The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne: the pooled vehicle

Founded 1922, terminated 1941, reborn 1956

The century, in brief: The Community Foundation's founding record is 1920s. It was established 2 June 1922 as the Fort Wayne Foundation — William Mossman's $5,000 gift its first — wound down when its trustees voted to terminate on 2 December 1941, and reborn on 1 August 1956 as the United Charitable Foundation of Allen County, taking its present name in June 2005 (the full history, with the Moses brothers' and Lincoln Bank's roles, is in the Wealth section). The growth era was Paul Clarke's: assets passed $1 million in 1980 and $30 million by 1995, on gifts from Clarke exceeding $20 million — the same Paul Clarke whose endowment at the foundation funds the Nonprofit Resource Center below.

Scale, dated: The foundation reported about $222 million in assets at 31 December 2021, holding more than 400 donor funds and having granted more than $175 million since 1922. Its current published figures, stated as of 31 December 2024, are approximately $247 million in charitable assets, more than $11 million awarded in grants and scholarships during 2024, and more than $195 million granted since formation in 1922. Its Women's Fund — an endowment for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls — published a needs assessment ("All In Allen: Women and Girls") in 2019 and in 2024–25 supported research with Purdue Fort Wayne's Community Research Institute on workplace barriers facing women.

The machinery: A community foundation is plumbing: donors open funds, nonprofits park endowments, and the foundation administers both. Allen County agencies hold beneficial interests in foundation funds — the United Way of Allen County's audited statements report a beneficial interest in Community Foundation funds of $1,527,484 at 30 June 2025 — and the foundation runs the county's endowment-building campaigns: its #GivingTuesdayFW Challenge in 2025 raised $242,696.75 for local nonprofit endowments. It administers the Allen County selection of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship — the statewide program, run since 1997–98, that has provided more than $505 million for more than 5,400 Indiana students — and with the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Northeast Indiana chapter it has offered a Certificate in Fundraising Management cohort for local development staff.

Sources:

1. Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Form 990 and FY2021 annual report; CFGFW centennial history video, 2022; Harter, "Forgotten Fort Wayne" (ACGSI) — the 1922 founding, 1941 termination, 1956 rebirth, 2005 name, Clarke-era milestones and gifts exceeding $20 million (as compiled in Great Fortunes).
2. Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, news releases, December 2025 (cfgfw.org) — the published boilerplate: as of 31 December 2024, approximately $247 million in charitable assets, more than $11 million awarded in 2024, more than $195 million granted since 1922; Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne releases (cfgfw.org) — the 2019 needs assessment and the 2024–25 research partnerships.
3. United Way of Allen County, audited financial statements, years ended 30 June 2025 and 2024 — beneficial interest in Community Foundation funds of $1,527,484 (2025) and $1,319,285 (2024).
4. Waynedale News, 5 December 2025 — the 2025 #GivingTuesdayFW Challenge raised $242,696.75 for local nonprofit endowments; Lilly Endowment Inc. — the Community Scholarship Program's statewide totals since 1997–98 (more than $505 million, more than 5,400 students).