Additional Funds Dedicated to County Endowment for Local 4‑H Needs
In the spring of 2023, the Morgan County 4‑H Council received some very unexpected and exciting news. A long-time Morgan County resident gifted a sizable amount of her estate to Morgan County 4‑H.
When the Council met to determine how to utilize the funds, one theme emerged – the desire to do something that would impact Morgan County 4‑H youth far into the future. Rena Sheldon, long-time CED and Extension Educator, is grateful for the gift and the impact it will make.
“We were certainly not expecting to receive a large donation from an estate,” Rena said. “But with the help of the Indiana 4‑H Foundation, we were able to quickly make it into something very special for future generations.”
The Council used $100,000 of the gift to create an endowment to be used for youth scholarships.
“This endowment will fund four $1,000 scholarships each year – forever,” shared John Sichting, who was the Council Treasurer at the time the gift was made. “It will be an honor to see those students receive this funding.”
An additional $90,000 was used to fully fund the Morgan County Endowment established by Chris Parker, who was also an Extension Educator in the county. That income generated from that endowment will be used to support the greatest need of Morgan County 4‑H programs – in perpetuity.
“It’s difficult to know what we will need in 20-50 years, but having that source of constant funding makes all of us feel better about the future,” shared Rena. “When the estate executor gave us the funds, she told us to go do something big, and I’m proud to say we did!”
Read more about 4‑H county endowments >>>
Photos: Morgan County 4‑H offers a wide variety of projects and programs.