MANSFIELD, Ohio — Richland County Foundation distributed $4.2 million in grants in fiscal year 2015, ranking among the top 10 most giving community foundations in Ohio.
That statistic, according to Let’s Talk Philanthropy (a watchdog website dedicated to following Ohio’s philanthropic giving trends), was a boost to President Brady Groves and the Foundation.
“I’m very pleased to see we made the top 10,” Groves said.
Only time will tell whether they will see the same numbers for this fiscal year, he said.
“We’re on target. About 12 percent of our gifts come in the last three days of the year, so it’s hard to tell right now,” Groves said. “But all in all, we’re right where we were in 2014.”
Groves said the news reflects well on the county’s donors.
“I say this all the time, but if you take a look at the number of people in Richland County, about 121,000 people, with our asset base, we’re the seventh largest community foundation in Ohio,” Groves said, excitedly. “For being in the Rust Belt, and with doom and gloom we hear all the time, that says a lot about giving here.
“Per capita, we’re (Richland County Foundation) probably in the top 5 for grant making.”
Maura Teynor, Director of Donor Services and Communications at Richland County Foundation, said the Foundation’s annual reports are done in May, so they will have a better idea of where this year stacks up to last closer to that time.
In the meantime, the Foundation plans on generating more funds for scholarships.
“Scholarship funds are the most popular,” Groves said. “They account for about 71 percent and those grants stay in the community. A lot of our donors are passionate about education.”
The Richland County Foundation is in the business of generating profit for grants and scholarships through endowment funds, Teynor explained. Since the principal is not touched with endowment funds, those funds stay in the community forever.
“It speaks to our motto: for good, forever,” Teynor said.
