Landmark Columbus Foundation releases 2022 annual report and nears $1M endowment milestone
Columbus, Indiana — At its annual “High Five Day” on Wednesday, May 31, Landmark Columbus Foundation celebrated the release of its 2022 Annual Report, themed Our Town, and announced that the young organization’s endowment is now at a significant milestone, just over $900,000. This new total is thanks to recent gifts from Board Chair Mark Elwood and his wife Wendy, John and Amber Elwood, and Mike and Christine Elwood. At the event, Mark Elwood challenged LCF supporters to help push the endowment total to $1m by the end of 2023.
“Along with my brothers and our spouses, we’re thrilled to build upon what so many others have done to get this endowment closer to its 2023 goal of $1m,” said Board Chair Mark Elwood. “We are grateful to other recent major donors who helped get us to this moment, including the Lilly Endowment Inc., Tony Moravec, Rick and Alice Johnson, Efroymson Family Fund, and Bob and Mary Orben, among many others.”
LCF is building this endowment to create long-term financial sustainability for the organization. While the 2023 goal is $1m, the ultimate goal is $1.6m before the organization begins to draw the funds yearly.
This endowment announcement was a key part of the organization’s celebration of the 2022 Annual Report, Our Town. While many organizations produce annual reports, LCF uses this as an opportunity to report to its many community members and look toward the future of the organization that consistently works to care for, celebrate, and advance the world-renowned heritage of Columbus, Indiana.
“We love to use High Five Day as a way to celebrate all that we accomplished in the past year and those that helped get it done,” said Executive Director Richard McCoy. “In this report, we ask, “How can we make Columbus an ‘Our Town’ for everyone? We believe that at the center of Our Town is an effort to move forward, grow, and include others.”
The 2022 Annual Report illustrates this point using the bricks that cover the sidewalks throughout downtown, each creating an example of belonging, of feeling included in a place, a part of a community. While the modern legacy of Columbus remains internationally recognized, for those that live here every day, this moves beyond the buildings, landscapes, and art to become about growing a place where everyone feels like they are welcome to belong and be included.
For the third year, this report was designed by the nationally-recognized and award-winning duo of Anna Mort and Rick Valicenti of Mort Valicenti Projects. In 2020 they designed “Before and Beyond” to help celebrate the city’s bicentennial, and in 2021 they designed “People Place Progress” to strive to connect people to this place to create progress that connects all of our cultural heritage.
Each annual report has had a limited-edition commemorative enamel pin. For a donation to the organization of any amount, supporters will receive a copy of Our Town and this year’s pin. Contributions can be made online(landmarkcolumbus-bloom.kindful.com) or by mail: 408 6th Street, Columbus, Indiana, 47201. Image credits: Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation.
Above: 2022 Annual Report; Bottom left: 2021 Annual Report; 2020 Annual Report; Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation
Media Contact
Jamie Goldsborough
jamie@landmarkcolumbus.org
About Landmark Columbus Foundation
Landmark Columbus Foundation (LCF) is a public resource and thought leader for Progressive Preservation in Bartholomew County; an advocate and educator for and about cultural heritage; and a source of inspiration to advance good design for public benefit.
To fulfill its mission, LCF accomplishes Progressive Preservation efforts that assist in caring for buildings, landscapes, and art in Bartholomew County. It serves to educate and advocate for these cultural resources through research, conservation, fundraising, and documentation. It also runs two programmatic arms, Exhibit Columbus and Columbus Design Institute. landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org
