2012 KENTON WOODEN
Director of Community Outreach at Community
Foundation of Southern Indiana
Kenton Wooden was among the inaugural class of
20 Under 40 honorees selected by Southern Indiana
Business magazine.
Back then, he was making the transition from a
marketing position at New Hope Services to a similar
role at the Community Foundation of Southern Indi-
ana, where his duties included getting the word out
about the Community Foundation’s mission.
It wasn’t long before he started leaning more
toward the fund raising and donor relations side of
the business.
“What drew me to this kind of work was the
uniqueness of how we help people give back to the
organizations they care about,” he said. “We get to
play a unique role in the community by helping indi-
viduals give back, give grants to nonprofits, but also
play a role in key community issues.”
Since the foundation was established in 1991,
Wooden said that it has pumped tens of millions of
dollars into the community. That money comes from
the foundation’s own funds, as well as donations
from philanthropists in the area.
No matter the source, all that
money flows back into com-
munity initiatives in one way or
the other.
Wooden said that when he
first came on board, the Com-
munity Foundation was a $30
million organization. Now, that
figure stands at $125 million.
“One thing that I’m proud
of is that we do a great job of
reaching out and introducing
people to the work that we do
and show them how they can support organizations
that they are passionate about in a way that’s perma-
nent and impactful,” he said. “We’ve grown because
we’ve had a really strong team.”
For the foreseeable future, Wooden said a lot of
attention will be given to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Community Foundation has already opened a
disaster relief fund to give money to organizations
and other support networks that are in immediate
need of funding.
Such a move is just the latest step in a long history
of making life better for those in need in Southern
Indiana.
“For me, the great thing about the Community
Foundation is that we truly are a community orga-
nization,” Wooden said. “We care about our com-
munity. We care about our people. Community has
always been a big part of my life. Being in a place
where you can truly make a difference has been
really important to me. To be in an organiza-
tion that touches so many pieces of our
community is a pretty unique thing.”
“WE GET TO PLAY
A UNIQUE ROLE IN
THE COMMUNITY BY
HELPING INDIVIDUALS
GIVE BACK ...”
May / June 2020
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