A MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY
Dear friends, We write the introduction to this report at a time of myriad and epic crises in America. There is a new legacy map in the making, and how we respond will define our generation. For this work, we bring both a compass and a calling. We have no idea of what will land on the shoreline of tomorrow, but we are ready to respond. We understand that, as ancient Greek text reads, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty (and, we might add, health and justice). We can’t rest on an amazing 75-year track record as an organization, for, as Aldous Huxley once said, “Experience is not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you.” Our 75th anniversary celebration in 2019 was kicked off with a reading by a diverse array of civic leaders of “Freedom’s Plow” by Langston Hughes, which contains these words of unity written in the year of the founding of The Columbus Foundation, 1943, words that inspired the theme of this year’s annual report:
Not my dream alone, but our dream. Not my world alone, But your world and my world, Belonging to all the hands who build.
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FROM LEFT: Douglas F. Kridler, President and CEO, and Dwight E. Smith, Governing Committee Chairman. Photo by Challen Brown
We are builders, all. We are proud of the efforts of all of our staff who dedicate themselves to our donors and financial and legal advisors as all look to help others through the most effective philanthropy possible. Together, we aspire to what the late John Lewis called “love in action.” For a great look at love in action at The Columbus Foundation, you might first look at the Gifts of Kindness Fund. It was established by a generous donor in 2014 as a way to not only provide immediate, onetime grants to help lift up individuals and families who experience an
unexpected setback, but to illustrate how acts of kindness throughout our community make a difference— and inspire others to do the same. Today, the Gifts of Kindness Fund welcomes gifts from many in our community, and has been working over its short but impactful history with 30 partner nonprofits to help over 1,300 families, totaling more than 5,000 family members, meet their emergency needs. We are very pleased that Dr. Amy Acton has returned to The Columbus Foundation in the role of leading Kind Columbus, of which the Gifts of Kindness is one valuable part.
COLUMBUS MONTHLY OCTOBER 2020 COLUMBUS FOUNDATION
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