Spencer County
Community Foundation
The Community Foundation is a charitable resource devoted to our local community. We help people make meaningful gifts that improve life in Spencer County, Indiana today and for generations to come.
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Greater Good Together
The Spencer County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Community Foundation Alliance, a network of nine community foundations serving counties in southwestern Indiana. The Alliance provides management and administrative expertise to county-wide community foundations, empowering each to promote philanthropy, build endowment and improve wellbeing in our local communities. Learn more!
Recent News
The Women’s Fund of Spencer County, held and administered by the Spencer County Community Foundation, recently awarded more than $6,900 in grants to nine nonprofit organizations serving Spencer County. Grants were announced at a small reception celebrating local organizations working to improve the lives of residents. Since its founding in 2006, the Women’s Fund has been a permanent resource dedicated to strengthening Spencer County through collective giving. Its mission is to improve the quality of life in Spencer County by supporting programs that provide opportunities, encouragement, knowledge, and hope. This year’s grants support a wide range of programs—from equine-assisted learning and prevention education to mentoring, financial literacy, music, and more: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Indiana for the High School Bigs Sustainability project Isaiah 117 House Spencer/Perry for food and kitchen supplies for the House in Chrisney, Indiana Lincoln Hills Development Corporation to provide health insurance navigation services in Spencer County through the Covering Kids & Families program and expand outreach Holly’s House, Inc. for prevention programming for Spencer County students in Kindergarten–6th grade Stir-N-Up Hope Inc. for instructor certifications and continuing education in Equine-Assisted Learning Dale Women’s Organization for school supplies and Christmas gifts for Spencer County students in need Junior Achievement of Southwest Indiana to equip students with essential skills in financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra to add a music component to the Learn with Lincoln program for 4th grade Spencer County students Boys and Girls Club of Evansville for the SMART Girls program at Rockport Elementary “The Women’s Fund was established in 2006 and gave out the first grants in 2009. It has been a collaboration of a lot of women putting their thoughts, money, talents, and treasures into a Fund that they thought would pay off someday. Today demonstrates that pay off,” said Marlene Parsley, President of the Women’s Fund of Spencer County. Parsley noted that the Fund’s work continues to grow thanks to the generosity of community members. “We typically have a Mother’s Day mailing, and that is our one single fundraiser each year, but we take donations year-round. The leadership group, which is ten women, got together and reviewed all the grant applications, which were all really good requests, and we were able to grant to nine different organizations. We’re grateful for that and hope to grow grantmaking down the road.” The impact of these grants demonstrates how local giving can create lasting change. To learn more about the Women’s Fund or how to create a legacy of giving in Spencer County, contact Rachael Goldsberry at rgoldsberry@communityfoundationalliance.org
The Spencer County Community Foundation awarded a $50,000 Impact Grant to the Christian Resource Center in support of its Hope for Tomorrow program, a transformational initiative designed to break the cycle of poverty and expand economic opportunity in Spencer County. Funded through the generosity of donors to the Foundation, the Impact Grant Program was designed to provide major support for local projects that address the county’s most pressing challenges, including poverty, mental health, substance use, and economic development.
The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available in Spencer County through the Spencer County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation Alliance. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide and one scholarship in Spencer County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis, leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. The program, administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally in Spencer County through the Spencer County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation Alliance, is open to all Indiana residents who: graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2026 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2026; intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana; and meet the criteria specific to Spencer County Community Foundation. Visit spencercountycf.org/lilly-endowment-community-scholarship-program for complete information regarding the Spencer County application criteria. Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Spencer County and apply for this scholarship by visiting the Spencer County Community Foundation website. Applications must be completed and submitted by August 25, 2025, to be considered. Applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: academic performance, activities and leadership roles, family and personal statement, essays, and interview. Three finalists will be nominated by the Spencer County Community Foundation, and their names will be submitted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. Scholarship recipients will be notified in December. Lilly Endowment created LECSP for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the program’s inception. The primary purposes of LECSP are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state. Spencer County Community Foundation is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 29th year in Spencer County. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to administer the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program in Spencer County. This opportunity is truly life-changing for students,” said Emily Alvey, Regional Director of Community Engagement and Impact.
