March 2021
Greetings!          
A Letter from the SCCF President/CEO
Pictured above– SCCF Board Members with a consultant discussing strategy as part of a multi-year grant initiative provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.

Dear donor,

This past year has been a big collision of events at SCCF, and we’re still wrapping our heads around the new possibilities for our organization and community. We dedicated focus to making the most of your gifts by designing new grant guidelines and improving our support for nonprofit programs. We overhauled our accounting, grants, and scholarship software to ensure we can operate efficiently and honor our donors’ intentions as we grow. Externally, we conducted stakeholder surveys and convened community leaders to learn more about needs in the community. All of this coincided with the sale of assets from SCCF's supporting organization, the Steuben County Fiber Network, and the establishment of the Steuben County Disaster Response Fund to help our nonprofit community navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Every gift to SCCF has a ripple effect, supporting community foundation work and enabling us to award grants that make a direct impact in Steuben County. Behind the scenes, SCCF received two grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2020 that will shape the way we respond to community needs in the future. In September 2020, SCCF received a Community Leadership Grant of $100,000 as part of the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative. With this grant, SCCF is building a community leadership culture and framework for prioritizing relationship and network building. This will proactively connect community experts focused on helping nonprofits, businesses, and government entities collaborate to solve systemic county-wide problems.   
 
Additionally, the SCCF board achieved 100 percent board member giving from January 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. As a result, SCCF’s board received a $100,000 unrestricted grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in November 2020. With this grant, the SCCF board established the Community Leadership Fund. This is a permanent endowment dedicated to supporting SCCF’s developing community leadership work, forever. Proceeds from the sale of the Steuben County Fiber Network were donated to this fund in January 2021. The Community Leadership Fund will complement existing grantmaking programs and help SCCF further our mission of connecting people with causes in new ways.
 
The internal capacity-building steps and grants from Lilly Endowment enable our board to continue to seek input from the community about our role in supporting the people and organizations who make things happen in Steuben County. We know the needs of Steuben County will not be the same 50 years from now. SCCF is grateful and proud of our community volunteers and donors who kept working with us and helping shape our programs, even when we had to transition to virtual connection during COVID-19. Our goal is to continue as a permanent resource in Steuben County with the ability to connect people like you with needs that matter, no matter how far into the future they happen.  
 
Thank you for being a part of SCCF!  

Jennifer Danic 
Disaster Response Fund Awards Matching Grants
In the first 6 months of grantmaking, the Steuben County Disaster Response Fund recognized that many nonprofits were unable to host their regular fundraising events due to COVID-19. To help our local 501(c)(3) nonprofits end 2020 on a positive note, we hosted a workshop about year-end and digital fundraising. Nonprofits were incentivized to participate because this was tied to a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $2,000 per organization. Participants used the information they learned about fundraising campaigns through social media, writing letters to donors, and telling the story of their organization. Twelve local nonprofits completed the match, and many fundraised above and beyond the match amount. This is part of more than $300,000 in grant funds awarded by the Steuben County Disaster Response Fund so far.

The Steuben County Disaster Response Fund continues to accept grant applications from organizations serving Steuben County. Nonprofits may find grant guidelines and the application link on our website here: https://steubenfoundation.org/covid19/. The Steuben County Disaster Response Fund is a partnership of Steuben County Community Foundation and Steuben County United Way.

Pictured above - The Steuben County Disaster Response Fund awarded a grant of $30,000 to the county-wide vaccination clinic in January 
Nonprofit Training Series
In February, SCCF kicked off a new year of nonprofit capacity-building events with a series of virtual networking calls. As we all adapt and find new ways to stay connected, nonprofit leaders used these networking calls to share upcoming programs, discuss common challenges, and make new contacts. 

SCCF's Nonprofit Capacity Building Series was developed based on feedback in 2018 from local nonprofits who asked the community foundation to provide more technical training and support. Our goal is to help nonprofits work more efficiently, stay connected with each other, and share resources with local organizations making a difference. This year’s training series topics will include a boot camp for new board members, managing conflict, nonprofit events for friend-raising, and nonprofit CEO/Executive Director evaluation.  

During our most recent workshop on March 10, Donna Elbrecht, President and CEO of Easterseals RISE, shared practical examples of how to recruit and train new nonprofit board members. Find more information and RSVP for future trainings on our website at https://steubenfoundation.org/nonprofit-capacity-building-series/. 

Pictured above - Donna Elbrecht, President/Chief Executive Officer at Easterseals, who spoke at the March nonprofit workshop 
Thank you to our donors!
The Community Foundation would like to thank the individuals, families, and organizations who generously made donations in January and FebruaryYour support is appreciated!
Donations can be made:
 Online through the Donate Now button
Mailed to 1701 N Wayne St, Angola, IN 46703
Or brought into the office Monday through Friday 8:30 - 4:30
Randy White, Chair
Adam Miller, Vice-Chair
Kayla Warren, Treasurer
Chris Snyder, Secretary
Kathy Armstrong
Brevin Bennett
Doug Bomba
Craig Burkholder
Pam Harger
Rob Moreland
Brenda Shipe
Dr. Bill Stitt
President & CEO

Office Manager 

Program Officer

Communications Director
Steuben County Nonprofits
SCCF publishes a monthly Nonprofit Newsletter with information about grants, fundraising, and upcoming trainings. Also, check out our nonprofit directory for a listing of 501(c)(3) charitable organizations serving Steuben County.
2020 Donor Established Funds Book
Check out the list of donor established funds administered by SCCF.

Notary Public
 The Steuben County Community Foundation has a Notary Public on staff.
Contact Sandy Ferrell for details
Philanthropy Quote of the Month:
“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.”
-Amelia Earhart


The Steuben County Community Foundation is confirmed in compliance with the National Standards for US Community Foundations.