When I contacted Elkhart Community Foundation to inquire about advice for grantees, I got a most unexpected and refreshing take on what’s going on with this small community foundation in northern Indiana. Therefore, instead of following the usual format for these interviews, what follows is an excerpt of the information that Shannon Oakes, Director of Grants Administration so graciously shared with me.

Renae Brantley: Are there any “Big Ideas” in grant making that you see on the horizon for Elkhart Community Foundation in 2013?

Shannon Oakes: We have had a very unusual thing happen to our foundation. In 2012, we received a $150 million unrestricted gift from the estate of Guy David Gundlach, which was named one of the top four philanthropic gifts in the world for the year. As a result, we are in the middle of major change at our foundation. Unrestricted gifts are usually 10-30 % of a foundation’s assets, but this gift represents 80% of our assets, which makes us look like an $800M to $1B foundation.

 One change that has happened already is the growth of the Elkhart Community Fund—it has grown from a $600,000 fund to about $8M. We have always been, and are committed to having a relationship with nonprofits in our community. We encourage them to phone us, and schedule a visit to discuss their projects.

RB: How will this change how you fund projects in the community?

Oakes: Generally, we receive about $1M in requests annually, and our average grant is about $8,000; our largest grant has been $25,000. Typically, Elkhart Community Foundation’s money is not the first money into a project—we like to see community support first. This gift will allow us to take a greater leadership role on projects in the community, and help shape the future of Elkhart County.

Our program and operational funding will certainly change, with significantly more for programs, and this will allow us to help with Previously organizations had a better chance for program funding, although there was some funding for operations

RB: How has the community reacted to this “game-changer”?

Oakes: Mr. Gundlach was not born in Indiana, but moved here as a young child with his parents and brother. The family moved away for a while, but his father died and he moved back to Elkhart and lived with his grandmother, and graduated from Elkhart High School. Although he traveled the world, and in addition to the United States, had business holdings in Switzerland, London, and Gibralter, as well as 11 homes around the world, he had ties to the Elkhart community most of his life, and he clearly loved Elkhart! His grandmother lived here, and in fact, his mother still lives here. He called Elkhart home and was known for saying that his true friends were in Elkhart. I think Elkhart embraced Mr. Gundlach…just as he embraced Elkhart! His gift has inspired others—since we received Mr. Gundlach’s gift, we’ve received more calls and more donations to the foundation than ever before.

RB: What is the Foundation doing to prepare itself for the future changes that this Gift will require?

Oakes: Over the next 18 months, the foundation will make some significant changes. We’ve created a Grant Task Force that is conducting research for us. They are working across the United States to observe and document how other foundations have/are using unexpected windfalls to benefit their communities. They’re also conducting” listening tours” around the county to discover community needs that would have previously been beyond our reach, but now we [the foundation and the community] can realistically think ahead and plan for a community that will serve the needs of future generations of Elkhart residents.

NOTE: The mission of Elkhart Community Foundation is “to improve the quality of life in Elkhart County by inspiring generosity.” The Foundation makes grants in the areas of  Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education, Health & Human Services, Youth Development, Religious, and Scholarships.

 To your success!

Renae

© Renae Brantley 2013

www.thegrantconnection.net

Looking for a fast and easy grant writing reference tool? Check out The 10-Minute Guide to Writing Successful Grants at www.thegrantconnection.net. Click on the Services/Products tab for more information.