Our job, as we see it, isn't just to plan for the next five years. It's to build for the next hundred. We don't know exactly what Summit County will need down the road, but we know that philanthropy, once it takes hold in people of every age, is one of the most powerful and nimble ways to meet it. That belief is what led us to launch our newest initiative: the Inspire Fund.

The fund's story starts with a gift. Howard and Sue Carver, longtime Summit County residents and longtime supporters of our work, gave $300,000 to get it started. But when we talked with them about it, they were clear that a single gift, on its own, doesn't solve much. As Howard put it, "A single gift only solves a single problem. It doesn't ask what comes next." Sue felt the same way; she didn't want this to be a campaign with a finish line. She wanted it to be an invitation, one that lets our neighbors see themselves as philanthropists in their own right, no matter the size of what they give.

So that's what we built. The Inspire Fund is structured to grow permanently, not spend down, and to stay flexible enough to respond to whatever the community needs next. Right now, that means putting resources behind two things we care about deeply: giving local nonprofits the training, tools, and support to build real capacity, and growing a culture of giving here, welcoming new residents into it, and raising up the next generation of givers, including young people, through the fund.

It's not meant to replace the everyday giving that keeps our core programs and grants running. It's meant to sit alongside that work, for the moments when someone's ready to go further for something that moves them.

We shared the news publicly this week, and it's since been picked up by the Summit Daily News. If you want the full story, and a chance to be part of it, it's all on our website.