Blackford County Community Foundation partners with 4 Blackford County, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the county, increasing local pride in the community, and attracting new businesses and residents to the area. This effort began with two grants awarded to the organization in 2005 and 2006 by the Indiana Association of United Ways for the improvement of this community. The organization then developed a strategic plan as it worked with Jim Dittoe from Winning Communities.

Several of the original projects and additional community projects continue to operate in the county. 4 Blackford County supports a local Leadership Academy that educates those in the community how to take a more active role in the civic life. 4 Blackford County also sponsors a Youth Leadership Academy that encourages local teens to become more active in the community, a Gateway Project that welcomes travelers to the county and the two cities on the county’s highways, a Safe Kids Project that provides child carseats to qualifying families, and the Build a Better Blackford Project that facilitates the removal of dilapidated and abandoned houses.

For more information, contact the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation at 765-348-4944. Additional information about 4 Blackford County can be found at http://www.4blackfordco.org.