OVERVIEW: The Central Indiana Community Foundation supports community development, children and youth, arts and culture, crime prevention and other local needs in Marion and Hamilton Counties in Indiana.
IP TAKE: The Central Indiana Community Foundation is an accessible community funder that welcomes grantseeker contact. It is one of the largest funders in the entire state of Indiana. Each of CICF’s different special interest funds has its own criteria, so grantseekers should read through them carefully to find the best fit. Reach out to the staff at info@cicf.org or 317-684-0943 with questions.
PROFILE: Established in 1916, the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) is a community funder based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indianapolis Foundation, established in 1916, partnered with the Hamilton County Community Foundation in 1997 to form CICF, which aims to “mobilize people, ideas, and investments to make this a community where all individuals have equitable opportunity to reach their full potential—no matter place, race, or identity.” It funds efforts for community development, children and youth, arts and culture, crime prevention, and other local needs.
Grants for Community Development
The Central Indiana Community Foundation manages community funds that are focused on Marion County, Hamilton County, and the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. It also manages family funds including the Efroymson Family Fund, the Glick Fund, the Thomas P. and Sondra D. Sheehan Charitable Foundation and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation. Some CICF funds address special interests including senior citizens, local parks, libraries, leadership, summer youth programs, women and girls and technical skills for K-12 students. Grantseekers can search using the funds by location tool, which groups them according to geographic region served.
Each fund has different eligibility criteria, application processes, and deadlines; however, funding typically falls into two different types of grants:
Responsive Grants have a common open application process.
Donor-Advised Grants are awarded according to focus areas and interests established by the DAF holders. Contact the appropriate staff member for application information.
Past local grantees include CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Catholic Charities Indianapolis, Brooke’s Place for Grieving for Young People and Bosma Industries for the Blind.
Grants for Women and Girls
Several of CICF’s funds serve women and girls in the region in various capacities; however, the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana is solely focused on providing “all who identify as women or girls” with the “equitable opportunity to reach their full potential no matter their race, place, or identity.” It has given more than $10 million to area organizations and awarded more than 500 grants.
Annual Grants are open to any Central Indiana organization whose work serves women, children, or families. Women’s Fund grants have their own grant process and guidelines.
Women’s Fund grants have supported domestic violence, childhood development, girls’ mental health, immigrant trauma, STEM education for girls of color, and women in the arts, as well as many others. A list of past grantees is available here and here.
The Women’s Fund also offers opportunities for professional development and education for nonprofit leaders looking to advance their careers and increase their organization’s impact on the local community.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Central Indiana Community Foundation believes that the arts are integral to any real plan for community improvement, and many of CICF’s funds support the arts and local artists in some way. Each of these has its own eligibility criteria and application process.
The foundation itself offers travel grants to local artists as part of its CICF Artist Ambassadors program.
The CICF Artist Ambassadors Travel Grant Program offers flexible funding to BIPOC and LGBTQ artists, as well as those with disabilities to cover travel within North America for arts-based opportunities, such as conducting institutional or field research, taking classes, or attending a fair, festival, exhibition, or live performance.
Grants are for up to $5,000.
Eligible applicants must be a professional artist, band, or artist collective for whom art is a full-time pursuit.
Applicants must work in genres that are interdisciplinary or based in the visual, performing, or literary arts
Only adult residents of Central Indiana are eligible.
Grants for Education
As with CICF’s other funding areas, local education groups are eligible for support from various CICF’s funds, including the Glick Fund, Crosser Family Foundation, Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, and The Library Fund, which supports Marion County public, academic, and high school libraries. However, each fund has its own priorities and criteria, so applicants will need to look over them carefully.
Several significant, large grants have been made to Indiana institutions of higher education through The Central Indiana Community Foundation. Many of these grants bypassed the foundation’s public grant programs, and it is not always possible to know which fund or foundation provided the donation. Grantees include several seven figure grants to Indiana University’s Simon Cancer Center and Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Butler University’s Andre B. Lacy School of Business, Ball State University’s Department of Economics, as well as many others.
K-12 and education services organization grantees include Francis W Parker School, Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund, Board of School Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis, Park Tudor School, Teach For America, Teachers Treasures, The Hope Academy, Washington Township Schools, St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center, Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust, and Indiana Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch.
The foundation provides dozens of different Scholarships for Indiana students of all types attending colleges and universities within the state. Students pursuing degrees from vocational, technical or trade schools are also eligible. Each scholarship has its own criteria, so applicants should look over them carefully.
Grants for Criminal Justice and Violence Prevention
CICF views crime and violence prevention efforts to be essential for any community improvement initiative. And while some of its affiliate funds support the issue through their grantmaking, none make it their central concern. Instead, the foundation supports these efforts through its own grantmaking programs.
The Crime Prevention Grant Program focuses on violence reduction, intervention, prevention, public safety and neighborhood-based strategies, especially in under-appreciated neighborhoods and/or communities of color.
Grants can range from $500 to $40,000
The Elevation Grant Program seeks to address the root causes of violent crime in Marion County by providing supportive services to at-risk youth and young adults, especially those who have already interacted with the criminal justice system.
Supportive services can include “employment, education, mentoring, recreation, mental health supports, and family support services.”
Grants range between $20,000 – $250,000.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $5,000 and $100,000; however, they have gone as low as $10 and as high as $10 million. The most common amount is $1,000. The foundation awarded over $45 million in grants in a recent year and held over $1 billion in assets.
Grantmaking focuses on Marion County and Hamilton County, Indiana.
This foundation accepts grant applications from nonprofits. CICF maintains a list of current open grant opportunities as well as deadlines and anticipated date of decision. The Indianapolis Foundation and the Hamilton County Community Foundation’s responsive grants each have their own application process and criteria.
Indianapolis Foundation grants:
Provide up to $50,000 for general operating support.
Are only open to applicants in Marion County.
Require applications to be submitted through the Smart Simple platform by the deadline.
Hamilton County Community Foundation grants:
Provide up to $15,000 for general operating support.
Must serve Hamilton County residents.
Require applications to be submitted through the Smart Simple platform by the deadline.
Grantseekers must first contact the community leadership officer to discuss ideas and then submit proposals online before the current deadline. Carefully read through the foundation’s FAQ before applying. New grantseekers should also review the CICF Not-for-Profit Toolkit to better understand the application process.
Sign up to receive updates about upcoming grantmaking opportunities
Direct general questions to the staff at info@cicf.org or 317-684-0943.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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