Legacy Foundation’s
30th Anniversary

2022 Annual Report – Building Community

We all play an essential role in building a vibrant and inclusive community. Legacy Foundation believes that lasting and meaningful change happens when all residents are able to contribute. As a means of obtaining community feedback, Legacy Foundation partnered with local artist, Ish Muhammad, to create “String Theory.”

The interactive art piece collects residents’ hopes and wishes for their community. We invite you to explore the digital report to view wishes that have been received. These wishes represent the voices and visions of a community’s most important building blocks: its residents.

Legacy Foundation will use these collective wishes to inspire future programming and community investments across Lake County to ensure equitable opportunities for all communities.

Artwork “String Theory" by Ish Muhammad

Legacy Foundation’s
30th Anniversary

2022 Annual Report – Building Community

We all play an essential role in building a vibrant and inclusive community. Legacy Foundation believes that lasting and meaningful change happens when all residents are able to contribute. As a means of obtaining community feedback, Legacy Foundation partnered with local artist, Ish Muhammad, to create “String Theory.”

Artwork “String Theory" by Ish Muhammad
Legacy Foundation Annual Reports stacked on top of each other

The interactive art piece collects residents’ hopes and wishes for their community. We invite you to explore the digital report to view wishes that have been received. These wishes represent the voices and visions of a community’s most important building blocks: its residents.

Legacy Foundation will use these collective wishes to inspire future programming and community investments across Lake County to ensure equitable opportunities for all communities.

Legacy Foundation’s
30th Anniversary

2022 Annual Report – Building Community

We all play an essential role in building a vibrant and inclusive community. Legacy Foundation believes that lasting and meaningful change happens when all residents are able to contribute. As a means of obtaining community feedback, Legacy Foundation partnered with local artist, Ish Muhammad, to create “String Theory.”

Artwork “String Theory" by Ish Muhammad

The interactive art piece collects residents’ hopes and wishes for their community. We invite you to explore the digital report to view wishes that have been received. These wishes represent the voices and visions of a community’s most important building blocks: its residents.

Legacy Foundation will use these collective wishes to inspire future programming and community investments across Lake County to ensure equitable opportunities for all communities.

Legacy Foundation Annual Reports stacked on top of each other

Welcome

Kelly Anoe, President & CEO

Kelly Anoe

President & CEO

Carey Yukich, Board Chair

Carey Yukich

Board Chair

Welcome

Dear Friends and Supporters,

In 1992, a group of local leaders created the Legacy Foundation to serve as a stable source of support to strengthen and build our community. Thirty years later, the organization is still going strong. In 2022, we had the opportunity to reflect while celebrating our 30th Anniversary. Outgoing Board Chair Greg Gordon was recognized for his tireless work through uncharted territory, leading the organization through the “COVID years”. Carolyn Saxton announced her retirement, following nearly 9 years of transformative leadership at Legacy Foundation. This last year was also an exciting time as Legacy Foundation embarked on a new chapter of our journey, while continuing to achieve critical community impact. We are excited to be appointed as new Board Chair and President/CEO at Legacy Foundation, and are thankful for the support and commitment of our partners across Lake County.

Legacy Foundation’s annual report theme for this year is “Building Community.” Community is at the heart of everything we do at the Legacy Foundation. The isolation caused by the COVID pandemic taught us that community is critical to overall well-being. When you build community, you help people become part of something bigger than themselves. Strong communities are always evolving. They aren’t immune from tough circumstances, instead they adapt and become stronger as they cope together. Effective communities embrace diversity, working through differences of opinion to allow for multiple points of view.

John F. Kennedy challenged the nation during his 1961 inauguration address to “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” As we think about how to have the biggest impact, we think about all of the changemakers in our local communities. The residents, organizations, leaders, and donors who make a change every day. We challenge each of you to think local and “Ask not what your community can do for you; ask what you can do for your community.” Through this lens, we can begin to see the true impact of “Building Community”.

Our strength as an organization lies in the community. As we begin 2023 and reflect on 2022, we are pleased to share some highlights of our work over the past year. Thank you for being an important part of this journey with us.

Thank you,

Carey Yukich

Board Chair

Kelly Anoe

President & CEO

$3.04 Million

Grants

$75,705,654

Assets

12

New Funds

$1.36 Million

Scholarships

366

Total Funds

$2.87 Million

Gifts

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Building Community Resources

Donors

Donations to Legacy Foundation come from a broad base of individuals, families, and businesses connected by the desire to improve Lake County, Indiana. Our impact in Lake County relies on support from our generous donors.

