When Marge Wolford looks back on her time as a Pickaway County Community Foundation Board member and her time as board chair, she thinks about all the exciting things the board accomplished and how those have set the foundation for PCCF’s mission now and into the future.
Wolford retired from OSU Extension in 2008, and when then–board member, the late Ralph Starkey, approached her looking for new board members, she agreed.
“It was a way to stay connected in the community and continue my volunteerism activities,” she said. “I do quite a bit of volunteering now, but joining the PCCF board then was an important way to continue it. When [Ralph] asked me I said yes right away. I was on for nine years, and at the end of 2016 my term was up.”
Wolford said there were a lot of exciting things that happened during those nine years on the board. She served as chair for a two-year term in 2012 and 2013. At the beginning of 2012, PCCF had awarded $287,000 in grants from over 50 funds held at the time, with total assets of $4.1 million. By the end of 2013, PCCF grew to 65 funds and $7.1 million in assets.
During her time as chair, grants were issued for Kids On Campus, the city pool, the Ted Lewis Museum, and youth leadership. The board also received a Leadership in Philanthropy Award from The Columbus Foundation in 2012. In the summer of 2013, PCCF moved into its current space at 770 N. Court St. in Circleville, dubbed the Center for Philanthropy.
“I think the most exciting thing was acquiring a place,” she said. “Philanthropy is an important part of this community, and folks tend to give when times are good economically. It was important to continue that and find a location so folks would have a place to come and serve as a home to give to worthy causes.”
Finding the location and eventually launching PCCF’s physical home wasn’t without challenges.
“Once we found the place, doing the logistical things to support it—like updating the interior by painting, adding furnishings, and some minor reconstruction—was a big challenge,” she said. “We needed to get it accomplished in a positive way.”
Wolford said PCCF Founder Shirley Bowser’s foresight to lift up the founding principles of education, agriculture, and leadership was also key to the board’s work during her time and into the present day.
Those initiatives—including granting seed money for each school district’s education foundation and the Pickaway Fellows Program, a leadership development program—were important to setting PCCF’s guiding mission.
Wolford said having the support of The Columbus Foundation and the partnership with United Way were big keys to PCCF’s success and growth.
“It takes everyone working together, but having The Columbus Foundation as a larger supporter was important during that time,” she said.
Wolford shared how serving on the PCCF board changed her.
“In the beginning we were an all-volunteer organization, and it took each one of us to contribute as far as our skills, abilities, and whatever else we had to offer. Having that mindset, we had to really keep the organization vital and an important part of the community. In that aspect, volunteerism for the board showed me how important that is and how to continue it in other ways throughout the community.”
After leaving the board, Wolford said her biggest takeaway was just how important PCCF is to the community.
“Philanthropy is a way for folks to give back to the community according to their interests and to support the community in ways that cannot happen in any other way. In that respect, having that founding board’s vision—that philanthropy is such an important part of every community—come to fruition was a big step for this community and a big step for the founders. It has really paid off in the long run. This organization is known in the community as a leader, a convener, a grant maker—an organization that folks respect. I think that has come over time and is important to continue.”
Wolford’s advice for people considering philanthropy is to simply get involved.
“You really need to support the community,” she said. “PCCF is the best way, as I see it, to get involved and support it—whether it’s being a volunteer, a donor supporter, or providing what talents you have.”