A philanthropy established in 2003 with a mission to address issues of concern to senior citizens, the Central Indiana Senior Fund has roots in a 19th-century organization founded to aid widows and orphans. and Jane Chambers McKinney Graydon founded the Indianapolis Home for Friendless Women after learning of soldiers’ widows and orphans left homeless by the Civil War.?They were especially concerned that desperate women turned to prostitution and landed in the Marion County Jail.?In 1867, the founders opened a temporary shelter with “the object of this society shall be, to protect unprotected women, house the homeless, save the erring and help the tempted.” Members of the founders’ church communities donated to furnish the home and supported it with donations. The original home was a three-story structure at 1731 N. Capitol Avenue.?The building experienced a fire in 1870 and was rebuilt.
Religious services were integral to the home’s mission.?The 1884 “Manual of the Home” clarified its mission as “a refuge for young girls who have been deceived and betrayed.”?The organization’s goal was never to house the young women permanently but to shelter them and help them live independently.
In 1910, the home was expanded and remodeled. Through this decade, approximately 75 percent of the home’s revenue came from City Council and County Commissioners appropriations, and 25 percent private donations. The all-female board of managers governed the organization and hired a succession of matrons to live in and manage the home.?Residents performed all the work necessary to maintain the home and grounds.
The home became the Indianapolis Home for Aged Women in 1913 when other charitable institutions assumed more responsibility for young women with children. In 1936, the name changed to the Indianapolis Home for the Aged to permit male residents, although no men ever moved into the home.?City and county funding ended in 1941, and the home was completely rebuilt in 1959.
In 1976, the name changed again to the Indianapolis Retirement Home. Through the year 2000, the home offered independent retirement living and assisted living to approximately 50 women, who paid nominal rent.?An endowment fund, contributions, and bequests provided most of the revenue, allowing the home to maintain an unwritten policy to house residents even if they could not pay rent.?Socially active women continued to govern the home.
The Indianapolis Retirement Home closed in 2003 when the board of directors chose philanthropy over replacing its aging building.?The board created the Central Indiana Senior Fund with the existing endowment plus funds from the sale of the home and its land.?The resulting $11 million endowment, managed by the , awards approximately $500,000 a year in grants to groups that assist senior citizens. It also has funded the State of Aging in Central Indiana website which contains current data on numerous indicators that affect the quality of life for local seniors.
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