A Little About the History of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation In 1963, a group of Greater Cincinnati area business people was intrigued by the success enjoyed by community foundations in other cities. They wanted to see a community foundation established in Cincinnati. At the same time, the board of the Fresh Air and Convalescent Aid Society, an organization which brought women and children out of the crowded tenement areas during the hottest months of the summer for two weeks of good food, comfortable living, and planned recreation in the country, realized that its mission had become outdated. The Fresh Air and Convalescent Aid Society decided to disband and needed an alternative charitable use for its $600,000 endowment. The business leaders and the Fresh Air Board came together and The Greater Cincinnati Foundation was born. The Fresh Air and Convalescent Aid Society’s endowment became GCF’s first unrestricted fund. Excerpts from Forty Years of Inspiring Philanthropy: A History of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, 1963-2003 (complete electronic publication available below): The Leader and Guiding Spirit An early GCF report called William E. Anderson the "leader and guiding spirit" of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. This transplanted Cincinnatian indeed played a major role in gathering support for a community foundation and getting the right people together to make it happen. "Andy," as he was known to his friends, brought the community foundation idea with him from Cleveland, where he had been an attorney and bank trust officer before joining Cincinnati’s Central Trust Company in 1935. By the late 1950’s, he was senior vice president and trust officer there, and spreading the word about the benefits a community foundation could bring to Greater Cincinnati. Devoted to the Foundation "Mark Upson was coming in from the golf course when he was called to the phone. It was Anderson, who described the new enterprise and said, ‘I’ve told them I’d take the job only if you would agree to be Executive Director." — They Helped Shape Our City, Oliver Gale Fortunately, Mark Upson agreed to serve — for no compensation — as GCF’s first Director and held the post through GCF’s critical formative years. Then a recent Procter & Gamble retiree, Upson devoted much of his time and energy to managing the Foundation. Upson was seldom in the company of any Cincinnatian that he didn’t find an opportunity to talk about the Foundation and what its growth could mean to the quality of life in Greater Cincinnati. Everything's Jake This Jazz Age slang for "things are great!" is an apt description of the many years Jake Davis had a leadership role at GCF. Jacob E. Davis, then President of The Kroger Co., was involved in the initial conversations about establishing a community foundation. He served as the founding chairman of the Distribution Committee from 1963-74. Davis returned to take the helm of GCF in 1978, serving as the Foundation’s Volunteer Director until 1987. According to Bill Friedlander, a later Volunteer Director and board chair during Davis’ tenure, Davis knew what he wanted for the Foundation, but "Jake rarely had a position we didn’t agree with." He had strong opinions about the direction the Foundation should take, but Davis was a "generous thinker" and was able to be flexible and adapt as times changed.

A Few GCF Milestones 1964  Assets exceeded $1,000,000 for year end. Grants awarded in 1964 totaled $25,928. 1969  Grants exceeded $100,000 for the year. 1972  Asset value broke the $5 million barrier. 1973  GCF received nearly $1 million from Charles Sawyer for “development of a riverfront park.”  The ultimate result:  Sawyer Point Park. 1978  $75,000 grant to start Hospice of Cincinnati, the second freestanding Hospice unit in the U.S. 1978  Assets climbed over $10 million. 1982  GCF was lead start-up funder in establishment of the Bicentennial Commission. 1985  Total grants awarded exceeded $2.5 million. 1986  Assets exceeded $50 million. 1990  GCF grant launched the Greater Cincinnati Flower & Garden Show. 1991  Assets broke the $100 million mark. 1997  Total asset value exceeded $200 million. 1998  Net assets surpassed $300 million. 2000  GCF moved to its first permanent headquarters, The Robert & Ruth Westheimer Center for Philanthropy.