The Steuben County Community Foundation celebrated another successful year in helping the community prosper thanks to the generosity of its citizens and donors. The successful year, along with the announcement of significant grants and programs, was presented in SCCF’s annual meeting held at the Steuben County Event Center in the Steuben County Park at Crooked Lake. As always, the Foundation played a significant role in helping the community prosper, but in the words of President and CEO Jennifer Danic, it’s the people who team up to make projects a reality.
“We (provided) $1.5 million in grants out to the community to 233 entities. The numbers are remarkable, but the people who cash the checks and do the hard work in our community who are even more so,” Danic said.
There were 391 community donors who gave over $2.4 million in new gifts to permanent funds at the foundation. The investment return on existing assets was 13.75%. “We are thankful to a dedicated team of volunteer investment committee members and a trio of professional money managers who honor our donor’s wishes through prudent money management,” Danic said.
The Foundation finished the year with assets of $55.2, with more than $50 million in permanent assets. The Foundation is in the middle of a matching gift campaign announced by Lilly Endowment last year. All gifts made to Foundation’s unrestricted community grantmaking fund, Spirit of Community, will be matched by $2 for every $1 raised through December 2025. When finished, this campaign will add more than $1 million of permanent grantmaking dollars to the community, which is flexible and will be used for the community’s changing needs.
As part of the celebration, the Foundation distributed more than $400,000 in donor-designated legacy grants to over 75 organizations, demonstrating its dedication to fulfilling these legacies. The 75 organizations are not required to submit grant applications because the legacy donors entrusted the Community Foundation to fulfill their charitable intentions indefinitely. The Foundation is a collection of thousands of donors and hundreds of funds, each with its specific purpose. It is the Foundation’s job is to oversee and administer each of those funds according to the donor’s intent, and our mission is to “bridge the gap between those who care and the needs of our community.”
All grants undergo thorough evaluation and assessment, using four main questions: Does it meet the donors’ intent, is it innovative, is it collaborative and is it sustainable?
One example of a grant submission that epitomized these criteria was Steuben County Lakes Council’s long-term water quality monitoring program, of which the Foundation pledged more than $80,000. This program has been around for years, but more recently has evolved into a more collaborative effort with many entities, and not just the Lakes Council and the contractors it works with on monitoring Steuben County’s lakes and streams.
Of the more than $1.5 million in grants allocated by the Community Foundation, approximately one-third were directed by the Foundation’s board, another third by donors and the remaining third were designated legacy gifts from donors.
Meanwhile, SCCF board and leadership prioritized creating a role within the Foundation, focusing on cross-sector collaborations. The role has evolved to assume leadership of community projects, such as Sheets Family Park, which started with a vision from the Steuben County YMCA nearly 10 years ago. Sheets Family Park is being developed on the campus of the Steuben County YMCA in partnership with the city of Angola and Trine University. The Foundation also made a public announcement that through the Lilly Grant received by Trine University, Sheets Family Park will receive a $2.2 million of those funds.
“Today, the Foundation is pleased to step up and assist Sheets Family Park in making it to a groundbreaking and, more importantly, to a community ribbon cutting,” said Carmyn Hottell, the Foundation’s Director of Community Engagement and Leadership.
Early contributors to the park include Cameron Memorial Community Hospital, City of Angola, Dekko Foundation, First Federal Savings Bank of Angola, Gary Stroh, and local Steuben County government. Leaders from across the county teamed up with the Foundation to assist Trine University in a comprehensive grant from Lilly Endowment that was announced last week.
“This grant is a testament to our community’s ability to collaborate successfully. We don’t want to steal Trine’s Thunder, but we are excited to announce that part of that grant will be allocated directly toward Sheets Family Park,” Hottell said. “This contribution makes Trine the most significant donor for this vital community project. Thank you, Trine University!”
The Foundation is holding $4.75 million in gifts from community-designated funds for developing this park. A new phased approach to building and listing community partners and donors has been created on the Foundation’s website, SFP landing page.
“We are actively seeking funds from our community to reach our fundraising goal of $6 million to complete all phases of this park in the coming year,” Hottell said. “I am working with leadership from the City, County, YMCA, and Trine to determine the next steps collectively, and information about a groundbreaking will be shared as soon as it is finalized.”
The annual meeting event began with a delicious lunch by Lake It Easy Gourmet and concluded by a few lucky participants winning their table centerpieces to take home from Out of the Woods Florist. Photos captured by Bill Eyster Photography. Fiscal year 2025 Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 21, 2025.
