What is a Community Foundation?
Ohio is the birthplace of one of today's fastest growing forms of philanthropy – the community foundation. In 1914 a Cleveland attorney, Frederick Goff, envisioned a single entity that could steward the charitable wishes of many different citizens for a community's perpetual benefit. His vision was compelling and took hold.
Purpose
Community foundations invest and administer a pool of funds contributed by numerous donors. Together, these donors contribute to endowments – in essence community savings accounts – designed to ensure the long-term health of the community. Donors who give through the community foundation enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that their gifts will be safely and efficiently administered for the charitable purposes they specify, plus they receive the maximum tax deduction for their contributions.
Our Statements
Mission
Our mission of raising and distributing permanent funds to improve the quality of life for residents of Clark County began in 1948. Modeled after the vision of Fredrick Goff, the Springfield Foundation continues to be a catalyst for philanthropy in the region. The Foundation celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023. In those 75 years, the Foundation has awarded $69.5 million in grants and awards, with $7.5 million of that total being scholarships. We are proud of all we have accomplished with our donors, partners, leaders, and the community. We are excited for all we can accomplish together in the future.
Click on the image below to download our 75th Anniversary timeline book, which highlights our accomplishments.
Diversity & Inclusion
The mission of the Springfield Foundation is to raise, strengthen, and distribute permanent charitable funds to benefit the community. The Foundation exists to improve the quality of life for all citizens, and is made up of a collection of funds given by caring individuals, businesses, and organizations that have a common concern for the well-being of the people in our community. Believing that a wide array of perspectives allows all organizations to be more effective, we are committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
Diversity is a broad concept that encompasses all the differences that people bring to the conversation. In addition to the traditional focus on aspects such as race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, economic circumstance, age, language, physical ability, and religious belief, diversity also includes differences of thought, ideas, backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and values. The Springfield Foundation is committed to an active and ongoing process which affirms human diversity in its many forms.
Equity is about promoting justice, fairness, and respect. Different from equality which allows for everything to be the same regardless of need, equity allows for things to be different depending on need. Equity leads to equality. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness with the procedures and processes of the Foundation, as well as in the distribution of resources.
Inclusion is the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be present and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. It is important to note that a diverse group isn’t always an inclusive group. Intentional focus on inclusion will enable the Foundation to achieve our mission of benefiting the entire community.
Leading by example, we aspire to make diversity, equity and inclusion core and abiding strengths of the Springfield Foundation. In order to have a real impact, we will include diverse voices and draw upon them to intentionally engage issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in an authentic way.
Useful Resources
Finance & Investing
Investment Advantages
Our investment committee, comprised of local leaders, business owners, and financial executives, work tirelessly to oversee our Investment Manager, Marquette Associates. By pooling assets, our $100+ million balance pool is diversely invested, giving you or your organization access to investment opportunities not commonly available to individuals or small to mid-size nonprofits.
About Marquette
An independent investment-consulting firm, Marquette Associates guides institutional programs with a focused three-point approach and careful research. Marquette has served a single mission since 1986 – enable institutions to become more effective investment stewards.
Financial Reports
Our commitment is to maintain and grow the charitable assets entrusted to us. The financial information contained in our Annual Reports are condensed versions of our financial statements. A complete set of the Foundation’s audited financial statements with accompanying notes and report from independent auditor Clark Schaefer Hackett along with the 990 is available at the Springfield Foundation office or in PDF format below:
