Your Community Foundation of White County's Youth Philanthropy Council (YPC) is kicking off another exciting year of youth leadership, community service, and philanthropy! Now in its fifth cohort, the program welcomes 22 high school students from across White County who are eager to make a difference in their communities. With three meetings already underway, this year's council is off to an enthusiastic start. Students are getting to know one another, exploring what it mean

It's a fair question, and one I had myself before entering the community foundation world. When you hear that the Community Foundation holds more than $21 million in charitable assets, you might wonder: If that money is meant to help the community, why don't you just spend it? The answer comes down to one of our most important responsibilities: we aren't only planning for White County today. We're planning for White County decades from now. Many of the organizations doing i

Twenty years ago, a handful of local women came together around a simple idea: when women combine their generosity, they can make a greater difference together. From that idea, Women Giving Together was born. And now for two decades, White County women have gathered, given, and built a legacy that will continue long after them. This giving circle that has brought hundreds of women together, invested in organizations throughout White County, created unforgettable community ex

This might surprise you: the Community Foundation is not a government-funded organization. In fact, quite the opposite! The charitable resources we steward have been built largely through the generosity of individuals, couples, and families who chose to invest in the future of White County. Today, your Community Foundation of White County holds more than $21 million in charitable assets across more than 150 individual funds. But that $21 million didn't come from one source,

After a long, stressful day of school, practice, rehearsal, and homework, what’s the one thing that kids can always return to as their safe haven? Their bed! A child’s bed is a foundation of support, stability, and reassurance that every day will be a new day. However, nearly 3% of all children in the United States (that’s between 1.5 to 2 million kids) don’t have their own bed to sleep in. Whether that means sleeping on the floor, sharing a bed with another individual, or su

We sometimes hear that the Community Foundation of White County is one of White County’s “best kept secrets.” While we appreciate the sentiment, we don’t want to be a secret! We want our community to know us just as much as we work every day to know our community. So, what exactly does a community foundation do? First, we aren't alone! Community foundations exist across the country and around the world, helping people invest charitable resources in the places they call hom

Veterans are the cornerstone of a community, providing strength and dedication to serving and protecting their home. However, many veterans often face unimaginable struggles that are outside of their control on a daily basis, such as PTSD, severe anxiety, and depression. An organization in Monticello, Courage Rock Stable, aims to recognize and help these veterans through equestrian methods. Courage Rock Stable is a beautiful demonstration of the bond between humans and natur

Veterans are the cornerstone of a community, providing strength and dedication to serving and protecting their home. However, many veterans often face unimaginable struggles that are outside of their control on a daily basis, such as PTSD, severe anxiety, and depression. An organization in Monticello, Courage Rock Stable, aims to recognize and help these veterans through equestrian methods. Courage Rock Stable is a beautiful demonstration of the bond between humans and natur

How do we become whole again? What is the opposite of addiction? How do we find our way and push forward? At the Comeback Cafe, they believe the answer to all of those questions is connection. The Comeback Cafe is one of the most recent additions to White County United Way and serves as a center for individuals to feel safe, relaxed, and welcomed regardless of the situations they are “coming back” from. The Comeback Cafe believes that anyone and everyone is always recovering

There is no single report that tells us exactly what White County needs. And there shouldn't be. Data can point us in the right direction. Studies can reveal trends. But understanding a community requires something more: listening to the people who live and work here. As a community foundation, one of our most important responsibilities is keeping a close pulse on our community—not only so we can respond to the needs we see today, but so we can recognize changing circumstan

Drop a single stone into still water and you'll watch the ripples travel outward, each one reaching farther than the last. Communities work much the same way. We often think of generosity as a single moment—a donation made, a volunteer shift completed, a helping hand extended to a neighbor. But kindness rarely ends with the person who first receives it. It moves outward, often quietly and unexpectedly, touching people we'll never meet and creating opportunities we'll never

If you've ever attended one of our grant reception celebrations, you've probably seen the smiles, the oversized checks, and the excitement of a project becoming reality. What you don't see is what happened months before. Many people assume grant decisions are made by one person sitting behind a desk. In reality, every grant awarded by the Community Foundation begins with a room full of dedicated volunteers. These are your neighbors. Local business leaders. Educators. Retir

Some of the most important investments a community can make aren't measured in square feet or dollars; they're measured in laughter, conversations, friendships, and memories. Thanks to an $85,000 Community Cares Grant from the Community Foundation of White County, the Town of Reynolds and Honey Creek Township are one step closer to creating a new community park that will serve residents of all ages for generations to come. For many larger communities, parks are easy to take

It's one of the questions we hear most often at the Community Foundation of White County. "What happens after I make a donation?" Most people imagine a donation follows a pretty simple path: Someone gives. A check is written. Money is spent. At your Community Foundation, there's much more to the story. Every gift represents a promise—a promise that it will be cared for responsibly, invested wisely, and used to strengthen White County in the way the donor intended. For

Across White County, local leaders are dreaming bigger, identifying needs, and creating solutions that strengthen the places we call home. Through the 2026 Community Cares Grant Cycle, your Community Foundation of White County awarded $258,682 to six projects supporting recreation, accessibility, emergency response, historic preservation, and community gathering spaces. Community Cares Grants are designed to respond to the evolving needs and opportunities throughout White Co

One of the questions we hear most often at the Community Foundation is: "If I make a donation, can I choose exactly where it goes?" It's a great question—and one that helps explain what makes a community foundation unique. The short answer is yes...and no. If you have a specific charitable passion, there are many ways to support it. We help donors establish scholarship funds, designated funds for nonprofit organizations, donor-advised funds, and other charitable vehicles

When we hear the word "infrastructure," most of us think of roads, bridges, and buildings. We picture the physical structures that help a community function. But every strong community depends on another kind of infrastructure, one that is often less visible, yet just as important. It's the network of organizations, programs, services, and people working behind the scenes to keep our communities healthy, safe, and connected. Most of us don't think much about these systems un

Over the past several weeks, our community and surrounding region have weathered storm after storm. Severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, flooding, downed trees, and power outages have become familiar sights. While the damage left behind can be overwhelming, these moments also reveal something remarkable about a community: how quickly people come together to help one another. Long before the skies clear, first responders are already answering calls. Fire departments, law e

At first glance, it did not look like enough people. Hundreds of panels, tents, supplies, tables, equipment, and logistical pieces stood waiting at the White County 4-H Fairgrounds as setup for The Wall That Heals began. Volunteers worked steadily in the summer heat, but it quickly became clear that more hands were needed. For a moment, there was uncertainty. We will be able to set up this historic memorial? Then the calls started. The City of Monticello sent employees fr

When The Wall That Heals visited Reynolds, thousands of visitors came to honor the men and women whose names appear on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Among the many stories shared throughout the exhibit was a special tribute dedicated to eight women whose service and sacrifice are permanently remembered on the Wall. Many visitors are surprised to learn that eight women lost their lives while serving in Vietnam. Most were nurses who cared for wounded service members in challe