Introducing Our New Podcast, Giving Forward

Dear Friends,

When I first began my career at The Community Foundation, one of the first projects I was charged with was documenting the history of our first 40 years.

The Community Foundation was making an important shift at this anniversary milestone. Up to that point, our focus as a Foundation had primarily been on building assets – and rightly so. We worked closely with donors to set up new funds, creating an important source of resources that would last in perpetuity.

By our 40^th anniversary, we had amassed a respectable asset base. It was time to put our assets to work. We wanted to be a catalyst for solutions.

We asked Mary Kress Littlepage, the veteran Times-Union journalist, to comb through our annual reports, original founding documents, newspaper articles and more, to piece together our story as a Foundation. The result was a fascinating timeline and history in our 40^th anniversary annual report.

Now, as I prepare for my retirement this September, and we celebrate our 60^th anniversary next year, I am embarking on a similar project to look back on how far we have come. Except, this time, we’re bringing it to you as a podcast – a series of conversations with some of the leaders I have worked most closely with over these 22 years.

My time as president of The Community Foundation has never been about me. It’s always been about “we” – the leaders, donors, and nonprofits who have put in the hard work to build a better community.

So what better way to look back than to talk with the leaders I have been privileged to work with?

I hope you’ll join us and listen to this podcast series, to discover how The Community Foundation has played a part in some of our region’s biggest stories over the last two decades.

Listen to our introductory episode below, and stay tuned for each episode, listed below as they become available.