The scholarship fund was established by a bequest from Dorothy “Dottie” Redfern and will provide educational assistance to students in the Southern Local School District of Perry County. Dottie graduated from Columbus South High School in 1954 and from The Ohio State University College of Education in 1958. Following a 35-year career as an editor and writer of biomedical and education publications, she retired as Editorial Manager at Ross Products Division/Abbott Nutrition. Dottie passed away in 2019.

The Ken Hammond and Jeff Prestel Scholarship Fund was created in 2026 in collaboration with the Kerr Family YMCA in Raleigh, NC. The fund’s purpose is to provide educational support for teens and young adults in the Kerr Family YMCA’s service area.  The fund prioritizes students and families who face obstacles in pursuing post-secondary education.     The Kerr Family YMCA is a leading nonprofit organization serving youth and families in the North Raleigh/Wake Forest community in Wake County, North Carolina.  The Y is committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose and each other.  The scholarship fund’s creators, Ken Hammond and Jeff Prestel, have a strong connection to this community and the Kerr Family YMCA.

Explore Benchmarking Central Ohio 2024, the latest in a series of community benchmarking reports commissioned by The Columbus Foundation, starting in 2007. This in-depth report assesses five vital areas—population, economy, personal prosperity, lifelong learning, and community well-being—offering valuable insights to empower civic, nonprofit, and business leaders with data to drive positive change. Together we can create responsive and sustainable solutions to the complex challenges facing our region.

The Columbus Foundation has announced that Jeff Edwards, President, CEO, and Chairman of Installed Building Products and President of Edwards Companies, will serve as Chairperson of the Foundation’s Governing Committee in 2026.

Ervin Marriot was a dedicated teacher who instilled in his students a desire to think for themselves, allowing them to discuss current topics and how they would be personally affected. He taught in the Grandview Heights School System from 1973 until his death in a car accident in 1988. Ervin loved to travel, having visited more than 50 countries during his lifetime, and he shared the insights he had gained through these travels with his students. He will be remembered as a teacher, friend, and coach.

The fund was established in memory of Becky Waldron. Mrs. Waldron served as the secretary of Southeastern High School of the Ross County Public Schools for many years until her death in 1995 from breast cancer. This fund will support scholarships for students of Southeastern High School in Chillicothe, Ohio.

To provide scholarship awards for deserving students who have attended the Colonial Hills Elementary School in Worthington, Ohio who are pursuing post-secondary education at a college, university, or junior college.

Mary Eleanor Leonard Morris was born in West Liberty, Ohio on April 8, 1892. She went to Oxford College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, where she met her husband, James Relle Morris. Married in 1914, they settled in London, England, where both did extensive volunteer work in hospitals in the lead-up to World War II, administering to American Soldiers. Upon the death of her mother in 1936, Mrs. Morris returned to West Liberty to be of help to her father. Mr. Morris’ work eventually took him to California, and Mrs. Morris divided her time between California and Ohio. When Mr. Morris died in 1967, Mrs. Morris returned to West Liberty permanently. Through her estate, Mrs. Morris created this fund to support work in her home community in Logan County, Ohio.

The scholarship supports student-athletes from Bexley High School who have contributed on the field of athletic competition, who rank in the top half of their class academically, who are enrolling in a college or university following graduation, and who are overall assets to the Bexley community. The scholarships are to be in the form of equal awards to one male student athlete and one female student athlete in the graduating class of Bexley High School.

Beginning in the 1970’s, a group of men, including Dave Tingley, Frank Machinsky, and Woody Hayes, worked together to provide financial support to former Ohio State University athletes and their families in need. Eventually, the group grew and created the Columbus Roast Association. The Columbus Roast Association created a comedy event to raise money in support of its goal to provide financial support to those in need. As the group evolved and grew, it raised significant funds through its annual Roast. In 2017, the group created this scholarship to continue its generosity by transitioning the funds it raised into a scholarship that supports high school seniors in need from Franklin and Madison counties as they pursue their college degree.