Founders' Letter

We want to share some information about ourselves and the creation of our family foundation, The Indigo Oak Fund. Our goal as a family and a non-profit is to provide support to organizations directly impacting the communities they serve. We have always believed in community service, and we raised our children to share that interest in making the world a little better where and when we can.

We are focusing our giving on four areas: Education, The Arts, Women’s & Children Issues, and Equal Justice Under the Law. There are, of course, a multitude of critically important areas which deserve support. To keep us from diluting our attention and resources too greatly, we worked as a family to narrow our focus to areas in which we felt we could have the greatest impact and about which we felt the most passionate. Each of the four areas was chosen based on our personal experiences, educational and professional backgrounds, and the values of our family members.

The most immediate impact from funds we award is achieved by assisting local non-profits helping local communities. While many larger funds focus on having a national impact, we have chosen to focus on helping smaller and regional groups achieve their goals. We aim to create and strengthen our connections with groups and communities and help provide long-term benefits. We plan to monitor and assess the effects our support is having and adjust our focus and giving as needed to maximize our impact.

We started this foundation knowing that finding the best and most effective ways to help one another is not simple. We know that progress is often incremental, and the problems we hope to help solve are extensive and sometimes seem overwhelming. Positive societal change usually takes a long time. We celebrate the progress that has occurred within our lifetimes in our areas of interest and are eager to help address the work that remains to be done. We hope that our funds will help improve communities and the world we share.

Vance and Colleen Andrus,
Founders