Heritage Fund : The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County

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Commons $3M pledge goal reached

BY BRIAN BLAIR bblair@therepublic.com May 22, 2009

Commons supporters said they have reached their $3 million goal in pledges for public support of the downtown mall.
The announcement came at Thursday’s afternoon’s annual meeting of The Heritage Fund: the Community Foundation of B a r t h o l o m ew County at Yes Cinema.
Mickey Kim, the Heritage Fund’s development chairman, relayed the latest news about the $3 million fund drive known as “A Cause in Common.”
“This is truly remarkable in the current environment,” said Kim, “and very tangible evidence of the value and importance of this project to the city.”
Kim said $1.5 million has been donated and deposited in the bank, but pledges have exceeded $3 million.
“While we believe all the pledges are rock solid,” said Kim, “you can’t spend pledges, and we recognize we are in the midst of an extraordinarily difficult period.”
Therefore, he said, the fund drive will continue. Money collected above the $3 million mark will go to fund an endowment “for future enhancements” to the structure.
Funding for the Commons is supposed to consist of $3 million from the public, $3 million from the Heritage Fund, $3 million from the Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation, and $9 million from the city.
Results of a remonstrance will determine July 8 whether the city can use $9 million this year.
The Heritage Fund’s Lisa Shafran expressed gratitude to supporters “who so unselfishly volunteered your time.”
The fund drive also is noteworthy since the fund drive for the planned Mill Race Center has stalled just shy of its goal in recent months.
Kim said the remonstrance actually helped fuel the Commons campaign.
“The community has delivered a loud and unambiguous statement that the Commons must again be our community’s gathering place.”