Funding available

If all goes well, The Portland Foundation will be able to receive half a million dollars in matching grant funds.

Executive director Doug Inman announced in a press release this morning that the foundation will be participating in the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) program, which includes matching donations through the end of 2020.

GIFT VII also includes a variety of other funding opportunities, including the potential for up to $5 million for a community initiative.

“We are honored and humbled by Lilly Endowment’s generosity to The Portland Foundation and all Indiana community foundations,” said Inman in the press release. “GIFT VII comes at a time when The Portland Foundation is focusing on enhancing its leadership in the community, so the Initiative fits perfectly into the Foundation’s 2019-2023 strategic plan.”   

In terms of matching, the program offers two opportunities. It will give $2 for every $1 donated locally to unrestricted funds or $1 for every $2 donated to restricted funds. The foundation is eligible for up to $500,000 in matching funds for donations made from the beginning of this month through Dec. 31, 2020. At least two-thirds of that money must go to unrestricted funds.

The Portland Foundation’s board this week committed to a campaign to bring in $250,000 in donations to unrestricted funds in order to receive the full $500,000.

In an interview this morning, Inman noted the impact that such matching funds can have for The Portland Foundation, especially for funds that are unrestricted.

“Unrestricted dollars are the most important for a community foundation, because as needs change for a community over the years and generations, it allows the current board and any future boards to adapt and change with the times,” he said. “They’re really important to allow a community foundation to be flexible with its giving.”

In addition to the matching offered for the community at large, Lilly is also encouraging participation from The Portland Foundation’s board of directors.

If each of the nine members of the board gives at least $500 between Jan. 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, Lilly will award an unrestricted $100,000 grant.

GIFT VII offers additional opportunities for projects that will benefit the community with Community Leadership grants that are available in two parts.

The first offers a $50,000 planning grant for addressing community challenges and opportunities. (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.

Beyond that, The Portland Foundation will have the 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.”

In addition to the campaign for the matching funds, the foundation’s board agreed it would make the donations required to earn the $100,000 unrestricted grant. That money would be added to the foundation’s unrestricted funds.

It also plans to apply for the additional community leadership planning and implementation grants and submit the concept paper for the large-scale funding.

“It’s an unbelievable unique opportunity right now to do community leadership for this community,” said Inman. “Lilly has been on a push for community foundations to be better community leaders for two or three years …”

He noted that those priorities fall in line with The Portland Foundation’s new five-year strategic plan.

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