The Brown County Community Foundation helps our donors build legacy endowments and partner with nonprofits to address needs through grantmaking. We distribute over $1 million in grants and scholarships annually to the Brown County community!
We serve as a vehicle for donors, volunteers, and community members to identify important issues, share ideas, and build financial resources to make positive long-term change.
BCCF has been awarded grants to continue their commitment to supporting high quality early childhood learning experiences in Brown County. Through strategic alliances and recent funding awards, BCCF will continue to advance educational initiatives through their partnership with Brown County Schools.
BCCF was awarded a Community Leadership Grant of $100,000 as part of the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative. With this grant, the community foundation will continue support of their preschool scholarship program for families with three and four-years-olds who meet free and reduced lunch criteria. Over the last four years, BCCF has provided over $160,000 in grants for over 150 children to attend preschool in Brown County. National studies show these children will be more likely to graduate from high school, hold a job, avoid incarceration, and have higher lifetime earnings in their careers.
The Brown County School Corporation and community members realized a $5,000,000 proposal funded by Lilly Endowment’s Community Alliance for Promoting Education (CAPE) grant. This CAPE grant funded the establishment of The Career Resource Center (CRC), a facility that provides a multitude of educational opportunities for the citizens of Brown County. The success of the initial CAPE grant and the partnership it supported brought in an additional $1.2 million from Lilly Endowment in support to the CRC in 2006.
In 1997, The Lilly Endowment awarded $1,000,000 to BCCF as part of their Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative. This funding allowed BCCF to direct $700,000 to the building of the YMCA and $200,000 to the new public library.
The Access low-cost public transportation service started with a $20,000 grant from the Brown County Community Foundation in 2007. BCCF also arranged grant money for the 2004 Community Wide Needs Assessment which showed door-to-door transportation service as the No. 2 most unmet need in Brown County.
Brown County Community Foundation operates as a 501 (c)(3) corporation. It professionally manages and distributes income from charitable bequests consistent with the donor’s wishes and interests. In other words, BCCF manages charitable funds, making grants to local, nonprofit organizations based on advice from donors. Donors can specify a specific organization or a general area of concern within the community to which their gift be directed.
The Brown County Community Foundation inspires charitable giving, brings people and resources together, and facilitates investment to meet the greatest needs of our county.
Our Vision is a thriving Brown County community.
Our core values are:
Diversity:
We seek and embrace the participation and perspectives of people and communities that reflect who we are as a region and we are committed to ensuring all residents have the opportunity to thrive.
Integrity:
We will uphold the public trust placed in us to ensure that we exhibit the highest ethical standards, honor our commitments, remain objective and transparent, and respect all our stakeholders.
Stewardship:
We govern the organization with a “Duty of Care” and “Duty of Loyalty” to preserve, protect, and grow our resources while safeguarding donor intent in perpetuity.
Leadership:
We will lead by example, listening to the voices in our community to convene, connect, and catalyze positive change to build a better tomorrow.
Creativity:
We believe the power of imagination is greater than the challenges we face and support programs that represent creative solutions to society’s problems
Excellence:
We will enhance and reward nonprofit best practices and fund projects which represent innovation and increase efficiencies within sustainable organizations.