Skip to content

What We Do

Here for Good

The community foundation is like the community’s charitable savings account. We pool resources from community members, invest them and then use them to make grants for the betterment of the entire community.

We exist to serve donors, nonprofit organizations and the community as a whole.

Donors to ACCF enjoy tax advantages not available to private foundation donors. They also receive professional services without hiring staff.

Nonprofit organizations receive grants from community foundations to support their programs and projects. Many nonprofits also establish their own endowment funds with the foundation as a means of investing for the future.

We’re also engaged as a community leader. We help set the vision for Ashland County while ensuring charitable gifts are used effectively to meet the community’s present needs and to build a brighter future.

Our Story

Ashland County Community Foundation didn’t begin, as many community foundations do, with a large gift from a single wealthy donor.

Our foundation was started in 1995 by a group of charitably-minded community members who each gave what they could. Their goal was to encourage Ashland County residents to invest their charitable gifts in the future of Ashland County.

These first donors made up the original board of trustees. Dr. Lucille Ford served as the foundation’s pro-bona president.

Since then, ACCF has become a trusted philanthropic partner for thousands of families and individuals who want to invest in the future of Ashland County through endowment. Gifts made through Ashland County Community Foundation are never spent. Rather, they are invested, creating income that is used to make grants or provide scholarships each year.

ACCF now has over 600 endowment funds under administration. More than $25 million has been given back to the Ashland County community in the form of grants, scholarships and individual fund distributions.

Our Mission

The mission of the Ashland County Community Foundation is to advance philanthropy and improve the quality of life in Ashland County by supporting charitable activities in the community, providing and administering a variety of planned giving programs, and serving as responsible stewards of scholarship, as well as individual and organizational funds for specific charities.

Annual Reports