortgage Team Turley, Law Office of Julie Fred, Martinsville Golf Club, Martinsville Family Eye Care, Sgt. Peppers Chicken, Baird Trust’s The Main Gowin Rice Group – who supported this mission. Our Board of Directors each made personal contributions, and countless other individuals donated, pushing us close and closer to our goal.
The lion’s share of the push, however, was primarily achieved by 4 individuals\families, 3 of whom are new donors, never having been involved with CFMC. This is important to note because that is a goal of GIFT. The intention is to inspire donations as a whole and attract new donors. This amazing small group was comprised of many demographics – young and old, retired and employed, married and widowed, urban and rural. If asked, the majority would likely deny their involvement to protect their anonymity, as humility is a common thread with these four, and you would likely never guess who they are based on their addresses. They are our common folks, like you and me, who decided they wanted to help make a difference, and they have.
GIFT VIII marks the first time in the Community Foundation’s 25 years of service that we met the matching goal. When a board member speculated that might be the case, I asked our Lilly Endowment representative if he could access the historical data. He did confirm this week that this is the first time in Morgan County has successfully completed a GIFT cycle! Receiving this $1 million from Lilly Endowment means that in 2026, CFMC can nearly double our grants to those nonprofits who apply for our grants. Our 2025 grants budget was $73,000. We awarded each of our 4 school districts a non-competitive grant of $3,000 in January, and we offered a grants cycle starting in July to all Morgan County nonprofits. Our grants committee reviewed 31 applications in September, and we awarded 10 grants totaling $60,000. With the boost from Lilly Endowment, we will likely award nearly $135,000 in 2026! This increase will hopefully allow us to make sure every organization gets funding. One of the hardest challenges for CFMC is deciding who gets help when everyone needs it.
Thank you for all that helped make GIFT VIII possible – our giving circle members, our Board of Directors, corporate sponsors, and countless contributing donors, especially the 4 individuals who made large contributions. You all responded to the call, and those in Morgan County who lean on our nonprofits during times of great need will be reaping the benefits provided by you and Lilly Endowment for many years to come.
When I stepped into this role 17 months ago, I was not sure how we would meet our GIFT VIII goal, but I knew we would. I love this job and am continually inspired at the spirit of our community. There is a simple lesson demonstrated every time we convene a quarterly meeting of 100+ Women Who Care and Guys Who Give – look what we can accomplish together. The same is true with completing GIFT VIII. None of this has been done before, and we are doing it. This all gives me hope. I know GIFT IX is around the corner, and although the details are unknown, I know Morgan County will be up to the challenge!
