Barney II Foundation

Bill Reichardt, President

On Barney II Foundation stationery we use a Bible verse from Acts 4:37: “He sold the land, got the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.” We chose this verse because it is relevant to how Barney was started. My father asked me to call a lawyer and start a family foundation.  I spoke to a lawyer, told him the money we had available to start a foundation and he laughed (he is a friend).  When I told my dad of our lawyer’s response, Dad said, “Well, if that is the case, then I am going to donate the seven pieces of property I own and had intended to give to you kids.”  That gave us a base to start and we were off and running.  Barnabas was a friend of the apostle Paul, and he was the one who gave the property in Acts 4:37.  Therefore, we named the foundation in his honor.  However, we decided to be a little less formal so we used Barney instead of Barnabas.  The II in Barney II we hope helps to remind us that we are trying to reflect Barnabas’s values in the 21st century.  He was known as the son of encouragement.  Our mission statement is, “We exist to encourage people God has put in our path.”  We do this by providing grants with a focus on networking and leveraging.