Welborn

07/09/2026

Following a thoughtful succession planning process, Andrea Hays has been selected to serve as Welborn's next CEO & Executive Director following the future retirement of our current CEO, Pat Creech.

Andrea has dedicated her career to improving the health and well-being of our communities and has played a vital role in shaping Welborn's impact as our Chief Program & Impact Officer. Her passion for collaboration, strategic leadership, and commitment to lasting community change make her uniquely prepared to lead Welborn into its next chapter.

We are deeply grateful for Pat Creech's visionary leadership and the lasting legacy he continues to build. While Pat will remain in his role until a transition timeline is finalized, today's announcement reflects the Board's confidence in a seamless transition and a bright future for Welborn.

Please join us in congratulating Andrea on this exciting new opportunity as we continue working together to improve the quality of life throughout the Greater Evansville region.

Learn more about the leadership transition: https://welbornfdn.org/ceo-succession/

06/26/2026

Earlier this week we celebrated something much bigger than grant awards.

We celebrated the people and organizations working every day to create lasting change across the Greater Evansville region.

Welborn was privileged to invest approximately $3.1 million in 31 nonprofit organizations advancing Early Education, Healthy Communities, and Nonprofit Excellence. These two-year investments reflect more than financial support–they represent our belief that meaningful community change happens through long-term partnerships, not one-time solutions.

As our CEO, Pat Creech, shared:
"We don't exist to make grants. We exist to make change."

That philosophy continues to guide our work. The true measure of these investments won't be the dollars awarded—it will be the children who start school ready to learn, the families who experience better health, the nonprofits that become stronger and more sustainable, and the communities that flourish because of collaborative action.

To each of our grantee partners: thank you. Your innovation, leadership, and unwavering commitment to serving others inspire us every day. We are grateful to walk alongside you in this work.

📸 Review highlights and photos from this year's Grant Awards Celebration here: https://welbornfdn.org/2026-grant-awards-celebration/

Here's to the next chapter of partnership– and to the lasting impact we'll create together.

, Boys & Girls Club of Evansville, .evansville, , Evansville Trails Coalition , EVSC: Delaware Elementary School, EVSC: Evans School, EVSC: Glenwood Leadership Academy, EVSC: Lincoln School, EVSC: Lodge School, EVSC: McGary Middle School,The Foundation for Better Health, , , , Memorial Community Development Corporation, Pike County Progress Partners, Purdue University: Upgrade in Schools, , SIMA 100, , Joseph Catholic School, The Potter's Wheel, Tri-County YMCA, University of Evansville, Urban Seeds , , Wesselman Woods YMCA of Southwestern IN, Youth First, Inc.

06/08/2026

📣 LINC – Lead, Impact, Network, & Change

Join us Thursday, June 11th from 5–6 PM at United Companies (3700 Morgan Ave., main entrance facing Morgan) for our next gathering!

We’re excited to welcome Megan Craven and Tyler Stock from GROW-Welborn as they share insights from “Where You Live Matters,” an in‑depth look at the Greater Evansville Region and the strengths and challenges within our neighborhoods. They’ll also introduce SAVI, a powerful data tool that helps you explore and understand key information about your community.

This month’s Non‑Profit Volunteer Highlight is SWIRCA – Meals on Wheels, an incredible organization serving our community’s seniors with care and consistency.

Come learn, connect, and make an impact with us!

Any questions please contact Althea Stachyra at [email protected] or 812-421-7476.

05/14/2026

We use a lot of terms to help describe the work Welborn is a part of. Those terms undefined can leave a listener confused or with the wrong understanding. Here’s Eric to give our final definition as part of this Place-based series. He'll share why Welborn believes Neighborhood Revitalization is relevant to the work we invest in. For more details, visit our website at welbornfdn.org or our recent story spotlight on Place-based work 👉 https://welbornfdn.org/why-place-based-work/

05/08/2026

Where a child lives should never determine how far they can go.

But data tells us it often shapes the opportunities they encounter along the way.
That’s why Welborn’s cradle-to-career work is deeply connected to place.

From early childhood and school readiness to workforce pathways and long-term well-being, outcomes are influenced by the neighborhoods and systems surrounding families every day. Understanding those patterns helps communities move from reactive solutions to intentional support.

