Contact: Jennifer Jones, Blue River Community Foundation Executive Director

317-392-7955

jjones@blueriverfoundation.com 12/17/2024

Blue River Community Foundation has received a grant of $5,000,000 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. This 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, counties and regions

they serve.

With the grant, Blue River Community Foundation will develop a Nonprofit Center to serve Shelby County.

The establishment of this type of facility holds the potential to address a myriad of health initiatives for

our residents. Currently, 28% of Shelby County households are considered Asset Limited Income

Constrained but Employed (ALICE). These households are having to make the difficult choice between

food, utilities, transportation, childcare, education, and other necessities for survival. Fortunately, Shelby

County is filled with kindhearted people and organizations that want to help. The nonprofit center will

allow both collocation and collaboration of our local nonprofit organizations that have made it their

mission to improve the well-being of our most vulnerable community members. The center will also

provide a space for incubation, a centralized food pantry operation, and navigator services for case

management. Healthy Shelby County will own and operate the new Nonprofit Center.

“The planning of the nonprofit center and the ultimate award from Lilly Endowment Inc. to allow us to

bring the project to fruition, is the outcome of a well-established relationship between Blue River

Community Foundation, Healthy Shelby County, MHP and local government,” shared Jennifer Jones, Blue

River Community Foundation Executive Director. “This award is a testament to the incredible teamwork

of our organizations and the importance of cross-sector collaboration to build a stronger, more resilient

community for everyone. BRCF is committed to supporting the center long term to make certain that all

families in our communities have the opportunities to enjoy a rich and fulfilling life.”

In the upcoming months, Healthy Shelby County will start the construction bid process and site renovation

of the future home of the nonprofit center on S. Miller St. near McKay Rd. The building was a generous

donation from the Reed Family: Pamela DePrez, Garry Reed, Jeffrey Reed, and Bobbi Conner. We extend

our gratitude to the family for playing a crucial role by giving the center a home.

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.

Blue River Community Foundation has served Shelby County since 1988. Since the first scholarship was

awarded from a BRCF administered scholarship fund in 1994, over $8 million dollars have been awarded

to students pursuing post-secondary education credentials. In addition to providing these forms of

educational resources in the community, BRCF strives to improve the quality of life for Shelby County

residents through various community initiatives and grant opportunities (over $27.3 million awarded

since 1994).

About Lilly Endowment

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.