Andrea Kendall, Board Chair of MLK Montessori School, was recognized as the 2024 David A. Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award recipient at an award ceremony on October 23, 2024!

Creating a realistic budget that generates revenue and provides mission-related programming can be challenging for nonprofit organizations. As organizational leaders, you rely on special events or grants to fill the gap each year while staff carry the ongoing stress of balancing the budget. But what role does the board of directors play in this equation?

Join us in celebrating Dawn Martz's contributions to Foellinger Foundation, our grantees, and our community! After more than three decades of service to the Foundation, Dawn Martz will retire on December 31, 2024. 

Andrea Kendall, MLK Montessori School's Board Chair, was recognized as this year's recipient of our David A. Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award. The 17th leadership award ceremony took place on October 23rd, 2024. Congratulations Andrea!

Just Neighbors Interfaith Homeless Network (IHN) advocates for families in crisis, so they must consider what success looks like for those they serve—which can vary from person to person, and family to family.

Foellinger Foundation is pleased to announce Amanda Jamison’s promotion to Chief Program Officer. She assumed the role on September 1, 2024, with the start of our 2025 fiscal year.

Amanda succeeds Dawn Martz in this role, who will maintain her involvement with internal operations at the Foundation through the end of the 2024 calendar year, after which she will retire.

Meet RasAmen Oladuwa (who fondly goes by Ras), our new Events and Communications Coordinator! Ras brings over a decade of experience in marketing, event planning, and community engagement to Foellinger Foundation's initiatives. Her journey into community engagement began with a personal connection to Foellinger Foundation, which supported a nonprofit that significantly impacted her during her childhood. This experience ignited her passion for creating opportunities that empower individuals and communities. Leading by listening, Ras strives to create meaningful connections through compassion and understanding. She believes that opportunity is the cornerstone of growth and is dedicated to authentically communicating the stories of the Foundation’s grantees, further connecting our Allen County community to Foellinger Foundation’s core values.

As we celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act—which was passed on July 26, 1990—Luke Labas, Director of the Inclusion Institute at The League and graduate of the Leadership Lab, reminds us that “the disability community is the only minority group that 100% of people will join, it’s just a matter of when.”

Over the last year, Foellinger Foundation’s board of directors underwent strategic planning to evaluate our grantmaking and strategic direction and ensure it aligns with its donor intent: to build self-reliance in Allen County citizens, encouraging them to move from dependence to independence to interdependence.

We are pleased to share that the results of this process affirm the Foundation’s current operations, and no major changes to our mission, vision, strategic intent, or grantmaking will occur.

Leading Art for Hope for three years gave me a glimpse into the philanthropic world, and my time as an intern at the Foellinger Foundation showed me new dimensions of how philanthropic organizations operate. I remember the kindness I was greeted with on my first day. Everyone on the Foundation’s staff went out of their way to visit me, personally introduce themselves, and welcome me to the Foundation. I think it was this genuine warmth and building of community that emanates throughout the Foellinger Foundation’s mission—in addition to the amazing atmosphere and how beautiful the building is—that made my time truly a joy.

Foellinger Foundation will transition its grantmaking software from GivingData to Foundant Technologies. Foundant is an online grant management system that will improve nonprofit organizations' grant application and management process—providing an easy-to-use interface, better communication and access to information, and opportunity for collaboration.

Foellinger Foundation welcomes Lisa Pickerman as the Program and Grants Manager. Lisa will provide crucial support to Foellinger Foundation grantees, serving as the primary point of contact for using our grant application and management system.

Lisa’s experience includes seven years at the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne as the Senior Impact Officer, where she managed grants and scholarships, interfacing with more than 100 nonprofit organizations each year. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana Institute of Technology and Certificate of Achievement for Facilitative Leadership from Purdue University.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne’s homeownership program empowers Allen County residents to increase their strength, stability, and self-reliance by helping hard-working, low- to middle-income families build and purchase their own homes. In 2023, Habitat served 20 families—and in 2024, they will serve a record 26 families, thanks to new and innovative collaborations.

Foellinger Foundation welcomed Samuel R. Graves as Board Chair as of January 1, 2024. Sam joined the Foellinger Foundation Board of Directors in 2020 and served as the Vice Chair and Secretary in 2023. Sam’s involvement with the Foundation began in 2016, and includes service on the following committees: Community Interests Grant Review Advisory, Limited Asset Improvement, Audit, Investment and Finance, Board Development, Search, Leadership, and Thrive.

Foellinger Foundation has announced a $125,000 five-year program grant to Courageous Healing in honor of late Foellinger Foundation board member, Janae McCullough-Boyd. The grant will support counseling and/or coaching for African American women in Allen County.

Afterschool programs provide safe environments for youth to continue to learn and grow. School-age children and youth spend 80% of their waking hours outside of school, so how they spend that time can be formative for continuing not only their academic development—but also their social and emotional development.

Amanda Jamison joined the Foellinger Foundation staff on November 13, 2023 as the Senior Program Officer.

Amanda relocated to Fort Wayne from Elkhart, Indiana, where she was the Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation of Elkhart County (CFEC). At CFEC, Amanda was responsible for advancing the foundation’s grantmaking and scholarship efforts. She served on task forces and community committees to address significant community issues. Amanda also coached individuals and nonprofit organizations that sought to bolster opportunities for others at CFEC. She worked across all departments to achieve the charitable intent as established by donors.

Afterschool programs provide safe environments for youth to continue to learn and grow. School-age children and youth spend 80% of their waking hours outside of school, so how they spend that time can be formative for continuing not only their academic development—but also their social and emotional development.

We are pleased to share with you that the Foellinger Foundation has announced Sarah Strimmenos as its next President and CEO.

Linda Jackson, Board Chair of Erin’s House, was recognized as the 2023 David A. Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award recipient at a ceremony on September 27, 2023. Congratulations, Linda!