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.
"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.
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.
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 first permanent headquarters, The Robert & Ruth Westheimer Center for Philanthropy.
2002 GCF conducted the “Future Directions 2” community listening process to identify priority issues in the Tristate area, resulting in a $500,000, five-year investment in key projects.
2005 GCF among first U.S. community foundations confirmed in compliance with new National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.
2007 Assets climbed over the half-billion-dollar mark.
2007 Procter & Gamble selected GCF to administer its charitable giving.