“No one has ever become poor by giving,” the late, famed diarist Anne Frank is quoted as saying in the 1955 Pulitzer-award-winning play, The Diary of Anne Frank.
Frank is also quoted as saying in the 1974 book, The Works of Anne Frank: “Riches, power, and fame last only for a few years! Why do people cling so desperately to these transitory things? Why can’t people who have more than they need for themselves give that surplus to their fellow citizens? Why should some people have such a hard time during their few years on this earth?”
For nearly four decades, the East 91st Street Christian Church Foundation has continued to fulfill Christ’s directive: going into the world, teaching, making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), and meeting the physical needs of hurting people (Matthew 25:35-40). During 2022, E91 Foundation awarded grants totaling $117,697.
Following are those organizations and/or individuals that received grants this past year:
Afterbeat/Netherlands — $5,000 to minister to young people in the Netherlands;
Alexander Christian Foundation — $18,000 for college scholarships to Indiana students entering the ministry, and a $5,000 memorial grant in honor of Scott Read;
Allendale Christian Camp and Retreat Center — $9,536 to help young people connect with God in His creation through worship, study, and adventure;
Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project — $3,000 to help purchase market-ready hogs and get them processed into one-pound packages of ground pork for distribution to local Christian food banks in Bedford and Mitchell, Indiana;
Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) — $5,000 for “Lunch and Learn” program being offered through CCCB’s Christian Church Leadership Network (CCLN). CCLN was launched in 2016 through Cincinnati Christian University to provide tools, resources, support, and coaching to Christian Churches/Churches of Christ and their leaders;
Central Indiana Young Life — $5,000 to help new ministries, particularly under-funded programs in the Central Indiana area, enhance staff in current ministries, and discover ways to provide some of Young Life’s specialty ministries to Central Indiana;
Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF) International/Student Mission Trip — $5,100 for a student mission trip to Africa this past March (2022). In 2019, the E91 Foundation received a generous donation from the estate of Otis and Anna Jean Palmer, long-time E91 members, in the amount of $12,157, which was specifically earmarked for student mission trips. E91 Foundation fully funded Mallory, Darby, and Ethan Fehl at $1,700 each for a total of $5,100 from the Palmer Estate gift;
CMFI/Nairobi, Kenya Sports Ministry — $7,500 to support CMFI’s Missions of Hope International (MOHI) Sports Ministry and to help fund the construction of two new turf soccer fields in Narobi, Kenya;
CMFI/Shelby Hodge — $1,000 to help fund Shelby Hodge’s student mission trip to Uruguay, South America, during the summer of 2022. Shelby attends Indiana University, where she serves in Christian Student Fellowship (CSF). Shelby was selected to be a REACH intern with CMFI and served alongside a college ministry called “La Ruta” on the campus (100,000 students) of La Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo, Uruguay. Shelby’s $1,000 grant was funded from the Palmer Estate gift earmarked for student mission trips;
Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI) — $5,000 to help support CMFI missionary and long-time business owner Mariana Luna for her initial two-year commitment to a new Marketplace Ministry in Mexico City. Launched
in 2021, the focus of this new ministry is reaching Mexico’s business leaders for economic transformation and discipleship;
E91 Church/Camp Allendale — $7,025 for summer-camp scholarships. “We just wanted to write and say thank you for providing much-needed scholarships to kids of all ages here at E91,” wrote Tammy Smith, E91 Kids Ministry Director, in a thoughtful note to our Foundation board. “Many families will be blessed by your generous hearts, and many kids will grow and take next steps with Jesus due to your leadership. Thank you for helping change lives for Jesus!”;
E91 Church/Counseling Center — $500 for suicide-prevention training for church staff and leadership, and $500 for Storied Lives, a group of four to six participants that meet for 15 weeks broken up into three rounds. During each round, participants are invited to write a memory as a story. The stories that participants share often bring up unpleasant memories and sometimes trauma. The theme of death and resurrection is often incorporated, allowing God to heal past wounds, dispel shame, and give participants freedom from wounds they may have been carrying since childhood;
Fountains of Hope — $6,000 for installing two-tank, water-purifier systems at Christian schools, churches, and a Young Life Club House located in three regions of Cameroon, Africa, where children and teachers are currently dying from typhoid and/or cholera waterborne diseases;
Life Centers — $5,000 (plus a $5,000 matching grant) to send 10 staff members to the annual Heartbeat conference this past March (2022). The Heartbeat International® annual conference is the largest pregnancy-help conference in the world. Each year, it provides quality education and networking opportunities for leaders in the movement. “This annual conference is a source of encouragement, refreshment, and equipping of our staff to meet the daily challenges of ministering to thousands of moms and children right here in the greater Indianapolis area,” wrote Tom Shevlot, Life Centers Executive Director and longtime E91 church member;
Peace Restored, LLC — $10,000 to help Mooresville, Indiana-based Peace Restored increase its counseling services, which build on the model developed by East 91st Street Christian Church. The mission of Peace Restored is helping women find hope and healing from difficult life experiences, which may include trauma, abuse, grief, anxiety, depression, and more through its donation-based counseling, support groups, and classes;
Polish Christian Ministries — $9,536 to assist Polish Christian congregations to become healthy and growing;
Vision Nicaragua — $5,000 memorial grant in honor of Scott Read to Vision Nicaragua, a small non-profit out of Asheville, North Carolina. “We meet people right where they are and bring hope where they need it most,” writes Vision Nicaragua. “By partnering with us, you are helping families in Nicaragua experience compassion and care through your prayers and financial support”;
Young Life/Raceway Region — $5,000 to develop Young Life in five new multi-ethnic communities in the Indianapolis area by 2025 through financial support and culturally intelligent developers working with the community to bring about hope for lost students.
Since its founding, E91 Foundation has granted more than $1.8 million to evangelical nonprofit ministries in Indianapolis and throughout the world. The generosity of our donors makes it all possible!
Incorporated in 1994, East 91st Street Christian Church started the E91 Foundation as a long-term Christian charitable entity separate from the church’s day-to-day business and budget. The Foundation was formed to provide members and friends with an opportunity to leave a long-lasting legacy of Christian service and missions through bequests, memorials, and gifts. The Foundation adheres to Christian beliefs and principles and provides a vehicle for the broader Christian community to remember Christ and give a portion of their family’s final assets or unexpected proceeds back to God.
We invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us by donating to the E91 Foundation. While a board maintains the endowment and grants funds to qualifying entities, donors can make contributions for specific purposes or create an endowed fund. The board then uses the interest each year within the donor’s guidelines to fund missions and ministries.
If you’re interested in making a donation or memorial gift to the E91 Foundation, we can accept cash, check, or an on-line donation via the Foundation’s website (www.e91foundation.org). If a check, please make it payable to “East 91st Street Christian Church Foundation” and mail it to: East 91st Street Christian Church Foundation, 6049 E. 91st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46250. Any Foundation board member is also able to accept donations, answer questions, and help you through the process, or you can visit www.e91foundation.org to get more information or to contact us to help expand God’s kingdom. Please consider – if you haven’t already — leaving a lasting legacy for the support of Christian service.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Indeed!
Blessings,
Blair and Beth Austin, Co-Presidents
E91 Foundation
“Excel in the Grace of Giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7)
Download the 2022 Year End Report here
