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Overview The Indianapolis Foundation was created in 1916 by the resolution of three financial institutions, the Fletcher Trust Company, Indiana Trust Company, and Union Trust Company. It was officially introduced as one of the first community foundations in the United States in the January 5, 1916, edition of the Indianapolis Star. According to the resolution, income from the Indianapolis Foundation would “be dispersed by said companies on the written order of a board of trustees for such charitable...

Overview Wheeler Mission Ministries is a charitable organization serving the material and spiritual needs of poor individuals and families in Indianapolis, Indiana through Christian evangelism and conversion. Begun in 1893 as a home for unwed mothers by the Meridian Union of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, it was expanded by William Vincent Wheeler later that year to include a Rescue Mission. Coupling its charitable work with programs to develop a sense of self-sufficiency among the poor,...

Overview William Vincent Wheeler, founder of Wheeler Mission Ministries of Indianapolis, Indiana, was born in 1845 in Ohio and in 1853, his family moved to Indiana. After serving in the Civil War, Wheeler moved to Indianapolis where he was employed by Layman-Carey Hardware Company beginning as a delivery driver and eventually becoming head of the sales department. In 1868, Wheeler experienced a religious conversion and became active in the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church as well as becoming a...