Kosciusko County Community Foundation received a grant of $1,034,500 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through the Community Leadership Implementation Grants component of the eighth phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VIII) initiative.
The funding will be used to help Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County increase access to safe, affordable housing in Kosciusko County and to build a network of housing-related services through the creation of a housing coalition, according to a news release from the Community Foundation. Additionally, the funding will be used to engage Intend Indiana for the completion of a land bank feasibility study to gauge whether the development of a land bank is an appropriate tool for securing properties for the development of housing.
This grant is one of 30 implementation grants being awarded through GIFT VIII, a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative designed to support the efforts of community foundations and their partners to strengthen quality of life for the people in the towns, cities and counties they serve.
“Affordable housing is a foundational component of a thriving community that ensures everyone, regardless of income, has a safe place to call home. We are proud to be partnering with Habitat for Humanity and Intend Indiana to increase access to safe and affordable housing and explore ways to meet more needs of our neighbors and friends in Kosciusko County,” said Stephanie Overbey, CEO of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.
Kosciusko County Community Foundation Inc. is a public charity whose mission is to bring caring people and charitable endeavors together to inspire generosity and strengthen communities. The Community Foundation grants over $4 million annually in the areas of education, health, arts and culture, recreation, civic projects, environment and human services. Gifts made to the Community Foundation are tax-deductible. For more information, visit www.KCFoundation.org, call 574-267-1901 or visit 102 E. Market St., Warsaw.
In 1990, Lilly Endowment launched the Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative to help establish and further develop community foundations throughout Indiana. Lilly Endowment hoped that Indiana’s community foundations could enhance the quality of life in their communities by convening conversations among people of diverse ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, occupations, races and cultural traditions about their communities’ most compelling needs and opportunities as well as the best ways to address them.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.