Tools like the Areas of Vulnerability maps through Grow/SAVI help make those realities visible—highlighting neighborhood-level trends connected to education, economic stability, housing, health, and more.

📊 Accessible regional data allows communities to ask better questions:
• Where are families facing the greatest barriers?
• Where are supports already strong?
• How do we align efforts so children don’t fall through the cracks?

Cradle-to-career work isn’t just about programs—it’s about building ecosystems of support that grow with children over time.

👉 Explore the data here:
https://growcapacity.info/where-you-live-matters/areas-of-vulnerability-neighborhoods/

Because understanding place helps us invest in possibility.

Download PDF Where you live matters Highlighting the vulnerabilities of a place, though important, does not entirely define it. The available data is just one part of the story. These neighborhoods are full of resident champions and strength. The locals know that transformation is happening through....

05/07/2026

We use a lot of terms to help describe the work Welborn is a part of. Those terms undefined can leave a listener confused or with the wrong understanding. Here’s Tyler to give a brief explanation of "Cradle-to-Career" and share why Welborn believes it is relevant to the work we invest in. For more details visit our website at welbornfdn.org or our recent story spotlight on Place-based work linked below.

👉 https://welbornfdn.org/why-place-based-work/

05/01/2026

Earlier this week, Andrea talked about Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)—the idea that lasting change starts by recognizing and building on the strengths already present in a community.

But here’s the natural next question:

👉 How do you actually identify those assets?

That’s where Grow's partnership with SAVI comes in.

SAVI isn’t just a data platform—it’s a regional data resource that helps you see your community more clearly. From local organizations and institutions to demographic trends and neighborhood-level insights, SAVI helps surface the assets that often go unnoticed.

Because asset-based work isn’t guesswork—it’s grounded in understanding:
• Who’s already doing meaningful work
• What resources already exist
• Where strengths can be leveraged for greater impact

When you combine an asset-based mindset with the right data tools, you move from good intentions to informed action.

👉 Explore your communities’ assets through SAVI: https://savi.growcapacity.info/Communities/index.html

Start with what’s strong. Then build from there.

04/29/2026

We at Welborn use a lot of terms to help describe the work we invest in. Those terms undefined can leave a listener confused or with the wrong understanding. Here’s Andrea to give a brief explanation of "Asset-Based Community Development" and share why Welborn believes it is relevant to the work we choose to be involved in. To learn more about how our efforts are converging related to this topic, read this recent story spotlight on Place-based work 👉 https://welbornfdn.org/why-place-based-work/

04/28/2026

We have a few more spots left for our Board Champions 101 session tomorrow – if you're interested in preparing yourself for service on Boards this FREE resource is a must take!

Register here 👉 https://events.humanitix.com/board-champions-101-2026

📅 April 29 | 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Welborn Community Room

04/24/2026

On Wednesday Eric described what we call "Disinvested Neighborhoods", and why we at Welborn care about them.

Across Evansville, many of the patterns we see today in housing, income, and access to opportunity didn’t happen by chance. For decades, systems and policies guided where investment would flow, and where it would not. Historical redlining maps are one example of how those decisions were formalized, reinforcing existing divides and limiting access to resources for certain areas of the city.

You can interact with Evansville's redlining map here 👉https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/map/IN/Evansville/context =13/37.9766/-87.5728

While those maps are no longer in use, their imprint remains.

When we look at current data alongside historic boundaries, similar patterns still emerge–reminding us that the effects of disinvestment can last for generations.

Change doesn’t happen quickly. It takes sustained, intentional effort to shift long-standing patterns and create more equitable outcomes.

That’s the work Welborn is committed to.

By investing in neighborhoods that have experienced prolonged disinvestment – and by working alongside the people who know them best, we’re supporting efforts that build on existing strengths and create the conditions for long-term stability and growth.

Because every neighborhood has value.

And with consistent, thoughtful investment, every community has the potential to flourish.

We invite you to explore neighborhood-level data for yourself through the Grow/SAVI platform and see patterns, and possibilities, up close.

👉 https://savi.growcapacity.info/Communities/

P.S. Take a moment to compare Evansville's redlining map alongside a snapshot of today's communities. How do you read them?