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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2008

Central Indiana Community Foundation Receives $2.6 Million Grant From Lumina Foundation To Create College Readiness Fund

INDIANAPOLIS—Lumina Foundation for Education has awarded Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) a $2.6 million grant to establish the College Readiness Fund. This grant serves as the lead gift to establish the Fund, which will expand and improve college access components for out-of-school-time programs in Central Indiana.

The College Readiness Fund will provide grants to programs that lower high school dropout rates, increase college readiness skills or increase college attendance rates. The programs focus on middle- and high-school students in Marion County who are minorities, from low-income families or the first in their families to attend college.

Cindy Simon Skjodt, CICF board member and co-chair of CICF's Education Task Force, said, Through the creation of the College Readiness Fund, doors will open for youth who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to pursue learning beyond high school. CICF has made a commitment to helping improve college attainment levels in order to improve the lives of central Indiana residents, and we are honored that Lumina Foundation has chosen CICF to assume this important initiative.

CICF will also work with Learn More Indiana and the Twenty-first Century Scholars program to integrate this work with Indiana's KnowHow2GO campaign, part of a national campaign to help students prepare for college. These partners also will collect data and report on student achievement in the areas of test scores, grade-point averages, knowledge of college-access processes, academic preparation, college enrollment and retention measures.

Lumina's start-up funding for the College Readiness Fund demonstrates our ongoing commitment to foster lasting improvements in college access for traditionally underserved student groups, said Jamie Merisotis, Lumina's president. Most students and their parents understand why it's important to go to college. Next, they need to understand how to take the right steps toward college.

CICF is developing the grant-application process and evaluation criteria for the College Readiness Fund and expects to award its first grants this summer. Potential grantees include nonprofit community organizations, K-12 institutions and colleges and universities (grants are not given to individuals, but rather to organizations). Organizations interested in applying should contact Roderick Wheeler at 634.2423.

About Lumina Foundation
Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access to and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups such as minorities, first-generation college-goers, students from low-income families and working adults. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that a society can make in its people.

For more information, contact Kevin Corcoran, Media and Policy Communication Director, at 317.951.5493 or Dianna L. Boyce, Communication Associate, at 317.951.5116.

About CICF
Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) is a $650 million public foundation transforming the lives of central Indiana residents in three ways: consulting with donors, families and their professional advisors on charitable giving; awarding grants to effective not-for-profit organizations; and providing leadership to address community needs and priorities. CICF was established in 1997 as a partnership between The Indianapolis Foundation, serving Marion County since 1916, and Legacy Fund, serving Hamilton County since 1991. For more information about CICF, call 317.634.2423 or visit www.cicf.org.

For more information contact Myra Cocca, APR, Director of Marketing and Communications, at 317.634.2423, ext. 530 (office), or 317.679.3039 (mobile).