Donor Profiles
Click below to read profiles of Cleveland Foundation donors:
Ken and Blanche Cooley
Ken Cooley will gladly talk to you about many things – education, the state of African-American males, his passion for jazz and classical music, and even his philanthropy. But good luck if you want to find out more about Cooley himself. No matter what you ask, every one of his answers somehow comes back to his wife of 45 years, Blanche.
“She’s the driving force,” he says. “She’s my buddy, and we’ve shared many things together.”
That includes a desire to make Cleveland, Ken’s hometown, a better place. Cleveland Foundation donors since 2005, the Cooleys recently took advantage of federal legislation that allows individuals age 70½ and older to give up to $100,000 per year from their individual retirement accounts to certain charitable organizations. Both Cooleys gave the maximum amount to the foundation.
“I would like to see my money accomplish something, and the [charitable IRA rollover] is one way to do that,” said Ken, a retired U.S. federal government employee. “Early on, my wife suggested we sock some money away so that later in our lives we could give back. It turned out to be a great decision.”
Though they have no children, the Cooleys both have an interest in public education. Blanche spent many years as an administrator at Cleveland’s John Marshall High School, and she graduated from Cincinnati’s acclaimed Walnut Hills High School. The couple still regularly makes gifts to Walnut Hills, which last year was ranked as one of the top 100 high schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.
Ken, a graduate of East Technical High School in Cleveland, is also concerned about the plight of American youth and in particular young African-American boys who grow up without father figures in their lives. “There aren’t any mentors around,” he said. “Plus, so many families – and not just black families – are engaged in making a living and have both parents working. I wonder how much time they have to devote to their families. These are problems we need to address.”
As a lifelong resident of Greater Cleveland, Ken knows the area’s potential and was there during the city’s heyday. He feels strongly that Cleveland can bounce back.
“Cleveland has a lot of great things going for it,” he said. “We have a wonderful library, great parks, one of the best art museums, a world-famous symphony, and outstanding medical facilities. There’s so much to build on.”
The Cooleys first became involved with the Cleveland Foundation two years ago when they created a set of planned gifts through the Ken and Blanche Cooley Fund. Last year, they established the Ken and Blanche Cooley Donor-Advised Fund, then used the IRA rollover provision earlier this year to create their own endowment fund.
Donald and Yolanda Games
When Donald and Yolanda Games benefited from the sale of a company in which they owned stock, they decided it was the perfect opportunity to become more philanthropic. Though they’d been giving to nonprofit causes for years, they wanted to take their giving to the next level. Working with an attorney and an accountant, they planned to establish a private foundation.
But after some research into what it would require to start and run their own foundation, the Gameses decided they didn’t want to be burdened with the red tape involved in running a private foundation. So they began looking for a better alternative – something simpler that would enable them to focus on making grants, not on filing reports. For them, that alternative was a donor-advised fund at the Cleveland Foundation.
“Starting a private foundation involved quite a bit of red tape, and then there’s the required annual reporting to the IRS,” says Donald. “By working with the Cleveland Foundation, we save all that hassle and expense.”
Each year, the Gameses add to their fund using appreciated stock, which provides them with a tax benefit for their gift. Then, toward the end of the year, they ask the foundation to make grants from their fund to a dozen or so nonprofit organizations they want to support.
“There’s a convenience factor with a donor-advised fund,” says Donald. “We fill out a form, send it to the foundation, and then grants are made on our behalf to the charities we suggest.”
“We like that it’s easy to support a number of different charities and that we can choose where the grants go and what they support from year to year, depending on our interests,” says Yolanda. “And we like seeing the positive effects that our gifts have on the community.”
Albert Jr. & Beverly Higley
In a tradition of giving that extends back generations, Beverly and Albert Higley Jr. have made gifts supporting a wide variety of causes through their family foundation, the Higley Fund. Their gifts have benefited education, health, environment, social service, civic, arts, and faith-based organizations. And while the Higleys themselves have never sought the spotlight, their construction firm has been a major factor in Cleveland’s growth for years.
The classic art deco Greyhound Terminal and the 1939 Coast Guard Station are two of many Cleveland landmarks reflecting the strength and vision of the Albert M. Higley Co. The construction firm was founded in 1925 by Albert M. Higley Sr., and in 1967 son Albert M. Higley Jr. began leading the company into a new era. Today it ranks among Ohio's most experienced and respected construction firms.
Beverly and Al have always embraced local philanthropy. Beverly has long played an active role at the Cleveland Sight Center, and Al began his relationship with the Cleveland chapter of the American Red Cross as a volunteer in 1959 and later as board chairman and chairman emeritus.
Early on, the importance of charitable giving was instilled in them by their family, and for many years the Higleys had discussed that one day they would create a private foundation. “My mother was a social worker,” said Al. “We were raised to give back to the community, and now we try to pass that along to our own family.” Their three children are all involved in carrying on their philanthropic family tradition.
