Kasting
A familiar face is stepping forward to lead the Johnson County Community Foundation into the future.
Kim Kasting has been announced as the new president and CEO of the foundation, assuming the role after serving as vice president of development. She has been with the organization since 2007.
The opportunity to move the community foundation forward is one Kasting is anxious to start on.
“For me, it’s meaningful because I love serving our community. This position allows me to continue to do that in an even greater capacity,” she said. “I love to see the work the community foundation does, I love working with the donors we have and connecting them to causes here locally.
“This is my home, and I love seeing the direct impact from the work we do here.”
Her experience and familiarity with the foundation’s mission made Kasting an ideal candidate, said Steve Spencer, board chair for the Johnson County Community Foundation.
“The opportunity to hire a candidate with a legacy of service and commitment to JCCF made Kim Kasting the perfect choice to become JCCF’s next president and CEO. With this transition the board of directors preserves not only continuity in the Foundation’s direction but also the integrity and reputation for service to the Johnson County,” Spencer said in a statement.
In her 16 years with the community foundation, Kasting has been involved in nearly every position. Prior to becoming the foundation’s vice president of development, she served as the director of grants and scholarships.
Throughout her tenure, she has helped increase the foundation’s assets from $11 million to $40 million. She organized and executed its first 24-hour Giving Day event, a fundraiser that generated more than $270,000 in support for local nonprofits.
Kasting successfully led, cultivated and managed Lilly Endowment Gift VI and Gift VII Matching/Leadership grants totaling $2.5 million, which resulted in a 50% increase in the community foundation’s unrestricted grantmaking and a $500k large-scale impact award to launch Indiana’s first Employer Resource Network.
“I’ve gotten to experience the fluctuations in the market, and how they affect what we’re able to do in the community,” she said. “I’ve been able to meet with numerous, diverse donors and connect them to all different causes. I’ve been able to see the grants and scholarship side when I administered those programs, and now I’m more on the development/donor side.”
Kasting takes over as president and CEO from Gail Richards, who announced her retirement from the foundation in March. She’ll continue to serve as director of special projects for the foundation until March 2024.
To be able to continue the work Richards has done and expand the community foundation’s work is incredibly important to Kasting — particularly considering how special the foundation’s work is.
“Everything we do touches someone’s life here in Johnson County. The ripple effect from what we do goes out and impacts everyone,” she said. “Whether that’s a grant to a nonprofit, a scholarship to a youth here in our community, whether we’re putting a park in and helping with those kinds of things, whether we’re installing sculptures and community art. All community members can benefit from the work we do here.”
