News & Event
If you ask Linda Pavey to tell why she puts her heart and soul into caring for horses, she will tell you about Zodiac.
Rescued by Days End Farm, a nonprofit organization in Maryland, “He was nothing but skin and bones; he was in dire straits,” Linda said. “He was actually unable to stand on his own and had to be in a sling that was hooked up to the rafters because horses should not lie on their sides all the time.”
“Part of my mission is to help abused and neglected horses, as well as those who just need retraining,” Linda explains.
Horses like Zodiac. Linda says the general public may not realize that equine abuse and neglect is a problem throughout the country.
“I’ve heard of cases where they let them go in abandoned mines or out the Everglades, they let them go fend for themselves,” she said. “There are a lot of great organizations who will take in horses from those situations. That’s the type I like to grant to as well as those who take horses off the race track who can no longer race. They train them for a second career and adopt them out.”
And Zodiac? His days of hanging from a sling are long behind him. He’s back on his feet and was adopted by loving owners.
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CINCINNATI (January 13, 2017) - The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation has received $150,000 from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee. These funds will support numerous projects furthering the fund’s mission to ensure the economic self-sufficiency of women.
Funding will support research into domestic violence triggered by employment advancement. The Women’s Fund and its community partners have been collecting data on this phenomenon for the past six months. This grant has attracted the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to do a local qualitative study to better understand the situation and provide solutions.
Funding will also support a series of workshops for local foundations on gender lens grantmaking that will help drive more effective investments with non-profit partners.
“The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund was created to honor Jacob Schmidlapp’s daughter, Charlotte and support women’s educational and economic advancement,” said Meghan Cummings, executive director. “We are honored to celebrate her legacy by putting these funds to work on projects that support women and encourage their advancement. This grant is a transformational investment in our work.”
Together, The Women’s Fund and the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund are making a powerful difference by driving top-level change and leadership on these important issues.
I want to take a moment to thank you for being such an important part of The Women’s Fund family. I’m tremendously honored to lead this organization comprising so many passionate donors and volunteers.
I have been with The Women’s Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation for more than four years and, quite simply, I live and breathe this work. Investing in women and their families is the strongest, most effective way to make our community more prosperous.
My vision is to make women’s self-sufficiency a community imperative—an issue that is discussed in back yards and board rooms and carried out through a dynamic plan of action.
Thanks to your support, the trajectory of The Women’s Fund has been exceptional. We are changing the conversation about women and girls in Greater Cincinnati.
I am grateful that you understand and appreciate the importance of the systemic work that we do. It makes all the difference.
Although I know many of you already, I look forward to reconnecting over the next few months and discussing your hopes for The Women’s Fund in the years to come.
We have so much more to accomplish together and I’m eager to hear your ideas. You can reach me anytime at cummingsm@gcfdn.org or 513-768-6144.
Thank you for your generosity and your confidence in our work.
Warm regards,
Meghan Cummings Executive Director
The Women's Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation leads our community in ensuring the economic self-sufficiency of women in our region. cincinnatiwomensfund.org
January 2019
The David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) has granted its 2019 awards to two regional arts organizations, Know Theatre of Cincinnati and Revolution Dance Theatre.
The grants, the first for the fund, will be awarded annually to arts organizations in the eight-county GCF funding region — Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn County in Indiana.
They honor the legacy of the late Northern Kentucky philanthropist and arts patron David C. Herriman, who established the fund for the purpose of “making possible what would otherwise be impossible” for both large and small arts organizations. The awards will particularly focus on new works, the education of youth and performance enhancement through funding to bring in performance artists, directors, choreographers, authors, musicians and other creative artists.
“We are thrilled that David’s immeasurable passion for the advancement of the arts in his adopted hometown lives on in such impactful ways,” said Ellen M. Katz, GCF President/CEO. “We are honored to help ensure that his vision will be preserved for generations to come.”
Know Theatre of Cincinnati will receive $30,000 to fund its “Welcoming New Voices to the Know” guest residency program for artists of color during its 2019-2020 MainStage season. The Over-the-Rhine theater will conduct a search for up to four guest directors and/or designers of color from New York and Chicago to provide fresh perspectives to their audiences and shadowing/mentee opportunities to local artists. Know Theatre is recognized as a “theatrical playground where all are welcome,” amplifying under-represented voices and presenting inclusive productions.
