OVERVIEW: The Heritage Fund is the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. It supports youth development, substance abuse, neighborhood revitalization, innovation and creativity and other community needs in Indiana.
IP TAKE: The Heritage Fund is one of the largest grantmakers in Columbus and Bartholomew County. The foundation’s grantmaking is competitive and it urges grantseekers to submit “competitive applications,” so grantseekers should be prepared to make an argument for support.
It is a transparent and accessible funder than provides access to its annual reports and financial statements on its website and invites applicants to reach out with questions at info@heritagefundbc.org or 812-376-7772.
PROFILE: Established in 1976, the Heritage Fund – the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is a community foundation based in Columbus, Indiana. A group of visionary citizens created this foundation to be proactive in seeing and addressing community needs. The foundation aims to “provide responsible stewardship of gifts donated for broad charitable purposes, develop leadership to address community issues, serve as a catalyst for positive change in partnership with others and promote philanthropy broadly within the community.” It funds local efforts for youth development, substance abuse, neighborhood revitalization, innovation and creativity and other community needs.
Grants for Community Development
The Heritage Fund – the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County’s areas of impact support youth development efforts for youth and their families. Substance abuse-related systems-level solutions to prevent abuse and promote prevention. Neighborhood revitalization grants help provide affordable housing, leverage community resources and build community ownership. Innovation and creativity grants are for entrepreneurship, economic development and artistic innovation. Welcoming community grants help attract and retain talent, promote community leadership and make communities more inclusive.
The Community Fund Grants program is the most accessible source of support for grantseekers. It supports organizations and programs that “improve the quality of life for the people of Bartholomew County.”
The Community Fund accepts “competitive applications” from grantseekers on a quarterly basis.
Applications are due by end-of-day on the first of March, June, September, and December.
Successful applicants are notified approximately 12 weeks after the most recent deadline.
Apply to Community Fund Grants here.
The Women’s Giving Circle makes “high impact grants” to benefit women, children, and families throughout Bartholomew County.
Its Women Rising Leadership Grant accepts applications to increase the number and effectiveness of women in positions of leadership.
The Heritage Fund lists more than a dozen other, smaller field-of-interest grant opportunities available to community groups and individuals. These cover everything from support for youth sports and early childhood education to DEI projects and Bartholomew County’s African American community.
Each of these has its own selection criteria, application process, and eligibility requirements.
Local improvement grantees include The Community Foundation of Jackson County and Ohio County Community Foundation, both of which received over $500,000 in grants. Youth development grantees include Foundation for Youth of Bartholomew County, as well as Youth Leadership Bartholomew County, Clarity of Central Indiana Inc Silver, Boy Scouts of America, Police Athletic League of Columbus, and Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana.
The foundation has also supported human services groups, including Columbus Regional Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence, Family Service of Bartholomew County, Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center, Community Center of Hope, Reins To Recovery, and Sans Souci, which addresses poverty within the community by distributing necessary goods, providing access to workforce training, and promoting self-sufficiency.
In addition to the above grant programs, the foundation occasionally supports large scale community improvement projects that will have significant impact on the residents of Bartholomew County. There is no way to apply for this type of funding. Examples of this include a $4 million grant to the City of Columbus, Indiana in 2010 and a grant of more than $3.5 million to Columbus Redevelopment Commission to support a variety of urban development causes.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Heritage Fund typically supports arts and cultural organizations through its Innovation & Creativity impact area; however, it also gives larger grants to organizations working on arts or culture projects that promise to provide a significant benefit to the entire community. Most grants in this space have supported museums and other cultural heritage organizations. The foundation only rarely makes grants to arts groups; however, it has given to Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.
Landmark Columbus Foundation has received millions for projects to help preserve cultural heritage and landmarks, and to create programming focused on art and innovation. The Columbus Capital Foundation, which works to preserve and maintain “land and buildings of historical or architectural significance to the community,” was given $1.2 million in 2021.
Other grantees include Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum, Columbus Museum of Art and Design, kidscommons Columbus Community Children’s Museum, Yellow Trail Museum, Bartholomew County Historical Society, Columbus Chinese Association, and Su Casa, which serves the area’s Latino Community.
Grants for Education
The Heritage Fund prioritizes support for educational organizations, including local schools and districts, colleges and universities, and groups offering education services and tutoring. The largest grants have gone to education services organizations including over $1.6 million to Community Education Coalition and more than $1.5 million over the years to Landmark Columbus Foundation, which describes itself as “a public resource and thought leader for Progressive Preservation in Bartholomew County; an advocate and educator for and about cultural heritage; and a source of inspiration to advance good design for public benefit.”
Primary and secondary schools and school districts that have seen support include Bartholomew Consolidated Schools, Flat Rock Hawcreek School Corporation, Columbus Christian School, and Columbus East High School. Ivy Tech and Indiana University both saw support as well.
The foundation also offers scholarships for local students. There are currently 85 available and they cover a variety of educational opportunities. Each has its own criteria and eligibility requirements.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $5,000 and $300,000, but according to tax records, the foundation has given seven figure grants to select groups in the past. The most common amount, however, is $10,000. It gave over $4 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $88 million in assets.
Grantmaking focuses on Bartholomew County, Indiana.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits.
Community Fund grants are due on the first of March, June, September and December.
Apply here.
Some field-of-interest funds are open to applications, but each has its own criteria and eligibility requirements.
Direct general questions to the staff at info@heritagefundbc.org or 812-376-7772.
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