After 15 years of service, the executive director of the Community Foundation of Greene County has announced her plans to retire later this year.
In a release recently issued by CFGC, the foundation’s board of directors said Bettie Stammerjohn notified the board she intends to retire at the end of October 2021.
“It has been such a great honor to be a part of CFGC while working with many generous donors and dedicated nonprofits over the years in serving Greene County, as well as the having best staff and committed board of directors,” Stammerjohn said.
Established in 2000, CFGC’s mission is to strengthen Greene County by building charitable endowments, maximizing benefits to donors, making effective grants and providing leadership to address community needs.
CFGC Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Hellems said Stammerjohn was hired as a part-time executive director in 2006 when CFGC had $1.6 million in assets and 27 named endowments. CFGC now manages more than 100 funds with a value of more than $8 million with just two full-time staff members.
“Bettie has done a great job raising awareness of CFGC and the value it brings, not just for donors, but for the nonprofits and residents it serves,” Hellems said.
During her tenure, Stammerjohn worked collaboratively with local donors to raise millions of dollars for a wide variety of charitable causes. She built and supervised a grant process that has distributed nearly $5 million to a wide variety of charities.
Last year, during the first weeks of the pandemic, she worked with the foundation board of directors to establish the Greene County Emergency Response Fund to address organizational and family needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In partnership with Greene County United Way and other local leaders, the Emergency Response Fund raised more than $145,000 while making grants totaling more than $131,000 to 31 organizations serving the county’s residents. The new fund will continue to address future emergency needs in the county, Hellems said.
Stammerjohn has been at the forefront of a variety of county-wide endeavors, including establishing the Greene Food Security Partnership, the Summer Food Program and the Weekend Food Program efforts to address food insecurity among the county’s children and families.
Additionally, the Community Builders Nonprofit Leadership Program, which began in 2004, has continued to train new leaders with more than 200 individuals completing the coursework. In 2014, under Stammerjohn’s leadership, CFGC doubled its office footprint to include The Foundation Room that provides space for nonprofit and business meetings, training sessions and gatherings.
Stammerjohn said she believes CFGC will continue to thrive as a positive initiative for the county because of strong leadership and community support.
“CFGC has great leadership that care about Greene County, so I am confident that future leadership will continue to build upon our accomplishments,” she said. “When people talk about the good things CFGC does in the community, I always note that our work is made possible because of the people who give through the foundation to meet local needs. The people of Greene County have very giving hearts.”
According to the release, a transition team will shortly announce the position opening and begin a review of applicants for the executive director position.
Prior to joining CFGC, Stammerjohn worked in various nonprofit and educational management positions specializing in resource development, needs assessment, grants management, allocations and strategic and organizational planning. She previously served as director of development at Bethany College and as director of planning and evaluation at Community Action Southwest.
She was also sole proprietor of Stammerjohn Consulting, providing strategic planning, community and organizational assessments and resource development counsel for nonprofit and regional organizations. She earned a bachelor of arts in geography from Shippensburg State College and a master of arts in geography/community planning from University of North Carolina at Charlotte.