Revolution Dance Theatre (RDT) will receive $10,000 to fund its Ballet on the BLOC collaboration with BLOC Ministries to bring high-quality arts experiences and classical dance access to the Lower Price Hill community. The funds will be used to cover professional fees for residencies at Oyler Elementary School and the neighborhood Q-Kidz Dance Team, as well as an extended residency with instructor KaRon Brown-Lehman, monthly events for intermediate and advance level dancers and a performance at Aronoff Center for the Arts. RDT is dedicated to “breaking barriers between the ballet art form and people of color” by bringing dance classes and resources to under-represented communities and producing works that celebrate diversity.
The anonymous committee that considered the funding requests includes a member of the arts community, a faculty member of a local university or college and a person representing a county of GCF’s funding region, a position which will rotate each year between the eight counties.
“Our committee was pleased and proud to review many excellent applications,” said a committee member. “The process underscored the depth and strength of the arts community in which we live and work. David’s goal of ‘making possible the impossible’ most clearly resonated in the grants to Know Theatre and Revolution Dance Theatre. We encourage all to attend their grant-winning performances to enjoy the impact of a most cherished friend and philanthropist, David Herriman.”
The David C. Herriman Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation will award up to three grants — one large, and one or two smaller — totaling $220,000 in 2019. GCF will publish a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the next funding cycle in April. Proposals will be due on October 1.
CINCINNATI (August 12, 2015) – Meghan Cummings, CFRE, has been promoted to Executive Director of The Women’s Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF).
“Meghan was the clear choice” said Wijdan Jreisat, chair of the Women’s Fund Leadership Council. “Her work and leadership over the past four years demonstrated that The Women’s Fund had cultivated a true champion for our work whose vision could lead us forward. She brings a passion for our work and a dedication to taking on complex community problems that require disparate groups to find common ground. She also has a track record of leadership in diversity and inclusion which honors our goal to speak for those whose voices are not often heard.”
The Women's Fund of GCF drives systemic change to ensure the economic self-sufficiency of women in our region. Established in 1995 as a designated fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Women’s Fund has led the community in assessing and identifying barriers to women’s economic self-sufficiency and catalyzing the community to achieve it through innovative projects and relevant policy. It has granted more than $1 million to support programs serving women and girls in our eight-country service area.
“Meghan has worked extensively to promote diversity and inclusion among the ranks of those working in fundraising,” said Sydney Schnurr, President of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “She was instrumental in efforts to create an AFP diversity pipeline program called New Faces of Fundraising which is supported by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.”
Cummings most recently served as Assistant Executive Director of The Women’s Fund of GCF under the leadership of Vanessa Freytag, who recently became CEO of 4C for Children. She previously held positions with OneSight, Center for Chemical Addictions Treatments, and Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cincinnati.
“GCF is proud of the work The Women’s Fund has been doing for 20 years to improve the state of women and girls in Greater Cincinnati,” said Ellen M. Katz, President/CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. “I am excited for the future of The Women’s Fund with Meghan at the helm. This energetic, bright, and knowledgeable new leader will maintain and build on the impressive momentum of The Women’s Fund.”
She is a Cincinnati Business Courier 2014 Class of Forty Under 40 honoree and the immediate past president of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Her other volunteer activities include serving on the board of the Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati, and committees of Philanthropy Ohio and the International Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Cummings holds a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and Master of Business Administration from Xavier University. She has earned the designation Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), the global standard for the fundraising profession.
One of the nation’s leading community foundations, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation helps people make the most of their giving to build a better community. We believe in the power of philanthropy to change the lives of people and communities. As a community foundation, GCF creates a prosperous Greater Cincinnati by investing in thriving people and vibrant places. An effective steward of the community’s charitable resources since 1963, the Foundation inspires philanthropy in eight counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.
CINCINNATI (March 2, 2016) — The following are links to media stories about The Greater Cincinnati Foundation and its work in the community.