Discover how The Columbus Foundation celebrates and supports the vibrant arts community of Columbus, Ohio, by investing in organizations to meet community needs, expand arts and cultural programming, and enrich the region with creativity, entertainment, and the transformative power of art.

In recognition of their incredible generosity and contributions to the central Ohio region, Larry and Donna James have been selected as the 2022 honorees of The Harrison M. Sayre Award.

The assets of The Columbus Foundation are held in more than 3,000 charitable funds, 30 Supporting Foundations, and one statewide affiliate, Community Foundations, Inc. Among more than 750 community foundations in the United States, The Columbus Foundation ranks seventh in market value of assets.

What a way to close out 2018! It was an auspicious weekend, to be sure, and I continue to marvel and be grateful for our unparalleled Team. On Saturday, December 29, catalyzed by The Columbus Foundation’s Big Explore Day, we hosted an earth-shattering 20,740 guests in our building between the hours of 9:30 am – 7:00 pm. This staggering and unprecedented performance was not just evidenced by the ridiculously large number of individuals that we greeted and supported throughout our busiest day in the history of COSI (closest second was a now paltry 12, 000…) but it was the context and spirit of Saturday’s attendance that guarantee its place etched on the annals of history.

Chris and Lori established the Chris and Lori Holtmann Foundation, a Donor Advised Fund at The Columbus Foundation, in 2018. Through their fund, the Holtmanns have helped numerous local nonprofit organizations including Mid-Ohio Food Collective, A Kid Again, Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, and other causes that are meaningful to them

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.

In this month’s At the Table, learn about the storied history of E.E. Ward Moving & Storage, the Ward family, and how the family’s legacy lives on in central Ohio.

World-renowned researchers—Lonnie Thompson, PhD, and Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD—are on a mission to preserve glacial ice cores for future generations of scientists.

Today, the Arc of Appalachia, created by Executive Director Nancy Stranahan, includes 24 preserves, 8,000 acres, and is still rapidly growing. In 2012, the Arc of Appalachia – Highlands Nature Sanctuary Endowment Fund was established at The Columbus Foundation to help ensure the long-term viability and success of the Arc of Appalachia.

In 2020, a group of high school friends with a passion to help others connected to create the Cultivating Success Fund, a Donor Advised Fund that gives them the flexibility to support organizations both in central Ohio and in the communities where they live.