When Bill Wells took the stage at The Columbus Foundation’s Davis Hall in December 2012, he could hardly contain his excitement.

Thanks to the generosity of Columbus Foundation donors Tom and Ann DiMarco, elementary school children in southeastern Ohio are benefiting from valuable programs that fall outside of the school district’s budget.

Learn about the life-saving work of the 2023 Acorn Award honoree Frontline Medical Ukraine Fund, established by U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Arnold (Ret.), and its mission to provide vital medical supplies and training to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians amidst Russia's invasion.

Blind from the age of two, jazz legend and Columbus True Original Rahsaan Roland Kirk redefined musical genius—playing multiple instruments at once and inspiring generations through fearless creativity and vision.

Jeff Wilkins, one of Columbus' True Originals, helped pioneer the digital age by launching CompuServe in Columbus—transforming how the world connects, communicates, and shares information online, and laying the foundation for today’s internet.

Since 2019, The Columbus Foundation has led a human-centered design practice that helps nonprofit and social sector leaders gain a deeper understanding of our community’s assets, challenges, and needs. Done in collaboration with local nonprofits, city and regional partners, and members of the community, this innovative approach empowers individuals with firsthand experience of a community issue to help co-create solutions that promote positive change. In 2024, The Columbus Foundation’s Designing for Community Well-Being team sought to better understand why some high school students in Columbus are chronically absent from school.

In today’s hyper-paced world, political and social powers are seemingly in a perpetual state of disruption and disorder. Why is this? What has changed in the early days of the 21st century to make it so? The recently released, bestselling book, New Power, looks at the way ideas and movements spread in this new age of connectivity.

Dorothy Cage Evans’ dream was to ensure underserved and economically challenged youth in our community had the tools they needed to succeed in life. These tools far exceeded her investments in laptops, books, and school-related expenses, though her significant contributions to academic success cannot be understated. Over the course of 25 years, Dorothy and her family awarded hundreds of scholarships through the Cage Family Scholarship Fund and the Greater Columbus Community Helping Hands, Inc. Scholarship Fund.

What can we do to bolster the culture and the practice of working together to meet the formidable challenges of our day despite our differences? If we can vote together, we can work together, and the bonds we strengthen and the bridges we build will define us for generations to come.

Strengthening our community's social fabric begins with forging meaningful connections and relationships. On the blog, Kate Oliphint, Director of the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, discusses the powerful role of social connections on individual and community well-being.