We empower Brown County to be a magnet community where people live, learn, work and play.

The Tracy family has spread out across the United States, but because Robert and Dorothy Tracy raised all 12 of their children in Mt. Sterling, the Tracy family still considers Brown County home.

We take pride in Brown County and want Mt. Sterling to be a magnet community where people come to live, work, and play together. To support this vision, we have conducted or funded Brown County community surveys in 2000, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2018, and 2022. You can find the 2022 Brown County Survey results here.

Brown County Program Highlights

Brown County Promise Scholarship Program

TFF promises that any student that graduates from Brown County High School (BCHS) in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, will receive a college scholarship worth up to $18,000 if they meet minimum requirements.

Click here to learn more about the Brown County Promise scholarship program.

Mt. Sterling Uptown Long Range Strategic Plan

At the request of the Tracy Family Foundation and the Mt. Sterling Uptown Steering Committee, Kiku Obata & Company partnered with the citizens of Mt. Sterling in 2011 to help shape important aspects of the future of Mt. Sterling through the creation of a Long-Range Strategic Plan.

The Plan involves 4 phases and covers a span of time between 2011-2023. The Plan is thoughtful and a “marathon, not a sprint.” The Plan ultimately calls for the engagement of three sectors – public, private, and civic.

The public, private, and civic sectors are collectively working to translate the community’s hopes and dreams into a “vibrant and attractive Uptown that attracts and retains entities which draw people to Brown County to shop, work, live, and explore.” Since the inception of the Long Range Plan, noteworthy changes include the renovation of Main Street sidewalks, drainage and lighting, the launch of a Façade Improvement Grant Program , the birth of Action Brown County, the opening of Dorothy’s Market on Main Street, and the opening of a John Wood Community College/Mt. Sterling branch in Uptown Mt. Sterling.