Donor

The Pope Family Fund

The Pope Family Fund, established in memory of Shirley May Pope Hahn, supports music programs in the School City of Hobart.

Shirley was a long-time resident of Hobart, graduating from Hobart High School in 1942. She married Kenneth Wayne Pope a year later, and they welcomed five children. Both Shirley and Ken loved music. “Dad played sax and other woodwinds in the Hobart School bands for many years which won awards nationally with their band director, Revelli, who then went on to the University of Michigan,” said Sharon. Ken passed away of Alzheimer’s Disease at age 81, but played in a local band “The Rusty Pipes” occasionally in his older age.

Shirley was a member of the Hobart First United Methodist Church where she sang, taught Sunday School and volunteered in outreach programs. At age 87, she met her second husband, William Hahn, in the church choir where they both sang.

Shirley passed at age 96 in hospice, and to the end she loved singing and music. The Pope Family Fund will support future generations of Hobart “Brickies” with a passion for music.

Shirley May Pope Hahn

My mother loved to sing and participated in her church choir for many years. It was her wish to help the Hobart music programs,” said Sharon Pope, Shirley’s daughter.

Community Wishes: Equality, Diversity and Youth Activities
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Building Pathways to Opportunity

Programs

Legacy Foundation programming provides valuable community resources and education. Through Legacy Foundation’s community programming, we are creating leadership and equitable opportunities for all Lake County residents.

Program

Rise NWI

Empowering Lake County residents through voter education and active participation

Legacy Foundation’s civic engagement program, Rise NWI , makes it easier for Lake County residents to get involved in local government.

Rise NWI logo
Rise NWI volunteers

As a Rise NWI volunteer, I see the impact the program has on Lake County. When I provide Rise NWI’s election information to my community, residents are thrilled to receive nonpartisan information that is easy to understand and helps them make their plan to vote.

Rise NWI Volunteer
Betsy Hunt

Programming connects residents with learning opportunities on becoming advocates for their community by sharing best practices on connecting with elected officials and running for office. Residents are also engaged on the importance of being an active voter.

Through a partnership with the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area, Rise NWI provides Lake County voters with an easy-to-use nonpartisan platform, VOTE411, for voters to learn what races and candidates will be on their ballot.

28,000 voters educated

135 events attended

65 candidate profiles completed

11 school board candidates trained

Program

Vaccine Equity

Reducing barriers to vaccinations

Through funding provided by Urban Institute, Legacy Foundation partnered with Gary Community Partnership, Family Life Community Center, and Urban League of Northwest Indiana to provide accessible vaccinations and trusted sources of information to Lake County.

Our Shot 219 logo
Indiana Department of Health, Vaccine Equity Outreach Coordinator

It has been great to see so many local and state partners working together to provide accessible vaccinations at no-cost to residents. When I attend the pop-up events, attendees are incredibly appreciative that vaccine events are located in easy to access locations and that vaccines, that traditionally have an out-of-pocket cost for individuals without insurance, are provided.

Vaccine Equity Outreach Coordinator
Elizabeth Palacio

Programming included a series of pop-up vaccine sites, along with in-person and digital conversations on the importance of staying up to date on CDC recommended vaccinations.

Legacy Foundation partnered with the Indiana State Department of Health, Gary and East Chicago City Health Department, Methodist Hospitals, HealthLinc East Chicago, and Community HealthNet to provide free vaccinations and preventative health screenings, including blood pressure and glucose testing, during pop up vaccine events. Eight pop up events were held throughout the communities of Gary and East Chicago.

205 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines administered

130 Shingles and Tetanus Vaccines administered

Program

Legacy Learning Lab

Strengthening Lake County
Nonprofit Organizations

Legacy Learning Lab provides meaningful ongoing support to nonprofit organizations serving Lake County. Over the year, Legacy Foundation provided 12 training and development sessions to over 200 local nonprofit staff and board members.

Legacy Learning Lab logo
Members of the community attending a Legacy Learning Lab program

Legacy Foundation understands and values the importance of education. Legacy’s educational offerings have propelled the Jewels of Fortitude Foundation Inc., with confidence, into the nonprofit arena.

Jewels of Fortitude Foundation Inc.
Terri Weems

Sessions provide nonprofit organizations a space to learn, share resources, and engage with one another to strengthen their organization.

