Green and Gold Foundation reaches milestone

Cory-Rawson Local Schools, in a partnership with the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, announces its Green and Gold Foundation Fund has reached its grant funding milestone. Starting in January 2026, school staff, coaches and administrators can receive grants to support enrichment opportunities for students across all grade levels. Superintendent Jay Clark said discussions for the fund began last spring. Founding donors, including alumni, community members and retired school staff, explored ways to provide long-term financial support to the school district. Considering schools are mostly constricted to cash donations, the Green and Gold Foundation Fund accepted various types of investments such as grain in storage, securities traded on a national exchange, real property, artwork, and life insurance policies. "We're really limited here at the school on the types of donations we can take. Basically it's cash and that's it. There was some interest in the community and from alumni all over the country who would like to be able to give to the school district in a way where it's got some longevity, but also in ways that aren't just cash," said Clark. "As we talked about that more, we saw a need and really not much of a difficulty, in making that a reality." During the Christmas season, the foundation hit its grant funding milestone. Having reached a sufficient amount, the foundation will be self-sustaining and will continue to grow through investments made by the Community Foundation. In the next couple of months Clark plans to organize a committee to oversee the fund and approve or deny grants submitted by school staff. The committee will be composed of alumni and community members with no direct ties to the school district. Clark explained that funds will be implemented to support programs and activities that provide enrichment in student's educational experiences beyond traditional funding. "The grant fund specifically will be used to enhance what we are able to do with the school revenue we already have in the school district and to be able to go above and beyond," said Clark. "I can see possibilities for athletic camps, special programs and travel opportunities for students or other enrichment activities that might provide some of our gifted students opportunities they may not have had before." The district soon plans to launch a capital campaign to expand on the foundation's impact. Clark was surprised at the momentum the foundation received and is excited to soon be organizing the committee. "We didn't want to get too excited about it and then have it take five years to get to this point because then you kind of lose that momentum," said Clark. "There have just been some really generous folks and the right conversations with the right people who wanted to make an investment. One thing that's really clear here is that there is a lot of pride in the school district."