How We Engage

Strategic Grantmaking

Empowering Progress: Creating Opportunities in Indianapolis

The mission of the Fairbanks Foundation is to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people. We strive to achieve our mission by addressing some of the city’s most significant challenges and opportunities in our three focus areas: Education, Health, and the Vitality of Indianapolis. One key element of our approach is strategic grantmaking – funding organizations and initiatives that align with the goals and strategies approved by our board of directors.

Supporting Unmet Needs and Driving Meaningful Change

The Fairbanks Foundation seeks to support organizations and initiatives led by highly effective leaders that are goal-oriented and consistently deliver strong outcomes. We are particularly interested in supporting initiatives that address unmet needs and bring about transformative change. Since 1986, the Fairbanks Foundation has awarded more than $56 million to XX organizations.

Measuring Our Impact and Sharing Insights

The Fairbanks Foundation regularly tracks the progress of and evaluates our work, including key initiatives and grants, which enables us to share data and lessons learned. We hope these insights help our community better understand and address critical issues affecting Indianapolis, as well as identify opportunities for future work.

“Our grants support unique and transformative solutions that improve the city of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people.”
Ellen Quigley Vice President & Chief Grantmaking Officer

Sharing Stories from Our Grants

Get Email Updates
Our grantees are making a difference in our community every day, and the Fairbanks Foundation aims to amplify their work. We regularly share stories and lessons learned from our grantees, including foundation-led initiatives as well as strategic grants that align with our focus areas.

Video shows impact of Catapult Indiana on students

The Fairbanks Foundation awarded a total of $750,000 to launch Catapult Indiana, a 160-hour paid training program offered by Conexus Indiana that teaches participants about advanced manufacturing and logistics through classroom work and hands-on experience. We partnered with Conexus to create a video that articulates the impact the program is having on students in Central Indiana.

View Video

Best practices from Prevention Matters inform future work

Launched in 2018, Prevention Matters was a four-year, $13.5 million initiative to fund the implementation of substance use prevention programming in Marion County schools. Following the end of the initiative, the Fairbanks Foundation released several reports about outcomes, lessons learned for effective implementation in schools, and lessons learned for funders seeking to support similar work.

Read More

Strategic Grantmaking FAQs