Bethany Legacy Foundation Inc.

Bethany Legacy Foundation (BLF) is a conversion foundation established in January 2022 following the sale of King's Daughters Health to Norton Healthcare, with approximately $100 million in sale proceeds seeding its endowment. Now at $158.3 million in assets (FY2024), BLF operates exclusively in Jefferson County, Indiana with a mission of "Building a Healthier Jefferson County Together" — with the stated long-term ambition of making Jefferson County the healthiest county in the world.

BLF's giving philosophy is explicitly anti-symptomatic. The foundation has publicly criticized the conventional charity model, noting that despite $485 billion given annually to U.S. charities, critical problems persist. BLF therefore prioritizes systemic change over direct service, root causes over symptoms, self-reliance over dependency, and hope over relief. Organizations that present themselves as service providers filling a gap will struggle; organizations that can articulate how they change conditions, shift systems, or build lasting community capacity will resonate.

The application pathway follows a two-stage online cycle: a pre-proposal (a shorter initial submission to gauge eligibility and alignment) followed by an invitation to a full proposal. Multiple cycles run each year, with pre-proposal windows typically opening in April, June, and August, and full proposals due approximately 2 weeks later. First-time applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a Legacy Learning Labs session — periodic educational workshops where program managers walk prospective grantees through BLF's priorities and answer questions directly.

BLF is highly relationship-oriented. Repeat grantees like Children's Advocacy Center (multiple grants totaling $388,778), Town of Hanover Parks Department (multiple grants totaling $338,211), and The Freedom Center (3 grants totaling $213,730) demonstrate that the foundation builds multi-year partnerships with trusted organizations. A first engagement may be a smaller responsive or strategic grant before an organization advances to larger pillar-aligned funding.

For first-time applicants, three factors matter most: geographic specificity (programs must serve Jefferson County residents), explicit pillar alignment (Strong Youth, Empowered Adults, Stable Seniors, or Workforce & Regional Talent), and systemic framing (articulate how your work changes structures, not just serves individuals). Eligible entities include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, churches, state-accredited schools, and government entities; non-eligible organizations may apply through a qualified fiscal sponsor.

Bethany Legacy Foundation's grantmaking has grown dramatically since its 2022 founding. In FY2022, the foundation paid just $68,503 in grants (total giving: $755,497) as it built infrastructure. By FY2023, grants paid surged to $4,585,528 with total giving reaching $6,295,882 — roughly an 8x increase in one year. FY2024 assets grew to $158.3 million (up from $151.7 million in FY2023), indicating continued strong investment returns, though FY2024 giving figures are not yet public.

Among 46 tracked grants in IRS grantee data totaling $4,722,534, the average grant is $102,664. The range spans from $500 (Canaan Volunteer Fire Department — operating support) to $875,000 (City of Madison — split across three pillars). Outside the tracked period, BLF has disclosed a $2 million Strategic Investment grant (Norton King's Daughters' Health EMS Hub) and a $500,000 multi-year grant (City of Madison park project), confirming a true upper range well above $1 million for anchor community investments.

By program pillar (estimated from grantee data): - Strong Youth: present in ~40% of grants — Children's Advocacy Center, Boys & Girls Club, Jefferson County Youth Shelter, multiple school grants - Empowered Adults: present in ~35% of grants — Habitat for Humanity, Life Choices Clinic, Madison Police Department, Freedom Center - Stable Seniors: present in ~25% of grants — Lifetime Resources, Norton Cancer Center, Freedom Center senior programming - Strategic Investments: present in ~30% of grants, including a notable county-wide AED (automated external defibrillator) deployment at 9+ public institutions totaling approximately $230,000 — police, fire, schools, parks

Multi-pillar grants splitting funding equally across two or three pillars are standard at higher dollar amounts. Geography is overwhelmingly Jefferson County, Indiana: 45 of 46 grantee locations are in Indiana, with one Ohio organization (Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati PEP Project, $550,000) included — almost certainly serving Indiana residents in the Ohio River border corridor. BLF does not fund statewide or regional initiatives; hyperlocal specificity is non-negotiable.

Bethany Legacy Foundation is one of several midsize health conversion foundations in the $150–175 million asset range established through hospital transactions and operating in smaller metropolitan or rural markets. All peer foundations share a conversion origin and hyperlocal geographic mandate.

