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Central Indiana Community Foundation

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Central Indiana Community Foundation

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We're turning Central Indiana into a place where everyone thrives.

10/10/2026

In yesterday’s Indianapolis Business Journal, CICF CEO Jennifer Bartenbach asks how we know if our communities are getting stronger.

Government, business, nonprofits and philanthropy can each hit their own goals and still miss what is happening in people’s daily lives. Jennifer makes the case for a shared, data-driven way to track progress on things like housing, childcare, education, health and workforce participation, using the strong data our region already has.

CICF is exploring what that could look like with community foundations in all nine central Indiana counties.

Read the column on page 13A of yesterday's IBJ, or in this link: https://www.ibj.com/articles/jennifer-bartenbach-we-need-a-clear-way-to-know-if-were-getting-stronger

10/09/2026

Thank you to Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre for inviting our team to the final dress rehearsal of Jagged Little Pill last week.

Through its Sneakview outreach program, Civic Theatre invites senior groups from nonprofit communities and organizations to be the live audience for the final dress rehearsal of every show. We love this tradition, which demonstrates how Civic Theatre is a theatre for people of every age, from 18-month-olds in Jr. Civic workshops to seniors in the audience.

Civic Theatre has been part of Indianapolis since 1915 and is considered the nation's longest continuously operating community theatre. Volunteers make much of that possible. Each year, Civic Theatre offers 500 chances for people to take part onstage or behind the scenes in a professional theatre, working with experienced technicians and equipment. Jr. Civic has run the state's only year-round theatre-based performing arts program since 1941, and Civic Theatre 's education and outreach programs serve more than 20,000 people each season.

We're grateful to have Civic Theatre as a partner, including through our current Stronger Partners, Brighter Futures planned giving cohort.

Jagged Little Pill is on stage now: https://www.civictheatre.org/

10/08/2026

In partnership with our youth philanthropy partner, Seeds of Caring Indianapolis:

Research suggests children involved in charitable action before age 10 are twice as likely to sustain it throughout their lifetime. Early engagement helps kids internalize these beliefs: “I can help, I have something to offer, I can make a difference.”
The question isn’t whether kids are capable of generosity.

It’s whether we’re creating space for them to practice it.

Could you start small this month? Bring kids into conversations about giving, talk with them about the work nonprofits are doing all across our community, or help them find actionable ways to make a difference. Seeds of Caring can help you locate kid-friendly volunteer opportunities in Central Indiana and CICF’s Giving Library can help you identify nonprofits that your family may want to support. https://loom.ly/bvhp4wA

10/05/2026

Want to weigh in on the future of Indianapolis' trail network?

Greenways for All, the City of Indianapolis's new master plan, proposes growing the system from 120 miles to 380, putting more than 80% of residents within a mile of a greenway. CICF's Jennifer Bartenbach and Jeff Bennett serve on the plan's advisory committee.

Read the plan and comment by October 15: https://indy.konveio.com/indy-greenways-for-all-strategic-implementation-plan

10/02/2026

Brightlane Learning has supported students experiencing homelessness for 25 years. At their recent Sparking Conversations event, founder Sally Bindley, former student Ronnie White, Hope Duke Star of Dayspring Center and the IPS School Board, and our CEO Jennifer Bartenbach talked about what has changed and what still needs to.

Jennifer's point on why this is so hard to fix: "Families live a whole life, but we treat symptoms and segments of it in the system."

Brightlane's recap covers the panel's thinking on listening to families, coordinating across housing, schools, and mental health, and why one consistent adult showing up can matter so much to a kid. Worth the read: https://brightlanelearning.org/2026/10/25-years-later-what-weve-learned/

Thank you, Brightlane Learning, for the invitation and for 25 years of this work.

10/01/2026

Our team recently sat down with the Lockerbie Square Neighborhood Association to help them build a fundraising plan tied to their strategic priorities, including how they want to engage and communicate with donors going forward.

Jennifer Turner (VP of Philanthropy) and Diana Coyle (Director of Nonprofit Services & Sustainability) led the session alongside Grace Findley, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer at The Indianapolis Foundation. Lockerbie Square works to preserve one of Indianapolis' oldest neighborhoods while keeping it a strong, connected place to live, and part of that work is making sure the organization itself is built to last.

CICF is happy to offer similar sessions to other nonprofits working through their own fundraising and sustainability questions. If that's useful to your organization, reach out.

09/29/2026

Great night on the Glick Peace Walk last week for the 2nd Annual Trailblazers Dinner, hosted by Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick and presented by Ice Miller LLP.

CICF has been part of the Cultural Trail story since the beginning. We helped found the trail more than a decade ago, and it now serves as the downtown hub for The Trailways, a greenway system that stretches across Central Indiana. Being part of so many friends and neighbors gather for dinner on the trail itself is a good reminder of what a shared public space can do for a city.

Pictured here are our team members from CICF, Charitable Advisors and The Parks Alliance of Indianapolis, along with our partners at the Herbert Simon Family Foundation. Thanks to the Cultural Trail team for a memorable evening, and to poet Chantel Massey for turning guests' memories of the trail into an original poem.

09/27/2026

More than half of CICF fundholder grants last year supported health and human services.

These are the organizations helping people meet basic needs, access care, and navigate uncertainty.

When they’re strong, communities are more stable.

Learn more about our impact in our annual report: https://loom.ly/_IJ9Gh0

09/26/2026

Each month, our team members get together over lunch at a minority-owned restaurant somewhere in Central Indiana, with our colleagues from Hamilton County Community Foundation, The Indianapolis Foundation and Women's Foundation of Indiana.

This month, we headed to The Block Bistro and Grill, where classic American favorites meet an urban twist in a space inspired by the people, cultures and food that make up neighborhoods across our community.

These lunches give our teams a chance to spend time together while discovering and supporting locally owned businesses throughout the region.

We hope you’ll take some time to explore the restaurants and small businesses on your block, and venture out to discover a few new favorites across Central Indiana, too!

09/24/2026

The work we do at CICF is centered on people, and that includes taking time to celebrate the people we get to work alongside every day.

CICF staff recently gathered to celebrate two happy occasions: Morgan Meyer, Scholarships Officer, and Nora Dietz-Kilen, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, each recently got married!

In nonprofit work, there is always another project, deadline or community need deserving our attention. Moments like these are a good reminder to make time for each other, too.

Congratulations, Morgan and Nora! We’re so happy for you both and glad we could celebrate together.

Address

615 N Alabama Street Ste 300
Indianapolis, IN
46204

Telephone

+13176342423

Website

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