The Spirit of Columbus Award
Joanna M. Pinkerton, President/CEO of COTA, accepts the 2022 Spirit of Columbus Award on behalf of the work she and the COTA team did to keep our growing community safe and moving throughout the pandemic.
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SUPPORT FOR REFUGEES
Through this Critical Need Alert, you can help provide immediate financial support for nonprofit organizations serving refugees in central Ohio.
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Support the Causes You Care About!
Search by name or browse by category to find more than 1,200 area nonprofit organizations to support.
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Spirit of the Day
See what we've been up to by checking out our latest edition of NEXUS, the Foundation's newsletter!
See what we've been up to by checking out our latest edition of NEXUS, the Foundation's newsletter!
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WE LOVE OUR
SMART + OPEN
COMMUNITY!
SMART + OPEN
COMMUNITY!
Spirit
Get to Know 2022 Spirit of Columbus Honorees Joanna Pinkerton + COTA!
Joanna Pinkerton accepts the 2022 Spirit of Columbus Award on behalf of the work she and thousands of team members at the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) for going above and beyond to show steadfastness, courage, and resolve by putting others first during unquestionably historic times—demonstrating the Spirit of Columbus remains alive and well in our community.
Every year on the anniversary of Jerrie Mock's historic flight around the world in her single-engine Cessna named Spirit of Columbus, the Foundation recognizes members of our community who, like Jerrie, exhibit bravery, boldness, and determination through their efforts and accomplishments.
Watch past honorees, including 2021's honoree Roshelle "Food Soldier" Pate + the COTA team surprise Joanna Pinkerton with the Spirit of Columbus Award in this month's blog!
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Critical Need Alert
Through this Critical Need Alert, you can help provide immediate financial support for nonprofit organizations serving refugees in central O…
Immigrants and refugees help weave the fabric of our community, but they often arrive in the United States with little more than hope for a better future. Through this Critical Need Alert, you can help provide immediate financial support for nonprofit organizations serving refugees in central Ohio.
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Better Together
Your support for Learning 4 Life Farm will help cover costs needed to establish job training and alpaca therapy programs.
Learning 4 Life Farm's future seven-acre nonprofit farm will help young people with autism to care for the alpacas, plant and maintain the gardens, sell produce and products they create, develop transition life skills, and prepare for meaningful employment in the community. Help bring the farm to life by supporting this Better Together Campaign today!
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Better Together
Support for Freedom a la Cart will help fund a new compost program!
Support for this new Better Together will be used to purchase compostable product packaging and disposables to reduce food waste and create compost used by area farms and greenhouses throughout the state. With your help, Freedom a la Cart's customers will have continued confidence in knowing they are making a difference, both through the purchase of their meal and in where their leftovers land.
We are Better Together!
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Better Together
Your support for this Better Together project will help provide food and supplies for rescue dogs adopted by veterans through Veteran Compan…
VCAS is in the process of placing 12 rescue dogs with veterans who are seeking the structure and purpose that a dog provides, and who will, in return, provide a rescue dog a forever home. Support for Veteran Companion Animal Services (VCAS) will help provide food and supplies for rescue dogs adopted by veterans through VCAS.
We are Better Together!
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News
These innovative central Ohio organizations are advocating for a region rooted in greater equity and belonging.
These innovative central Ohio organizations are advocating for a region rooted in greater equity and belonging:
Muslim Family Services of Ohio
Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT)
Community
All applications to be a 2022 Summer Fellow must be submitted by close of business on Friday, January 21, 2022.
Deadline Extended!
The Summer Fellowship Program places eligible students with Franklin County nonprofit organizations for 10 weeks. Students receive valuable experience and a paid stipend for their work, while nonprofits benefit from the additional support students provide to a specific program or objective.
All applications to be a 2022 Summer Fellow must be submitted by close of business on Friday, January 21, 2022.
Scholarship
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Explore and apply for hundreds of scholarships in the Foundation's online directory.
Explore and apply for hundreds of scholarships in the Foundation's online directory.
Story of Impact
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Bikes for All People's Better Together project, Bikes for Happy Healthy Kids, surpassed its fundraising goal to help cover the parts and lab…
Better Together projects are featured on a crowdfunding platform in The Columbus Foundation’s Giving Store.
Over the past six months, 93 percent of Better Together projects, the Foundation's crowd-funding platform, have met or exceeded their fundraising goals, and more than $91,000 has been raised. One recent project that surpassed its fundraising goal, Bikes for Happy Healthy Kids, was launched to help Bikes for All People cover the parts and labor necessary to prepare bikes and helmets for children.
Story of Impact
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In 2017, the Payne Theological Seminary, the nation's oldest freestanding African American seminary, established the Payne Theological Semin…
Nation’s oldest freestanding African American seminary focuses on its future.
The Payne Theological Seminary is the oldest freestanding African American seminary in the country and is home to students from all over the world. In 2017, the board at Payne established the Payne Theological Seminary Endowment Fund to ensure ongoing growth and honor the stewardship and legacy of a significant gift made to the school.