Beverly and Al felt that the right choice for them was to create a supporting organization with the Cleveland Foundation, and in 1994 they established the Higley Fund. “When we started the fund, we were extremely pleased with what the Cleveland Foundation had to offer,” Beverly said. “Now, with 12 more years of experience, we’re that much more pleased. Our experience working with the Cleveland Foundation has reinforced what a great community asset it is.”
As a separate nonprofit charitable organization, a supporting organization enjoys public charity status and the professional services of the Cleveland Foundation, including staff assistance and guidance with grantmaking and investment objectives. With its own board of directors and separate grantmaking identity, a supporting organization helps the family develop a tradition of giving through the generations.
The Higleys enjoy active participation in the grantmaking activity of their family fund. The Gift Planning and Donor Relations team at the Cleveland Foundation serves as a partner with the Higleys, helping them review grant proposals and providing insight into the organizations they might consider for grants.
The Higleys are especially passionate about helping those less fortunate and improving the Greater Cleveland community.
Drs. Morris and Adrienne Jones
When Drs. Morris and Adrienne Jones wanted to give something back to the community, they decided that a charitable gift annuity would be the perfect vehicle for their giving. And, as a former board member of the Cleveland Foundation, Adrienne was intimately familiar with the foundation’s work and impact on Greater Cleveland.
“We wanted to make sure that we played a part in the Cleveland Foundation’s good work,” Adrienne says. “And the charitable gift annuity gave us an opportunity to do that without sacrificing income from our retirement assets.”
With a charitable gift annuity, which is a contract issued by the foundation in exchange for cash or stock, the foundation guarantees them regular annuity payments for their lifetimes. Ultimately, the remainder will create a fund at the foundation in honor of the Joneses.
When they established the charitable gift annuity in April 2004, the Joneses weren’t certain exactly what causes or organizations they wanted the fund to benefit. However, because of the flexibility of a fund at the Cleveland Foundation, now that they’ve had time to think about it, they can narrow the fund’s focus by naming areas of interest, such as arts and culture, social services or economic development, or even specific organizations, to support.
“I like that we can be more specific with our interests after having had time to think about it,” Adrienne says.
The Joneses also appreciate the knowledge the Foundation possesses on community needs.
“The foundation’s board and staff really go through a great process to identify the most important community needs. Having been a part of that process, I am very, very comfortable with knowing that the money will go for good causes,” she says.
As a native Clevelander and retired physician who practiced in Cleveland for more than 40 years, Morris wanted to follow in the footsteps of those who have given to their community. Adrienne, who taught at Oberlin College, also cares about the continued success of the Greater Cleveland area.
“I think we’ve all benefited, directly or indirectly, from the largess of those who have had fortunes and shared them with the community,” the Joneses say. "The Cleveland Foundation ensures that this community is taken care of.”
Jack Schron Jr.
When asked about the origins of his philanthropic tendencies, Jack Schron Jr. doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“It comes from God,” he says. “Having a grandfather [the Rev. Julius Kish] who spent more than 50 years in the ministry, our family has always had a sense of giving. From the time we were small, we were taught by our parents to share with others.”
That feeling of obligation led to the formation of the Schron Family Foundation, which funds a variety of charitable entities in areas of the country in which Schron family members live, including Northeast Ohio, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Besides Jack Jr., the Schron Family Foundation is also directed by his parents Jack and Esther Schron, brother Terry Schron and sister Sue Evans.
One focus of the fund is education – and not just education for children.
“We have an interest in education that includes K-12, community colleges, four-year colleges, and lifelong learning,” Jack explains. “I spent 12 years as a board member and officer in the Chagrin Falls School District. Giving to education is a way in which we can give back some of the gifts we have received as a family.”
Among the Schrons’ most ambitious projects is Tooling University, an online service focusing on industrial manufacturing education. Jack founded “Tooling U” along with his son, Chad, to combat what he calls a “huge skills gap” in manufacturing today. As president of Jergens Inc., a tooling component manufacturer based in Cleveland, he would know.
“For years I heard my father say, ‘Who will train the next generation for manufacturing?’ We finally said, ‘We will!’” Jack laughs, who sees Tooling U as an especially useful service for bright young people who would like an alternative to attending college. He also believes educational initiatives like Tooling U can help bolster national defense as they foster American expertise in the manufacture of airplanes, military equipment, and such.
Tooling U is being used in a number of different industries and in more than 85 schools, including Max Hayes High School in Cleveland, Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in Brecksville, and Cuyahoga Community College. Tooling U courses provide foundational knowledge in areas such as blueprint reading, shop math, and computer numerical control machining, among others. The Schron Family Foundation will help to fund the purchase of laptop computers for students at Max Hayes to use Tooling U.
“I am glad our companies have been sufficiently successful these past few years that we could create the Schron Family Foundation,” Jack says.
The Tooling U concept is being piloted in a prison to help inmates learn marketable skills for their return to society. Another pilot program on Cleveland’s west side will use Tooling U to teach those same skills to homeless men.
Jack and his wife of 36 years, Mary Ellen, agree. “We are glad that a solution like the Cleveland Foundation exists to allow people like our family the chance to create a family foundation to help others without the related challenges of monitoring and investing and selecting charitable recipients.”