COLUMBUS, Ohio (December 19, 2014)—Six local nonprofits recently received grants aimed at efforts to beautify our community through the Joseph A. Jeffrey Endowment Fund. Seven grants, totaling $78,000, were made possible thanks to the generous legacy of Columbus entrepreneur Joseph A. Jeffrey.
A Columbus banker, Jeffrey turned an inventor’s idea for undercutting coal into a booming success during the late 1870s. His company, the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, became the world’s largest manufacturer of mining machinery. In 1980, The Columbus Foundation was selected by the City of Columbus to manage the Joseph A. Jeffrey Endowment Fund. The fund, originally established in 1919 with a gift of $100,000, is used to support nonprofit organizations in Columbus and throughout Franklin County.
2014 Joseph A. Jeffrey Endowment Fund Grant Recipients:
Columbus College of Art & Design
$8,175 to produce a community flag for Franklinton and launch a new branding initiative for the neighborhood.
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
$15,000 to support construction of an inclusive playground in Franklin Park.
Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Association
$7,425 to beautify Green Lawn Abbey, a historic mausoleum in Franklin Township, by creating and maintaining flower beds.
Schumacher Place Civic Association
$14,500 to support Plant Pride on Parsons, a community improvement project that helps clean and beautifies the Parsons Avenue corridor.
SID Public Services Association
$10,000 to purchase and install 310 hoop hangers and water-saver baskets for streetlights on High Street downtown; and $20,000 for five architectural installations in downtown Columbus parking lots.
The Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts
$2,900 to beautify Thurber Park with flowers, provide enhanced trash receptacles, and screen an electrical panel and box.
About The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation is the trusted philanthropic advisor® to more than 2,000 individuals, families, businesses, and communities that have created unique funds to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible. Now 70 years strong, The Columbus Foundation is the seventh largest community foundation in the United States. The Foundation’s online giving marketplace, PowerPhilanthropy,® makes it possible for everyone to access valuable information about nonprofit organizations in central Ohio.