Jeanne Hibberd, Director of Appalachian Fund

Grantees include Hospice Care Plus, the New Opportunity School for Women, Paint Lick Family Clinic, Mountain Maternal Health League, the Boys & Girls Club of Madison County, Buckhorn Children’s Center, the David School, Hindman Settlement School, Hot Springs Community Health Program, Red Bird Mission Medical Center, Big Sandy Area Child Advocacy Center, Mud Creek Community Health Corp, and Pine Mountain Settlement School. (see grants summary below).

"Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in improving the quality of people’s lives,” according to Berea College Appalachian Fund director Jeanne Hibberd. “When people are healthy and have access to education and other services, they are more likely to be productive members of their families, workplaces and communities.”

The Appalachian Fund board recently named Hibberd as the new director of the Fund, which was managed for over 50 years by the late Judy Stammer. During the coming year, she will be meeting with affiliates and grantees to review their programs and assess the Fund’s impact in the region. In addition to directing the Appalachian Fund, Hibberd also is serving as associate director of the College’s Entrepreneurship for the Public Good Program.

Hibberd brings to the positions nineteen years of professional community development and public policy experience working with nonprofit, business, government and educational organizations. Most recently, she has served as Foundations Associate in Berea’s College Relations division. In 1999, she co-founded and was president for three years of Communities by Choice, an international network of communities, organizations and individuals committed to advancing the practice of sustainable development. Prior to that, she directed the Sustainable Communities program for the Mountain Association for Community Development (MACED). Other experience includes positions with the Center for Economic Development at Eastern Kentucky University and with Will Linder and Associates, of Berea. Hibberd holds a B.A. from Berea College and also has completed professional certification in the area of Economic Development Finance.

Herbert Faber and Ruth McGurk Faber created the Appalachian Fund in 1950. Mr. Faber, who was the co-inventor of Formica, was impressed by the character and loyalty of the Appalachian employees that worked in his Cincinnati factory. In 1987, the Appalachian Fund dissolved and transferred $5 million to Berea College to establish the Berea College Appalachian Fund. The Fund has since grown but remains dedicated to its original mission of improving the general education, health, sanitation and physical well being of people living in the Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas.

For additional information about Appalachian Fund grants and activities, contact Jeanne Hibberd at (859) 985-3941.

Berea College Appalachian Fund
2004 Grants Summary