Lilly Endowment Inc. awards $750,000 matching grant to Fulton County Community Foundation

Monday, October 26, 2026 at 12:20 PM

By Staff report

The Fulton County Community Foundation has received a matching fund grant totaling $750,000 as part of the ninth phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s initiative, Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT IX).

The Fulton County Community Foundation will use the funding to strengthen the Foundation’s unrestricted endowment, providing flexible charitable resources that allow the Foundation to respond to emerging needs, support local nonprofits, invest in community priorities, and improve quality of life for future generations.

Qualifying matching funds raised to support the community foundation’s unrestricted endowment will be eligible for a $2(grantor)-to-$1(grantee) match from the Endowment.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to expand our support for needs across the community,” said Brian Johnson, Director of Development of the Fulton County Community Foundation. “Unrestricted funds enable the foundation to respond quickly to vital local projects.”

In the past year alone, grants from Fulton County’s unrestricted funds have supported projects like Pike Memorial Park improvements, Rochester’s Summer Parks Program, and food pantry support. Dozens of other nonprofits, schools, and community groups benefit each year thanks to the generosity of donors to unrestricted funds.

Through GIFT IX, Lilly Endowment has awarded matching grants totaling $124.5 million to community foundations across Indiana. Eligible community foundations submitted proposals requesting grants ranging from $250,000 to $13.2 million based on the population of the counties they serve.

Lilly Endowment created the GIFT initiative in 1990 to help local communities in Indiana develop the philanthropic capacity to identify local needs and challenges and work with other organizations and residents to help their communities thrive. Through GIFT IX, Lilly Endowment has awarded $259.7 million to support community foundations in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. These grants are helping community foundations grow their financial resources and further strengthen their ability to address their community’s highest-priority challenges and opportunities.