Connecting the community and solving critical challenges that affect people locally are the goals of the Community Foundation of Boone County.
Founded in 1991, the foundation has its roots in Zionsville. The organization was originally created with assistance from the Zionsville Optimist Club with funding from the Lilly Endowment.
“Indiana is the only state that has every single county connected to a community foundation,” said Julie Reagan, Community Foundation of Boone County CEO. “That is because of the Lilly Endowment. They recognize the importance of the foundations. The role of the community foundation is for us to be a connector, a convener, to bring people together to make our community better in a lot of different ways.”
Reagan said to make those connections, the foundation develops relationships across Boone County with community partners, including elected and appointed leaders, librarians, school superintendents and nonprofits who are working to address local needs of residents.
“Our goal is to have relationships across the board geographically and in all different areas, so that when something comes up, we can make a connection,” she said. “So, our job is not to be the experts on different areas, but to know all the experts.”
Reagan said towns like Whitestown are experiencing exponential growth, especially with the development of the LEAP district — 9,000 acres in Boone County marked for manufacturing or research and development facilities or corporate campuses. The district includes a Lilly development, expected to create more than 500 new jobs.
“We’ve been able to play a really big role in connecting with the nonprofits who are directly working with people who are moving (to Boone County), with the health department, with the schools that are seeing big changes in the population and the needs of the county,” Reagan said. “We’re able to bring people together so the right people can be involved. Just to make our community better is what we’re here for.”
Reagan said in 2024, the foundation has looked for ways to expand its reach.
“Something that the foundation started doing this year is starting to dig a little deeper than just surface-level needs, and figuring out why those needs continue,” Reagan said. “Why are children continually in a cycle where they need to get assistance to eat in the summer? What can we start doing with our connections and with our relationships to try to figure out how to break some of those cycles?”
The foundation fundraises year-round to support programs, initiatives and needs that can benefit Boone County.
“We award money and fundraise. We are, right now, at nearly $35 million in assets that we have endowed,” Reagan said. “That money has come from a lot of different sources over the years. Money comes from all over the place, and we have a certain amount each year that we award out in grants and scholarships.”
Funding sources include Boone County residents, organizations, bequests, businesses and the Lilly Endowment. In 2023, the foundation awarded $1.1 million in grants and scholarships.
Reagan said scholarship programs are especially popular in Zionsville. More than $300,000 in scholarships were awarded countywide in 2023 to 58 students at 49 schools.
“Our scholarships go to a variety of different students,” she said. “It depends on who set up the fund and what they want it to go to. So, we have everything from students who are focused on vocational and trades who know they want to go to a two-year school for a specific career, they are then eligible for scholarships we have. Then we have scholarships for medical school. Whoever came to us and set up funds, they come to us and say they are passionate about something and they want certain types of students to receive that money. Then it is up to us to make sure that the funds go to those students who meet those qualifications.”
Funding also supports youth development, community development, education, capacity building, arts and culture, health and human services and seniors to support quality of life in Boone County.
The foundation supports community facing programs such as Women of Impact, the Lionel Dubay Youth Sports Award and Boone County Leadership.
Learn more at communityfoundationbc.org.
