GIFT grant OK'd

The Portland Foundation received its Christmas present a week early.

Executive director Doug Inman announced in a press release Tuesday that it has been approved for a half-million dollar grant as part of the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) program.

The grant money can be used to match donations in two forms — either on a $2 to $1 basis for unrestricted funds or on a 50 cents to $1 basis for restricted funds. At least two-thirds of the grant money must go toward unrestricted funds.

The Portland Foundation has chosen to use all of the grant money to match donations to unrestricted funds in an effort to maximize the impact.

“The Portland Foundation’s Board of Trustees has decided to match all of the grant funds into unrestricted endowments, to help position the foundation to award grants to address the ever-changing needs in the community,” said Inman in the press release.

The period of donation matching began Oct. 1 and extends through Dec. 31, 2020.

The Portland Foundation can earn an additional $100,000 in unrestricted funds from Lilly if each of its nine board members gives at least $500 between Jan. 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020. The local board has committed to reaching that goal.

GIFT VII offers other opportunities as well, including a $50,000 planning grant for addressing community challenges and opportunities. (During an October interview, Inman gave examples such as early childhood education and the opioid epidemic as the kinds of issues that could be addressed with such a grant.)

After planning is in place, an additional $100,000 grant is available for implementation.

There will also be an opportunity to apply for up to $5 million in additional funding to “implement an initiative that addresses a more substantial, larger impact challenge or opportunity.”

The Portland Foundation, which was founded in 1951 and is the second-oldest community foundation in Indiana, has awarded more than $16 million in grants and scholarships.

In total, Lilly has allocated $125 million to be distributed across the state’s 94 community foundations as part of GIFT VII.