By Finding aid prepared by Megan Guerre.
Title: Benton County Foundation Records, 1947-2004
Predominant Dates: 1953-1975
ID: MSS BentonCoFoundation
Primary Creator: Benton County Foundation
Extent: 0.5 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Benton County Foundation Records are arranged in 7 series: I. History of the Foundation, circa 1965 - 1997; II. Foundation Establishment Records, circa 1953; III. Newspaper Articles, 1954-1970; IV. Newsletters, 2004; V. Board Meetings, 1953-1975; VI. Correspondence, 1953-1974; and VII. Financial Reports, 1947-1975.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Benton County Foundation Records contain materials pertaining to the history and establishment of the Foundation, Board of Directors meetings, correspondence, and financial records. The majority of the collection was produced between 1953, the founding of the Foundation, and 1975. Included in these materials is an informational booklet and three bound volumes that describe the history of the Benton County Foundation, as well as manuscript drafts of the Benton County booklet; Notices of Appointment of members of the Board of Directors; minutes, announcements, and agendas for Board of Directors meetings; newspaper articles concerning the Benton County and Pendleton Foundations; correspondence received and sent by the Foundation concerning funding requests, gifts received, the Foundation’s establishment, and reports created by the Rotary Club regarding the Foundation; and financial documents.
Of special note are materials pertaining to the Petri Foreign Study Scholarship established through the estate of Paul Petri, Professor of Music at Oregon State from 1923 to 1947.
Cheryl McLean edited the 1989 and 1997 histories of the Foundation. The collection also contains one newsletter produced by the Foundation in the fall of 2004.
The Benton County Foundation was established in 1953 by the Corvallis Rotary Club as a non-profit organization dedicated to the safe management and wise use of all types of charitable gifts designated by donors to be used for the benefit of Benton County. Members of the first Board of Directors included Percy Locey, E.C. Reiman, Waldo Ball, Bruce Myers, John Thomas, E.G. Quesinberry and Claude Buchanan. The members of the Board of Directors oversaw the dispersal of gifts bequeathed by donors for use by specific organizations or institutions, special fields of interest, or for unrestricted purposes. Recipients of these gifts have included Girl Scout and Boy Scout Campships, the Corvallis High School Youth Employment Service, individual scholarship awardees, and other organizations in Benton County.
More recently, the Benton County Foundation has provided support to the Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department, the Boys & Girls Club, and South Benton Youth Programs.
More Extent Information: 2 boxes
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: The bulk of the materials were received in the 1970s or 1980s by the University Archives; small additions were transferred in 1997 and 2004.
Related Materials: Information pertaining to the history of Benton County can be found in the OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC). The Music Department Records (RG 148), Helen E. Plinkiewisch Papers (MSS Plinkiewisch), and Lillian Jeffreys Petri Collection (MSS Petri) provide more information about Paul Petri.
Preferred Citation: Benton County Foundation Records (MSS BentonCoFoundation), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Benton County Foundation
McLean, Cheryl (1957-)
Benton County (Or.)--History.
Benton County Foundation
Benton County Foundation--History.
Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations--Oregon.
Corvallis (Or.)
Local History
McLean, Cheryl, 1957-
Scholarships--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History