For the past decade or so, the Endowment has focused its grantmaking in Indiana on strengthening the civic vitality of Hoosier communities through the Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative for community foundations and though several initiatives for Indiana United Ways.

The GIFT initiative has seen an astonishing number of community foundations take root and flourish in the state. They have become "players" in their areas; the grants they make matter; the civic connections they forge make differences. They regularly assess their progress and determine what steps will make them stronger.

The Endowment's grants to the Indiana Association of United Ways have helped build the capacity of local United Ways and inspire increased community support for them.  In November 2003, the Endowment approved a major grant for the Association's new Project 4Community, which will encourage and support collaborations among local United Ways and a range of other institutions to address critical human service needs.

In the phrase popularized by Harvard University's Robert Putnam, it is "social capital" that the community foundations and United Ways are building and sustaining, the capital that is a vital ingredient of a healthy community.

In its hometown, Indianapolis, the Endowment perennially supports many causes, all important to the community's quality of life - from homeless shelters to museums, from the zoo to affordable housing programs, from arts groups to public parks, and from United Way agencies to amateur sports programs.

The constant goal is to help Indianapolis be an inviting place to visit and to call "home."