Healthcare Foundation Of La Porte Inc.

The Health Foundation of La Porte (HFL), officially incorporated as Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Inc., is a place-based health conversion foundation established in 2016-2017 following the sale of a local hospital. With $188.7 million in assets (2023 IRS filing) and annual grants ranging from $7.6 million to $11.3 million over the past five years, HFL is the dominant philanthropic force in La Porte County, Indiana — virtually every health-related nonprofit in the county has an existing relationship with or prior funding from HFL.

HFL favors organizations with demonstrated local roots and measurable community impact. The foundation does not require a prior relationship for small grants ($5,001-$25,000), but medium ($25,001-$100,000) and large ($100,000+) grants are preceded by a structured Letter of Inquiry process that functions as a real screening step, not a formality. First-time applicants are advised to start with the Healthy Community Fund's small-grant track to establish a track record before pursuing larger awards. The 2025 grantee list confirms the foundation's preference for repeat partners: Dunebrook, HealthLinc, and Family Advocates all appear as multi-cycle recipients.

The giving philosophy centers on systems-level change in La Porte County. HFL is not a check-writer for isolated program line items but a strategic partner funding structural health determinants. Capital projects (Homeward Bound's $340,000 Karwick Village Phase 1 housing development) sit alongside multi-year operating grants (Nest Community Shelter's $150,000 operational capacity grant) in a portfolio that deliberately includes government entities — La Porte Community School Corporation received $600,000 for Health Careers programming in 2025.

A significant transition is underway entering 2026. New President and CEO Eric DeWald replaced founding CEO Maria Fruth in 2025, and the foundation completed a new strategic planning process that reconceived its three priority areas as Attainable Housing, Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL), and Mental Health & Substance Use. Applicants should map language directly to these new categories rather than the legacy Healthy Children/Living/Minds framework. Faith-based organizations are eligible provided programs serve all residents regardless of religious affiliation.

HFL's grants paid to external organizations have ranged from $3.2 million (2020, COVID-impacted) to $8.5 million (2022) over the five most recent IRS fiscal years. Total giving — including direct charitable program expenditures for Partners in Prevention and the TEN 2030 data initiative — reached $10.7 million in 2023 against $11.6 million in total revenue. The foundation's $188-192 million asset base generates $6-14 million annually in net investment income, providing a stable, endowment-driven grant budget.

In 2025, HFL awarded 73 grants totaling $4,225,723 — an average of approximately $57,900 per grant. This figure is shaped by a wide range: the second 2025 cycle alone spanned from $15,000 (Leadership La Porte County youth program) to $600,000 (La Porte Community School Corporation Health Careers).

By grant tier, the 2025 portfolio illustrated the following distribution: - Mini grants (up to $5,000): Rapid-response community needs, 2-week turnaround decisions - Small grants ($5,001-$25,000): The high-volume core tier; Catholic Charities ($25,000), La Porte County Health Department ($25,000), Women's Care Center ($25,000), and others clustered at the $25,000 ceiling - Medium grants ($25,001-$100,000): HealthLinc ($117,510), Family Advocates ($93,725), NWI Food Council ($73,000) were representative awards — note that HealthLinc's amount exceeded the $100,000 medium threshold, indicating flexible tier application - Large grants ($100,000+ for 3-year terms): La Porte Community School Corporation ($600,000), Homeward Bound ($340,000), Nest Community Shelter ($150,000), Dunebrook ($201,627 and $103,464)

By program area in the second 2025 cycle: Healthy Living received the largest share ($1,420,121, 61%), followed by Healthy Children ($511,816, 22%), Healthy La Porte ($260,703, 11%), and Healthy Minds ($118,303, 5%). With the 2026 strategic pivot toward Attainable Housing and Mental Health & Substance Use, applicants in those areas should anticipate expanded grant budgets in the next 1-2 funding cycles.

HFL is one of approximately 200 health conversion foundations in the United States — nonprofits created from the proceeds of hospital or insurer sales, chartered to reinvest in community health. The following table compares HFL to four peer foundations of similar asset scale, all classified in the NTEE Health category:

Estimated annual giving for peers is calculated at approximately 5% payout on assets; only HFL figures are confirmed from IRS Form 990 filings.

