In 1943, during the darkness of World War II, Columbus businessman Harrison Sayre envisioned a better future. Together with community leaders, he established The Columbus Foundation as a dynamic partnership with a singular purpose: to create a thriving city for generations to come.

While this past year brought many challenges, it also included signs of hope and kindness. We examine the 2020 Donor Advised Fund (DAF) grantmaking surge—here in central Ohio and across the United States—and how previous times of peril have seen similar increases in DAF grants.

It was Brandy Jemczura’s two young children who initially inspired her idea to create Seeds of Caring back in 2016. As she thought about what she wanted her children to grow up and be like, she kept coming back to the same notion—the kind of people who, if they see something in their community they aren’t okay with, will do something.

Since 2012, Besa has been dedicated to connecting people to community service in Columbus. It collaborates with local nonprofits to help spread awareness of ongoing volunteer opportunities, as well as to help find volunteers to support specific service projects. In 2024, Besa partnered with 185 nonprofits and, since its founding, the organization has recruited more than 100,000 volunteers to support 13,000 service projects.

Digital Access grants provide support for programming designed to offer training or technical support, or the expansion of affordability and access to digital technology and the internet to individuals and communities with limited access.

Investments are made in a broad range of nonprofit organizations working to strengthen and improve our community.

The grantmaking of the Ingram-White Castle Foundation reflects the interests of both the Ingram Family and White Castle System, Inc. The Foundation is primarily interested in supporting projects in the field of education or critical human service needs.

Better Together projects are featured on a crowdfunding platform in The Columbus Foundation’s Giving Store. Designed to fulfill critical needs of local nonprofits, Better Together is where you can learn about current opportunities, quickly and easily make donations, and track each project goal in real-time.

The Center for HumanKindness is The Columbus Foundation’s initiative dedicated to cultivating a culture of kindness to improve community wellbeing.