Welcome to the Starke County Community Foundation
Starke County is a wonderful rural county comprised of small towns where everyone knows each other; and can always depend on neighbors and friends in a pinch. It has a wonderful heritage and a diverse cultural background that adds to its charm.

Since 1996, Starke County Community Foundation has brought caring people and charitable endeavors together for the good of this great community. The Community Foundation gives donors flexible and tax-effective ways to ensure their charitable giving. We work to build substantial endowment funds for our community through contributions large and small.

Starke County Community Foundation is proud to be a part of the Northern Indiana Community Foundation (NICF). The NICF allows us to maximize our investment benefits and be more cost efficient. This way Starke County donations can do more—right here in Starke County.

So far, Starke County Community Foundation has dispersed over 2 million dollars in grants and scholarships. Currently the Community Foundation holds nearly $3 million in assets and administers 64 funds.

Community Foundation Welcomes New Director of Development

December 2011

Sarah E. Origer Starke County Community Foundation Director of Development.

The Northern Indiana Community Foundation (NICF) has named Sarah E. Origer as its Starke County Director of Development. In this position, Sarah will be responsible for increasing public awareness and enhancing the services of the Starke County Community Foundation. She will be working with donors and agencies to build awareness about the Community Foundation and the benefits for Starke County.

Sarah earned her BA in Political Science from the University of Northern Colorado, and thereafter held a fellowship with the John Jay Institute for Faith, Society, and Law, a para-academic institution based in Philadelphia, Penn. As a fellow, she undertook an interdisciplinary curriculum of philosophy, theology, ethics, politics, jurisprudence, history, art, and architecture related to the Western political tradition.

In 2008, Origer took a position at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based public-policy think tank. In her role as the coordinator of the Strategic Initiatives Department, Origer managed the Department’s budget, managed and coordinated special projects, orchestrated department administration, and worked closely with the marketing department.

October 2010 brought a move to Indiana, when Origer relocated to Rensselaer to take a position as an admissions counselor at Saint Joseph’s College. This past September, she married her husband Nathan, and they now live on the Origer family’s century-old farm just northwest of North Judson.

“Sarah is a great addition to the Community Foundation team,” said Terri Johnson, Executive Director of the NICF. “We are excited to welcome her and the expertise she will bring to the Community Foundation and to Starke County.”

The Starke County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the NICF, a 501 (c) (3) public trust. The mission of the Community Foundation is to improve the quality of lives in our communities by assisting donors in fulfilling their charitable wishes. We do this by building endowment funds for our communities with contributions, both large and small.

Since 1997 the Community Foundation has granted more than $2 million to charitable programs and projects in Starke County. Our donors have provided an asset base of more than $3.5 million to benefit Starke County forever.

The Starke County Community Foundation office is located at 1512 South Heaton Street in Knox. You can reach Sarah at 574-772-3665.

Starke County Sheriff Creates Fund for Fighting Cancer

Sheriff Cowen, Gene Ladd, President of the Starke County Community Foundation and Terri Johnson, Exec. Dir. of the Northern Indiana Community Foundation

October 2011

Running for office is not an easy task. It requires time, energy and of course fund raising efforts.

Oscar Cowen was elected as Starke County Sheriff in November of 2010 and therefore did not need to organize his reelection golf outing fundraiser this summer. And since this popular event had been successful for him in raising needed money, he thought that maybe he could use this same event to raise money for charity and support the people of Starke County.

He immediately thought of Ashley Derrickson and Christina Rotering, two local teens who lost their battle with cancer, how they touched the lives of people in the community and those who knew and loved them. Ashley was only 19 when she died from the disease in 2008 and Christina died in the Spring of 2011 from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His plan was to remember the lives of these young women while assisting other people in Starke County who suffer from cancer

With the help of the Starke County Community Foundation, Oscar created a fund called the “Christina Rotering and Ashley Derrickson Memorial Fund for Starke County Cancer“. This fund will provide assistance for families in short-term financial distress due to cancer. Awards will be in the amount of up to $1,000 per year and families must be recommended by a local social service agency or public assistance agency with an income screening process. This way those who are really in need of help will be able to benefit from the fund.

The golf outing was held Saturday October 1st at the Hamlet Golf Course and was supported by a numerous local business and residents who contributed a total of $2,115.00 for the fund.

Sherriff Cowen says that this will now be an annual event and fundraiser for the “Christina Rotering and Ashley Derrickson Memorial Fund for Starke County Cancer“. He would also like to thank all those who supported the event, the Starke County Community Foundation and the following Hole Sponsors: Farm Fertilizer, Jack Awald, ABC Supplies, Art Garbison, Hamlet Golf Course, Chesapeake Run Golf Course; Mark Ferch and Sand Dollar Farms; Swan Lake Resort; Plymouth County Club; Gilsinger Implement; Pioneer Seed and Scott Lippen.

To donate or receive assistance to the “Christina Rotering and Ashley Derrickson Memorial Fund for Starke County Cancer” contact the Starke County Community Foundation at 574-772-3665, Community Services of Starke County, Love, INC. or the St. Vincent DePaul Society.