HFL's defining characteristic relative to peers is its hyper-concentrated single-county geography. La Porte County has approximately 111,000 residents, giving HFL one of the highest per-capita endowment levels among health conversion foundations of comparable asset size — roughly $1,700 per resident. Where WV First and Saint Luke's serve multi-county or metro regions with diffuse competition pools, HFL's applicants compete in a smaller arena but must demonstrate tight geographic specificity. HFL's four-tier grant structure (mini/small/medium/large) is more formalized than most peers of comparable size.

The defining event of 2025 was the first executive leadership transition in HFL's history. Founding President and CEO Maria Fruth, who built the foundation from its 2016-2017 inception through its first $50 million in grantmaking, retired in 2025. Eric DeWald was appointed as the incoming President and CEO, introducing new leadership at a strategic inflection point.

In September 2025, HFL formally crossed the $50 million cumulative investment milestone — announced alongside the second round of 2025 grants: 43 awards totaling $2,310,943. Headline grants included $600,000 to La Porte Community School Corporation for a Health Careers initiative, $340,000 to Homeward Bound for the Karwick Village Phase 1 affordable housing project, $150,000 to Nest Community Shelter for operational capacity, and $117,510 to HealthLinc for a Food as Medicine program. HealthLinc's food-as-medicine model and Homeward Bound's housing grant signal the foundation's emerging emphasis on non-clinical social determinants.

For 2026, HFL restructured its entire grantmaking operation into the Healthy Community Fund, effective February 1, 2026. A new large grants program (3-year terms, $100,000+) is scheduled to launch via request for proposals in spring 2026 — the first time HFL has offered a formal multi-year, large-scale grant vehicle. The Board of Directors includes Gary Wheeland MD (active physician member), Father Nate Edquist, and Drumm Osborn / Drummond Osborn (the same individual listed under two name variants across filing years), with current Board Chair Jeffrey Bernel and Vice Chair Jane Nelson.

HFL is a concentrated, relationship-aware funder that reviews a manageable portfolio of La Porte County organizations — which means every application receives substantive committee scrutiny. The following tips are specific to HFL's process and culture.

Frame impact in La Porte County terms, not regional terms. HFL's legal mandate and strategic identity are exclusively local. Regional statistics or statewide trend data must be grounded in La Porte County-specific figures. Cite ten2030.org — HFL's own community data hub — to demonstrate that you use the foundation's infrastructure and understand its data framework.

Match the grant tier to your project stage and relationship history. First-time applicants without a prior HFL relationship should start with a small grant ($5,001-$25,000) on the rolling cycle (February 1 – October 31) rather than targeting medium grants in year one. The 2025 grantee roster is dominated by repeat partners. Establishing a small-grant track record signals reliability before pursuing $50,000-$100,000 awards.

Use the new strategic language, not legacy categories. As of 2026, the operative framework is Attainable Housing, Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL), and Mental Health & Substance Use. Applications that reference Healthy Children or Healthy Living without mapping to the new categories will appear out of date. If your program doesn't fit the three strategic priorities, apply via the general Healthy Community Fund track and make a clear case for community health impact.

Treat the January 31 LOI deadline for medium grants as a hard constraint. The portal opens January 9, giving only 22 days before LOIs close. Strong LOIs are drafted in December and treated as standalone screening documents — not placeholders for the full application. Full applications are invitation-only after LOI review.

Include budget requests for capacity building or operating costs. HFL explicitly funds organizational sustainability alongside programs. Nest Community Shelter's $150,000 operational capacity grant in 2025 confirms this is not a marginal preference. A budget that includes overhead, staff capacity, or infrastructure costs will not be penalized.

Call or email before submitting a medium or large grant. Contact at (219) 326-2471 or contact@hflaporte.org. A pre-application conversation is not required but signals genuine engagement and gives you real-time intelligence on whether your project fits the current cycle's emphasis under the new CEO.