PCCF conducts annual meeting, introduces community needs assessment

Now retired as active board members of the Putnam County Community Foundation, Jeff McCall and Carolyn Mann are feted as honorary board members Tuesday during the annual PCCF meeting.

Putnam County Community Foundation/SARAH STONE

ROACHDALE — While Sue Murray receiving the Spirit of Philanthropy award was the highlight of the Putnam County Community Foundation annual meeting and luncheon, the organization still had to handle its usual business on Tuesday at Off the Rails event center in Roachdale.

Along the way, board and staff members introduced a community needs assessment PCCF has undertaken in recent months.

Board President Marianne Savage introduced two proposed incoming board members, Ami Pennington and Nathan Scott, while asking if there were any nomination from the floor. No nominations were forthcoming, and Pennington and Scott were approved unanimously.

She also recognized retiring board members Jeff McCall, who is also immediate past president, and Carolyn Mann by naming them honorary board members.

Treasurer Scott Bieniek had the less-than-desirable duty of giving the financial report, which included the news that the foundation’s assets took a hit in 2022, though this is hardly surprising in a year in which the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ were all down.

On the average, though, foundations across the country were down 22 percent, while PCCF was down 14 percent.

Despite this, the Foundation was able to give away more than $1.1 million in 2022, a fact celebrated by Vice President Kyle Beasley, though not without an apology to Bieniek, as Beasley noted he was the treasurer during the time in question.

Most notably, perhaps, Beasley celebrated the local students PCCF was able to support in 2022.

“In 2022, the Community Foundation administered 42 unique scholarship programs and awarded scholarships to more than 60 students climbing the ladder of success and educational attainment,” Beasley said. “These numbers will grow every year as our scholarship endowments continue to grow.”

Additionally, PCCF unrestricted funds provided more than 60 grants, totaling in excess of $285,000 in grant funding, including more than $20,000 to first responders such as the Putnam County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Other supported projects noted by Beasley included the Putnam County Mural Project and Friends of the Park Association of Putnam County.

Finally, Stacey Hartman, who chairs the philanthropic development committee, highlighted the community needs assessment, which PCCF has undertaken this year. The Foundation has completed two phases of this four-phase project, which has already included one-on-one interviews with local leaders and community focus groups.

Next will be a community-wide survey beginning in July, followed by a minimum of two listening sessions.

The goal is to identify and prioritize needs in the county, unite organizations and resources and create solutions that produce significant and lasting results.

To this end, the meeting concluded with panel discussion in which Hartman was joined by Lisa Walter of the Montgomery County Early Childhood Coalition, Maci Valdez of the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction and Lisa Zeiner of the Putnam County Planning and Building Department. The goal was to show what services are already being provided in communities in West Central Indiana and highlight what needs remain.

More details on the community needs assessment will be printed in an upcoming edition of the Banner Graphic.