Here for You and Our Community

Dear Friends,

At its very core, the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana is focused on serving the needs of Southern Indiana residents by learning about the issues impacting our people so that we can empower, educate and support our community.   

The events of the past few weeks have shined a light on the inequities people of color face every day, and the devastating darkness that racism still casts in our society. While we understand this is not a new problem, recent events have forced communities like ours to evaluate our values and who we are as a people.  

We understand that the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana has a lot to learn – and as this community’s foundation, it is our promise to do so. We don’t have the answers but we will use this opportunity to listen, empathize, and learn so that we can better address the needs of our entire community because we are better together.  

To our neighbors who suffer from racial injustice here at home and across the country, know that we stand with you in grief, and we stand with you against racism. We invite you to help us learn and understand what our community needs so every person in our community prospers. We invite you to scroll down and click through to our Community Needs Survey and tell us what you consider to be the greatest needs and priorities are for our region. We’ll use that information to help direct our grantmaking and make an impact in Southern Indiana.

Sincerely,

Linda S. Speed
President & CEO


Over the last several months, your Community Foundation has been working with other community partners to address the immediate needs of individuals, families and small business hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In mid-March we opened the COVID-19 Relief Fund which has already distributed over $735,000 back to our community. Over $175,000 of those funds have gone directly to nonprofits working to serve the most vulnerable populations of our community. In addition, the fund has passed through nearly $560,000 for loans to small businesses thanks to a partnership with One Southern Indiana and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County’s Small Business Emergency Loan Fund.   

We’ve also been hosting weekly calls with local leaders – providing a forum for local elected officials, and area funders who are involved in the response to share ideas and work together to have the greatest impact on the region.

And, lastly, we’ve provided a number of local resources on our website for community members who need assistance, nonprofits seeking grants and others who want to learn more about how the Foundation is responding to the pandemic. I invite you to explore the resources by following the links below.

We know there is a lot of uncertainty right now and we want you to know that we’re here for you now, and will continue to be here for you and this community well into the future. If there is anything we can do to help you, please let us know by calling us at 812-948-4662. 


As we all continue to manage this unprecedented moment, we hope you can take a moment to direct your attention to our community’s future.

Clark and Floyd County residents have likely had experiences in recent weeks that help them see our community with a clarity we often miss in our day-to-day routines. Maybe people have been out for a hike on a local trail they never used before, or maybe lack of access to our local libraries or limited internet connection posed significant challenges. Perhaps they had a positive interaction with a local organization they did not even know existed before the pandemic.

While this survey doesn’t directly address specific questions about inequities there are plenty of opportunities to answer questions about many other aspects of our community experience and to write in your thoughts on any issues that were not specifically addressed.

We hope this challenging time provides a moment to assess our community’s strengths, identify our priorities, and acknowledge our challenges. Please help us make sure our survey findings reflect the hopes and challenges you, or those close to you, are facing.

Please consider taking 20-30 minutes to complete the 2020 Priorities for Progress Community Survey by following the link below. 

Community organizations, local government entities, and local philanthropies, including the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, will use the findings to address community needs, plan, apply for grants, make grant-making decisions, and determine where to direct resources.

The quality of the information depends on a large number of responses from all areas of our community.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

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