Legacy Foundation expanded its Learning Lab programming to include a partnership with Resilia, an online nonprofit capacity building platform. Through this partnership, ten Lake County serving organizations received a scholarship (valued at $2,500 each) to receive a one-year subscription to Resilia. This subscription provided nonprofit organizations with one-on-one coaching, templates, and technical assistance to strengthen their organization.

12 Training and Development Sessions

200 Staff and Board Members Reached

Community Wishes: More School Opportunities, Sustainable Future
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Building Community Support

Grants

Through fund distributions and the Foundation’s Transform Lake County grant application, Legacy Foundation awarded $3.04 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in 2022. Funding supports a variety of causes, including arts and culture, education and literacy, youth and early childhood, public safety, and inclusion and equity.

Grant Recipient

Stressbusters, Inc.

Stressbusters, Inc. focuses on stress reduction strategies for residents living within primarily minority communities.

Through programming, Stressbusters, Inc. addresses self-care methods to help with pain and stress that is part of everyday life. “Our goal is to teach alternative means to treat pain and manage stress and depression, so individuals don’t turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms,” explained Jacqueline “Jackie” Fowler, CEO of Stressbusters, Inc. The organization also hosts support group sessions and has a mobile massage therapy clinic.

A Legacy Foundation Transform Lake County Grant helped Stressbusters, Inc. connect with over 5,000 individuals in East Chicago, Hammond, and Gary during Black History Month to educate on holistic approaches to managing mental health. “Residents were full of emotions during our sessions,” Jackie said. “Many participants have never had a massage before and view it as a luxury. Through our events, we were able to provide a relaxing environment for the mind and body where individuals were able to learn coping skills and have meaningful conversations.”

Stressbusters, Inc., and the residents we serve, are so thankful for Legacy Foundation. With the support from the Foundation, we are able to provide free mental health services to Lake County’s most underserved communities.

CEO of Stressbusters, Inc.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Fowler

Grant Recipient

St. Jude House

With over 40 beds, St. Jude House is Northwest Indiana’s largest domestic violence shelter, empowering people to leave a life of abuse. 

The facility provides emergency shelter, basic needs and comprehensive services to women and their dependent children made homeless due to domestic violence. “Our goal is to provide safe haven, services, tools, and resource to each of our clients to heal and become empowered to make informed choices,” said Ryan Elinkowski, St. Jude House Executive Director. “We support survivors of domestic abuse on their path to self-sufficiency, breaking the cycle of violence in their lives.” St. Jude House also works with local law enforcement, medical professionals, and social service providers to train on domestic violence and its prevention.

To further empower their clients, St. Jude House utilized funding from Legacy Foundation’s Transform Lake County and Women in Philanthropy grants to purchase new lockers, providing clients with a private space for their personal items. “Previously, we only had small cubbies in a high-traffic hallway, giving clients no privacy when accessing personal items,” explained Ryan. “With the instillation of lockers inside the bedrooms, clients now have control over their personal belongings, which is critical to dignity and empowerment.”

Legacy Foundation continues to walk our mission in many capacities which support and strengthen our organization. Foundation grantmaking has contributed to the trauma-informed environment we continue to establish for the clients and children seeking safe shelter at St. Jude House.

St. Jude House Executive Director
Ryan Elinkowski
Community Wishes: Student Support, Women's Empowerment

View a Full List of 2022 Grant Recipients

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Building the Next Generation

Scholarships

Legacy Foundation awarded $1.36 million in scholarships to support college costs for Northwest Indiana students. Each scholarship established by individuals, businesses, and families has set criteria determined by the fund holder. Awards vary from $500 to full-tuition scholarships and may be for one year or renewable over four years.

Scholarship Recipient

Rachel Krick

John W. Anderson Scholarship

At six years old Rachel was gifted a toy dinosaur named Spike, sparking her passion for prehistoric creatures. Thanks to Spike, Rachel always knew the answer to a question that plagues so many. What did she want to do when she grew up? The answer was simple: paleontology. However, the conversation on the financial burden of attending college was never as easy. Rachel said, “the subject of financial costs that go with being a student, and the worries for how to pay for not only tuition, but food, books, and even housing, came up in every conversation I had about attending college.”

Thanks to the John W. Anderson Scholarship Fund, Legacy Foundation helped ease Rachel’s financial worries about attending the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rachel hopes after she completes her dream of becoming a paleontologist, she will work for the Field Museum in Chicago and can share her passion with students throughout Lake County, Indiana.

