Indianapolis Foundation

The Indianapolis Foundation The Indianapolis Foundation was one of the very first community foundations in the United States. It was created by Fletcher Savings and Trust Company president Evans Woolen and two other banks in 1916, received its first gift in 1920, and made its first grant in 1924. In the years and decades that followed, The Indianapolis Foundation became a force for good in the community as it sought to achieve the goal articulated by its first executive director, Eugene Foster: “To help in making Indianapolis not the biggest city, but rather, the best city in the land.” In 1997, The Indianapolis Foundation partnered with Hamilton County Community Foundation, then known as Legacy Fund, to form Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF). While CICF is a strategic and synergistic partnership, The Indianapolis Foundation and Hamilton County Community Foundation continue to serve the unique needs of their individual communities. The Indianapolis Foundation’s six publicly appointed board of directors work with staff to identify and seize opportunities to improve the quality of life in Marion County by taking on challenging issues, seeking and supporting innovative solutions and collaborating with community partners and donors on various projects and initiatives to transform our community for the better.