HANCOCK COUNTY — It’s been three decades since Tom Miller, Joe Smith, Ron Pritzke and a handful of other visionaries put their heads together to create the Hancock County Community Foundation.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the organization, which manages funds that now generate enough interest to distribute roughly $2 million a year.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years,” said Miller, who back then was the director of the Hancock Economic Development Council.
He looks back fondly on those early days of forming the foundation.
“It was a very exciting time, and a lot of work went into it. It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever worked on in my life,” said Miller, who founded his Thomas P. Miller &Associates consulting business around the same time.
The McCordsville man said a number of key players came together to make the local community foundation a reality. They answered the call sent out by Lilly Endowment, which challenged communities throughout the state to start their own foundations, offering upwards of $1 million in matching funds to those who did so. That initial investment has grown to an endowment valued today at $57 million.
“It seemed it would be a good opportunity for the community to explore, so a small steering group formed and decided it made sense to proceed. And the rest is history,” Miller said.
Bert Curry was along for the ride, having served as a founding board member for the Hancock County Community Foundaiton and the first board president.
“It’s very exciting to have seen it grow over the past 30 years, and to know I was a very small part of that. It’s a good feeling to have been part of something great,” he said earlier this week, as plans for how to celebrate this year’s anniversary were unfolding.
The foundation’s president, Mary Gibble, said her team is embarking on a year-long “Thank You Tour” to express gratitude to those who have supported and served the foundation over the years.
“We think of our 30-year anniversary as quite a milestone, so we’re going to formally use that as a way to say thank you in a variety of different ways throughout the year,” she said.
Next month, the foundation is hosting a Farming &Ag Breakfast. Throughout March, it will distribute gold and green Hancock County flags.
This summer, the foundation offices will move from their current location at 312 E. Main St. to a new location three miles down the road, at 971 W. U.S. 40 in Greenfield, in the current home of Realife Church.
Gibble hopes to be settled into the new building in time to invite the public in for Match Day on Sept. 30, when the staff will host a 30-hour fundraising drive for its various endowments.
On Nov. 11 the foundation will host a celebratory gala “to invite the community to come celebrate with us,” Gibble said.
Gibble, who served the foundation as both a board member and program officer before landing the director’s position in 2006, said she’s been thrilled to watch the organization grow over the years.
One of the pivotal moments of growth came several years ago, she said, when local businesswoman and philanthropist Martha Beckenholdt arranged to leave her entire estate to the foundation.
“That made a statement, and many generous stakeholders have followed her example,” Gibble said.
It’s the ongoing generosity of donors that has built the funds the community foundation manages today.
“We now steward over 300 endowment funds; we grant out almost $2 million a year to charitable causes throughout the community; and we’ll grant $425,000 in scholarships this year,” Gibble said.
“We couldn’t do any of that without our endowments, which are invested together for maximum earning power and minimal fee impact. Every fund has its own personality and its own story.”
Miller said having a community foundation is essential for a community that wants to flourish and grow.
“The community foundation is a way for people to invest in the future, to invest in causes and things they believe in,” he said.
Curry is also a big fan of the community foundation concept, which he said ensures that donor’s gifts can live on in perpetuity.
“There are a lot of people who want to make donations to something they know is lasting and will be here a long time after they’re gone. The community foundation has become the hub for that,” he said.
“If you give your money directly to a particular organization, you don’t really know what’s going to become of it in 20, 30 or 50 years from now. By giving to the community foundation, you can know (your donation) is going to be managed and do good for a long time, benefiting whatever needs there are at the time.”
