April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Hawcreek-Flat Rock Area Endowment grants $23k to local groups
Recipients are:
Tom Finke, chair of the volunteer endowment board, said a few thousand dollars remain uncommitted. As such, the board has invited the rejected organizations to tweak their applications, giving them a second chance to secure funding.
"We find ourselves with more money every year as the fund grows," Finke said. "We want to give it to organizations that will put it to good use."
He said that by giving grants to organizations that make a difference in the Hawcreek and Flat Rock community, citizens' lives in those areas ultimately are enriched. Incidentally, that dynamic is the whole point of the Hawcreek-Flat Rock Area Endowment Fund, just as it is for every other endowment fund under the umbrella of Heritage Fund - The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
Money for grants comes from one-time and ongoing donor contributions, said Celeste Yonushonis, the Heritage Fund's director of finance. She said that since the endowment's creation in 2002, such donations have led to the northern Bartholomew County endowment swelling to about $653,000. Each year, 4.5 percent of the average fund balance is made available for grants, which came to $28,417 in 2016.
Yonushonis said the Hawcreek-Flat Rock Area Endowment Fund has awarded a total of $123,000 in grants since its creation.
"Many, many of the projects supported by these grants happen because of the strong volunteer culture in the community," she said. And that "allows even more to be accomplished with the grant dollars."[[In-content Ad]]
