Local foundation showcases achievements

The Monroe County Historical Society’s exhibit, the Community Voices Gallery, honors contributions of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County.

“The Community Voices Gallery is a place where local organizations exhibit their history endeavors of projects,” Managing Director Jill Lesh said. “It rotates about every three months.”

The Community Foundation helps manage local organizations. Rather than having money donated and spent directly, the Community Foundation invests the donations and manages them so local organizations only spend the profits from the investments arranged by the Foundation.

According to the Community Foundation, investments are wide-ranging, including a commitment of more than $150,000 during the past three years to a local middle school initiative. The Foundation also helped fund the Matchstick Endowment Initiative, where the program matches endowment contributions from other agencies. For every three dollars that an agency provides, the Community Foundation provides a dollar from its treasury. Participants of the Matchstick Endowment include the local Boys & Girls Club.

“The opportunity to build our endowment through the Matchstick grant has generated numerous exciting outcomes for the Club: a whole host of new Club volunteers, a growing endowment, a renewed visibility in our community and greater hope for our kids,” said Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Jeff Baldwin in a statement on the Community Foundation’s Web site. “Fulfilling our mission through endowment development, we look forward to an exciting future for the members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington, as we gain greater financial stability through Matchstick and our endowment growth.”

Lesh said the Community Foundation has contributed greatly to the History Center, which now houses its display. These contributions include ultraviolet light shielding on all of the Historical Center’s windows so sunlight doesn’t damage any artifacts on displays near windows.

“Another thing that the Community Center has supported us with are environmental monitors for the artifacts,” Lesh said. “They have been grantors to us on a number of projects.”

But the Historical Center’s relationship with the Community Foundation isn’t limited to grants.

“We have an endowment fund with them that they manage for us,” Lesh said.