April Focus: Celebrating Our History
Forty Years of the Foundation
THIS YEAR, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION of Muncie and Delaware County celebrates 40 years of service, generosity, and community care. In 1985, Ed Ball supported the idea of a community foundation to support the city he loved, and he began the campaign with a $1 million matching challenge. Within a year, community leaders met the match, and the Foundation’s early supporters began to disperse grants throughout the community. “We didn’t need the Internet in those days because we did our speaking through grants,” recalls Stefan Anderson, who helped lead the effort to establish the Foundation.
“We were the trendsetter in our state. We were one of only six foundations that were up and running at the time,” says Roni Johnson, who joined the Foundation just a year later. Roni would go on to serve as the Executive Director for 21 years, a position that allowed her to grow the Foundation into the organization it is today. As we celebrate four decades of generosity, goodwill, and grants, we take this opportunity to share stories about just a few people who have made a very special mark on our history.
Pictured: 1990 Board of the Community Foundation
Stefan and Joan Anderson
“Philanthropy is an institution to improve the well-being of society... and that means much more than giving money,” says Stefan Anderson. As the second chairman of The Community Foundation, Steve and his wife Joan have been committed to philanthropy from the start. The two cite a personal fulfillment from giving of their finances, time, and passions to the betterment of Muncie and Delaware County.
In addition to Steve’s service in helping develop the Foundation, the Andersons also established the Stefan and Joan Anderson Unrestricted Fund. “Giving to The Community Foundation is giving a gift that keeps giving from generation to generation. That’s a powerful thought for us,” says the couple. The unrestricted nature of this fund means that across generations, their gift will support whatever needs arise in the community.
While philanthropy has always been a passion for the Andersons, it was Steve’s own role that cemented their trust in the Foundation as a charitable means - “I saw a record of integrity and trust, as well as a succession of wise and prudent leaders on the board of the Foundation,” he says. In addition to the couple’s intrinsic motivations for giving, they have also seen the impact that gifts like theirs have had on their community over the years. “Without philanthropy, the Muncie community would be radically different,” says the couple.
Roni Johnson
“The white-haired lady whom they can trust.” Although she has had years of influence within the Muncie community, this is how Roni Johnson would like to be remembered. Just two years into The Community Foundation’s development, Roni Johnson joined the team – by 1992, she was the first full-time Executive Director, a position she held for 21 years.
Having been taught the importance of philanthropy from a young age, Roni raised the Foundation into the extensive community partner that it is today. “Across the state, I’ve always felt that our Foundation has a good reputation because we did our best to do it the right way,” says Roni.
In addition to her leadership within the Foundation, she also wanted to leave a financial legacy. While endowment funds carry a minimum donation of $10,000, Roni is an advocate of the Acorn program, which allows donors to contribute smaller amounts over time until they have grown their Acorn into a fully-fledged fund. “You just put a little bit aside each year, and it makes it very doable for those that want to get started,” she says.
While Roni believes in the power of an unrestricted fund, the Foundation tries to keep in mind the causes that she values when distributing the Roni Johnson Family Fund. “When I receive the letter and I see the organizations my fund has reached, I think they’ve tried to tie my fund to something that they probably know I am interested in,” says Roni. This unrestricted fund now honors her living legacy, and she’s proud to see the way her gift is being used in the community.
Carol Seals
Carol Seals has made her mark on our community in more ways than we can count, and her initiative has been crucial in expanding the Foundation’s organizational capacity. A Muncie native, her parents were teachers and community leaders who inspired leadership in young Carol. “My dad was the one that dropped me off at ballet lessons and Girl Scouts, but my mom was the Girl Scout leader and member of the Girl Scout Council Board,” says Carol.
Now, Carol’s interests reach into every corner of the community, and she has taken up leadership positions to match – at one point, she served on five different Boards of Directors, including ones at The Community Foundation, Youth Opportunity Center, Cardinal Greenway, Mutual Bank Charitable Foundation, and Westminster Village Foundation. “If you’re part of an organization, you want to serve and help them in any way you can,” says Carol.
While on the Board of the Foundation, Carol helped spark a new channel of service, and the Board of Directors Endowment Fund was born. “To be a strong leader in the community... we need to have the funds to support ourselves and to grow,” says Carol. While it’s important to look at the diverse needs of the community and establish outward-giving funds, Carol realized the importance of strengthening organizational capacity as well. This operations fund ensures that the Foundation’s Board will have the financial sustainability to continue its good work for decades to come.
Don and Susan Bell
“If you really want to have a fulfilling life, you need to do something beyond yourself, and giving to worthwhile causes is probably the main way to do that... I feel like I’ve lived a more fulfilling life than I would have otherwise. Maybe that’s what life is all about,” said R. Donald Bell, former Executive Director of the Foundation.
Don dedicated his life to philanthropic giving. A child of the Great Depression era, he understood the impact that finances – or a lack thereof – can have on a community. As a young man, Don regularly tithed to his church, a practice that followed him throughout his life and led to the creation of the R. Donald and Susan A. Bell Memorial Fund. Established in 1993 by Don and his wife Susan, the designated fund benefits St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, which they cared about deeply. Following Susan’s passing in 2004 and Don’s in 2022, the fund now memorializes their legacy of philanthropy.
Don felt strongly about the intrinsic motivations of giving, saying, “You need to give until you feel like you are living sacrificially.” He also gave of his time, volunteering in leadership roles across various community and state organizations in addition to his role at the Foundation. He felt strongly about the future of the Foundation and its impact on Muncie and Delaware County, and he felt hopeful about the potential of his gift even beyond his lifetime.
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