Why Parke County Community Foundation?
The Parke County Community Foundation’s mission statement is one sentence; “To Improve the Quality of Life in Parke County” – a tall task, one that cannot be done by one organization, but can be accomplished through collaboration and unity of purpose with Parke County citizens and others. Donors are the heart of the Foundation’s success, and we are honored that several thousand contributors have given more than $27 million to improve the quality of life in the Parke County communities.
Historically, more than 105 different individuals have served on the Board of Directors at the Foundation; most of whom have served for 6 years. To promote new ideas and perspectives, none of these Board Members have returned to serve after the 6 years they served.
Parke County demonstrates regularly the deep vein of generosity brought forth by its citizens. That generous spirit has allowed the formation of several dozen endowment funds which benefit various non-profits in the Parke County community. Many have been used to house memorial gifts in lieu of flowers or in honor of anniversaries, holidays and other significant events. Other donors have used these funds to leave a bequest to the charity, the proceeds of which will be granted year after year, forever.
The Four Primary Roles of the Parke County Community Foundation:
- Gather – through its endowment approach, the Community Foundation gathers assets for the benefit of our community which are never spent by remain intact forever.
- Grow – through a balanced investment portfolio, the Community Foundation grows these assets and creates income to be distributed on an on-going basis.
- Grant – these annual earnings are distributed as grants & scholarships throughout the Parke County charitable community.
- Leadership – these three primary roles are all housed under the umbrella of over-all community leadership which influences and enhances the above three roles.
