COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Friends of First Christian Church Architecture Fund at the local Heritage Fund has secured a long-hoped-for $500,000 Challenge Grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation toward renovation of the iconic church tower.
That puts the current $3.2 million fund drive within $200,000 of its goal — about $40,000 closer than a few weeks ago. So donations are still being solicited at saveourtower.org.
Wilhelm Contractors is scheduled to begin renovation this month and be finished by November to repair cracks and more in the 165-foot-structure designed in 1942 by acclaimed Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.
Thanks to the generosity of local and out-of-town donors, Friends of First Christian Church raised $1.1 million, which triggered the challenge match gift.
In August 2021, Jeffris Family Foundation, which assists in development of historic sites for nonprofit organizations in several small towns and cities in the Midwest, entered into a grant agreement with Heritage Fund, Landmark Columbus Foundation and First Christian Church that would provide a $1 match for every 2 qualified dollars raised to enable the Save Our Tower project to be realized.
Jeff Logston, project leader of the Save Our Tower campaign, said he is grateful.
“The church is overwhelmed with the support from all groups and individuals inside and outside of the church, and knows that this is the best opportunity to comprehensively and generationally address the structural issues of the tower,” Logston said.
Richard McCoy, executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, reached out to Jeffris Family Foundation, headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin, knowing of its passion for preserving regionally and nationally important historic buildings in the Midwest. The private family foundation provides support for significant projects that strive for high preservation standards and show a strong degree of broad-based public support.
After visiting the Columbus community and meeting with Logston, McCoy and project architect Louis Joyner to learn the details about the proposed reconstruction of the church tower, staff members at Jeffris Family Foundation determined that the project was well-planned and carefully thought through, therefore meeting their criteria for consideration.
“It was a pleasure working with Richard McCoy and the Landmark Columbus Foundation,” said Tom Jeffris, president of Jeffris Family Foundation. “I wish all our projects had such exceptional leadership.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
