COLUMBUS, Ind. – The Heritage Fund Board of Directors, in preparation for the community foundation’s 50th birthday in 2026, has taken the opportunity to step up to a new vision and mission based on a well-known set of community values and is celebrating this new direction with a new look as well.
After a full year of strategic work, it has set a new mission to Inspire Generosity; Gather and Grow Community Leaders; and Act with Impact.
This new direction builds from almost a half-century of working to make Bartholomew County the best county of its size in the country. Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County was established as a gift to the community with funds made available to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in 1976.
Continuing that spirit, Heritage Fund (HF) recently hosted its first Community Leadership Convening. More than 80 community leaders came together to meet each other and brainstorm around the foundation’s newly defined Impact Areas: Downtown Vibrancy; Youth Development; and Art, Culture, and Architecture.
The findings from these sessions will help direct Heritage Fund resources for the next several years.
Heritage Fund also took the April event as an opportunity to launch a vibrant new look created by Chicago graphic designer Anna Mort of MVP (a Mort Valicenti Project). The new design honors the foundation’s history with an updated and welcoming take on the Bartholomew County Courthouse. Mort drew inspiration from the architecture, warm brick, and oxidizing copper roof of the building in developing her current and classic design.
“Heritage Fund will plan to host additional Community Leadership Convenings, at least annually,” HF President and CEO Tracy Souza said. “The agendas will vary by topic and in the balance of structure and social time.”
Heritage Fund President and CEO Tracy Souza welcomes participants to the Community Leadership Convening hosted by the community foundation on April 13 at Ivy Tech’s Moravec Hall. Courtesy – Tony Vasquez Photography.