Rachel Krick, Scholarship Recipient

The John W. Anderson Scholarship has allowed me to focus on and enjoy my education without the added stress of constantly worrying about how I am going to afford everything.

Lem Cartman, Scholarship Recipient

If it wasn’t for Legacy Foundation, I wouldn’t have been able to attend college. With the financial burden of tuition and other expenses lifted, I was able to focus more on my studies and community involvement.

Scholarship Recipient

Lem Cartman

Roger Begnoche Scholarship and Legends Scholarship

Roger Begnoche Scholarship and Legends Scholarship
To Lem Cartman, Legacy Foundation is more than a scholarship provider. “As a first-generation college student, I relied on the resources and connections that Legacy Foundation has offered me. In addition to assisting with my college costs, the Foundation has provided me with valuable connections, networking, and mentoring opportunities,” explained Lem. Lem’s first introduction to Legacy Foundation was during his sophomore year at Valparaiso University when he received the Roger Begnoche Scholarship. The renewable scholarship allowed him to focus on his nursing studies and being a leader and mentor on campus and the wider community. During his senior year, Lem received the Legends Scholarship.

Lem plans to use his B.S. in Health Care Leadership with a minor in public health and biology as an intern at Rush Hospital under the BMO Institute for Health Equity. His goal is to complete his Master of Health Administration at Valparaiso University in May 2024.

Scholarship Recipient

Mya Bell

Milton and Ruby McClendon Scholarship

Mya Bell has always had a passion for serving her community and helping others, and by receiving the Milton and Ruby McClendon and Mary Francis Textbook Scholarships, she has been able to focus on her passion through student leadership roles at Purdue University Northwest. “Without the support from Legacy Foundation, I would not be able to dedicate as much time to being involved on campus and the community,” explained Mya. “The scholarships I received from the Foundation have assisted me in paying for my tuition and has allowed me to immerse myself in my passions while learning essential skills and making valuable relationships.”

Mya has dedicated her time and talents on campus to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed. Through her involvement, she has had the opportunity meet with local politicians and serve as a delegate in the Senate for Model Illinois Government, leading her to finding a new passion for justice, policy, and politics. She plans to graduate with a double major in Human Development and Family Studies and Political Science.

Mya Bell, Scholarship Recipient

Thanks to Legacy Foundation, I am able to use my time outside the classroom helping others and making my community, on and off campus, a better place to live.

Community Wishes: Trade School Opportunities, Community Care
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Building Opportunity

Financials

Legacy Foundation manages nearly $80 million in assets. As your trusted partner in community philanthropy, we value the importance of transparency and responsible stewardship. Legacy Foundation is audited annually to ensure our stewardship of community funds exceeds our high standards of transparency and responsibility.

Audited Financial Statement

2021 Tax Return

1992 to 2022 - 30th Anniversary logo
Community Wishes: Voter Participation, Effective Leadership
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Building Community

Staff

Legacy Foundation staff is made up of Northwest Indiana residents dedicated to helping you reach your philanthropic goals, strengthen your organization, and become a champion for your community. We are an energetic staff who uphold the highest standards, promote collaboration, and innovation. We welcome you contact us to connect!

Kelly Anoe, President & CEO

Kelly Anoe

President & CEO

Kelly Baer, Grants & Administration Coordinator

Kelly Baer

Grants & Administration Coordinator

Donna Catalano, Community Development Director

Donna Catalano

Community Development Director

Rose Cyphert, Office Manager

Rose Cyphert

Office Manager

Maranda Fishback Engquist, Marketing & Communications Manager

Maranda Fishback Engquist

Marketing & Comm. Manager

Jodi Kateiva, Scholarship Administrator

Jodi Kateiva

Scholarship Administrator

Erica Fizer Katsepas, Donor Engagement Director

Erica Fizer Katsepas

Donor Engagement Director

Michelle Ulanowski, Gift Entry and Payables Clerk

Michelle Ulanowski

Gift Entry and Payables Clerk

Edward Vega, Sr., Community Impact Director

Edward Vega, Sr.

Community Impact Director

Eranique Armstrong, Marketing & Events Intern

Eranique Armstrong

Marketing & Events Intern

Elizabeth Palacio, Vaccine Equity Outreach Coordinator

Elizabeth Palacio

Vaccine Equity Outreach Coordinator

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