Bethany Legacy distinguishes itself from its peers in two meaningful ways. First, its four-pillar multi-generational framework (Strong Youth, Empowered Adults, Stable Seniors, Workforce) is unusually structured for a foundation of this size, creating predictable grant categories that applicants can align to with precision. Second, BLF's proactive AED infrastructure deployment — placing defibrillators at schools, police departments, fire stations, and parks across the county — reflects a community health infrastructure investment approach rarely seen among conversion peers. With $6.3 million in FY2023 total giving on a $140–151 million asset base, BLF is distributing well above the 5% private foundation minimum, signaling an aggressive early scaling posture that may increase further as Legacy 2030 initiatives mature through 2030.

Bethany Legacy Foundation entered 2025-2026 in an active growth phase under its Legacy 2030 six-year strategic plan. The most significant recent development was BLF's largest-ever single grant: a $2 million Strategic Investment to Norton King's Daughters' Health Foundation for a new EMS Transport Hub on the Madison hospital campus. The $4 million total project, with groundbreaking anticipated in late 2025, will house EMS vehicles, equipment, private crew rest areas, and a simulation lab. Uniquely, EMS staff will provide mental health crisis support in the emergency department when not on calls — directly addressing BLF's stated 2024-2025 priority around behavioral health gaps identified in the 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment.

In 2025, the City of Madison accepted a $500,000 BLF grant for Damon L. Welch Park improvements, structured as two installments of $250,000 in 2025 and 2026. The Crystal Beach Aquatic Park accessibility partnership — co-funded with Jane's Kids and Madison Parks and Recreation — entered its third consecutive year, continuing free day pass access for financially disadvantaged families.

Following the public launch of Legacy 2030, BLF announced a strategic organizational restructure in early 2025 designed to better execute the plan's goals. CEO Dora Anim (compensated at $341,858 in FY2023) has been the public face of BLF's expanded ambitions, particularly around mental health destigmatization through the Mental Health Matters movement launched in 2024. Jefferson County Recovery Organizations and substance use treatment providers received targeted grants under this initiative. BLF's grantmaking portal was recently upgraded, with the foundation announcing its open status through the new online system.

1. Attend Legacy Learning Labs first. These periodic educational workshops, run directly by BLF program managers, are the single best pre-application investment. You will learn how the current funding cycle is framed, which pillars have funding available, and what common proposal mistakes look like — before you invest time writing. CEO Dora Anim and program staff are accessible at these sessions.

2. Map your budget explicitly to BLF's pillars. Review the grantee data: organizations funded for multiple pillars (City of Madison at $875,000, Boys & Girls Club at $361,411, Town of Hanover at $338,211) explicitly allocated dollar amounts by pillar in their grant purposes (e.g., Strong Youth = $180,706 / Empowered Adults = $180,705). Structure your budget this way from the start — it signals fluency with BLF's framework.

3. Lead with systems-change narrative, not output metrics. BLF has publicly rejected the "relief model" and believes $485 billion in U.S. charitable giving has failed to solve persistent problems. Do not open with "we served 500 families last year." Open with "our initiative changes the community norm around [X]" or "we are building the infrastructure that makes [service type] self-sustaining in Jefferson County." Frame impact as structural, not numerical.

4. Build a credible sustainability plan. BLF specifically asks how programs will continue after the grant. Name specific future funders (Lilly Endowment, HRSA, Indiana FSSA, local foundations), community partners who will co-fund, or earned revenue models. Vague statements about "seeking future funding" will not satisfy reviewers.

5. Demonstrate local collaboration. BLF values multi-partner approaches. Name your Jefferson County partners explicitly — local government, schools, other nonprofits. Hanover College received a $104,000 grant in part because it partnered with Ivy Tech Madison campus. The Freedom Center received 3 grants totaling $213,730 likely due to its community integration.

6. Observe the 40% rule and gather vendor quotes. BLF funds cannot exceed 40% of your lead organization's total operating budget. Calculate this before applying. For any construction, renovation, or equipment procurement, gather two independent contractor quotes — BLF generally requires these for full proposal review.

7. Use the April or June pre-proposal cycle. These windows position you for mid-year review decisions with the most program staff bandwidth. The September cycle competes with year-end budget pressures.