Origins of the Foundation
The Blackford County Community Foundation was born in 1997 when the Montpelier Community Foundation, Inc. and the Blackford County Foundation agreed to merge in order to more effectively provide a broad base of support for county-wide improvement. The first board of directors for the newly organized Foundation was made up directors from both parent foundations.
One of the first acts of Foundation was to find an acting executive director to guide the day-to-day operations of the new Foundation. Elizabeth Wright, then executive director of the Community Foundation of Grant County, gave direction and advice to the Foundation until 1999. Since then the Foundation has grown under three additional executive directors: Ben Oswalt (1999-2011), Patty Poulson (2011-2014), Dave Bowman (2014-2018), and Elizabeth Witt (2019-present).
The 1997 merger of the two local foundations put the newly formed Blackford County Community Foundation in a position to participate in Lilly Endowment’s GIFT (Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow) initiatives, resulting in the infusion of $1.6 million over the first five-year period.
Assets at the time of the merger were approximately $100,000 and are in excess of $12 million as of December 31, 2022, growth that reflects the commitment of Blackford County residents to their community.
