In 1996, Carol Reitan, Alan Sender and Drake Zimmerman began building their dream of a community foundation for McLean County. Considerable research on existing community foundations, talks with many community leaders, and persistence in working through all of the legal requirements to establish a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization came to fruition two years later. Mayors Judy Markowitz of Bloomington and Kent Karraker of Normal, and McLean County Board Chairperson Gary Riss agreed to serve as the first incorporating board. The Community Foundation of McLean County was officially established on November 6, 1998.
Important to the early planning were the communications with the United Way Board of Directors and staff. The United Way of McLean County had already hired a Director of Planned Giving and Development, who came from the United Way State Office in Michigan where United Ways have worked closely with community foundations. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of the new Community Foundation of McLean County. The Chairman of the United Way Board of Directors holds the fourth ex-officio seat on the Community Foundation board.
Gifts of $296,900 were placed in the (Peoria Area) Community Foundation of Central Illinois before the end of 1998 in an account held on behalf of CFMC. These were Donor Advised Funds, established and donated before CFMC was in a position to receive gifts.
By June, 2003, the Community Foundation of McLean County was serving donors
and making grants in Livingston and DeWitt Counties and surrounding areas.
Permanent 501(c)(3) [charitable] status had been achieved. Assets had
grown to almost $600,000. The Board of Directors decided a name change
was in order. Before action could be taken, Logan County was added to
the list of locations being served and assets had grown to $800,000. In
April, 2004, we officially became
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, Inc.