Finding aid for the George Gund Foundation Records, Series IV

History of the George Gund Foundation

The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 by Cleveland, Ohio, businessman and banker George Gund (1888-1966) as a private foundation with the sole purpose of contributing to human well-being and the progress of society in general. George Gund, the son of Cleveland brewery owner and real estate investor George Frederick Gund (1855-1916), graduated from Harvard College in 1909 and attended Harvard Business School. He served in Army intelligence during World War I, attended Animal Husbandry School at Iowa State University, and was involved in ranching in Nevada. Gund's business career began when he created the Kaffee Hag Corporation in the 1910s. The corporation produced decaffeinated coffee and sold the caffeine to Coca-Cola. Gund sold the business to the Kellogg Corporation in 1929 and then carefully invested the proceeds from this sale. He married Jessica Roesler (d. 1954) in 1936 and settled in Cleveland to raise his children George III, Agnes, Gordon, Graham, Geoffrey, and Louise. George Gund became a director of the Cleveland Trust Company (later known as Ameritrust) in 1937 and became president of that organization in 1941. From 1962 until his death, he was chairman of the board, succeeding Isadore F. Freiberger (1879-1969). He also served on the boards of thirty other corporations and over a dozen philanthropic and educational institutions. At the time of his death in 1966, his personal estate was valued at $600 million, of which $40 million was left to The George Gund Foundation.

The foundation is directed by a board of trustees whose task is not solely to disburse funds but also to actively review the utility of received proposals. It has included five of the six children of the founder: George Gund III, Gordon Gund, Geoffrey Gund, Graham Gund, and Louise Gund. Gordon Gund's wife Llura, Graham Gund's wife Ann, and Agnes Gund's first husband Albrecht Saalfield and daughter Catherine Gund have also served as trustees. Other trustees have included Hawley Stark, George Karch, Frederick Cox, Robert Storey, and Kathleen Barbar.

James Lipscomb (1923-1987) was hired as the executive director of the foundation in 1969 and held this position until his death; during his tenure, Lipscomb personified The George Gund Foundation and its philanthropic philosophy. Under his leadership, the staff of the foundation grew to include seven full-time employees; this number had grown to ten by 1999. Henry Doll served as acting director of the foundation from 1987-1988 and continued the philosophical leadership of James Lipscomb during this time of transition. David Bergholz has been the executive director of the foundation since 1989.

By 1970, a long-range plan had been developed to guide the use of substantially increased grant capacity and address the ramifications of the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Early grant program objectives included support for the following: new concepts and methods of teaching and learning at educational institutions and broadening educational opportunities for the disadvantaged and minorities, improving the living conditions of minority and low-income groups, public education about and research into the environmental problems of the Lake Erie Basin area, increasing the availability and improving the quality of medical treatment and family planning services, and strengthening cultural institutions in northeast Ohio. While these objectives have persisted, they have evolved and expanded as the trustees continued to evaluate and refine the foundation's funding priorities. During the 1970s, the foundation funded programs that examined the effectiveness of certain government policies and programs, joined the foundation community effort to facilitate the desegregation of the Cleveland Public Schools, and assisted a variety of women's programs including reproductive rights. When the foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1977, it had given away $33 million dollars, $4 million of which was donated in 1977 alone.

During the 1980s, the basic funding objectives of the foundation continued with education and social and economic progress being top priorities. Funding was increased for primary and secondary education programs, the category of special interests of women was expanded to include domestic violence shelters, programs for prevention of nuclear war became an important interest, and Great Lakes water quality projects were emphasized. A comprehensive program for retinal degenerative disease research was initiated during the 1980s due in part to trustee Gordon Gund's personal experience with retinitis pigmentosa.

The foundation's commitment to education, economic and community revitalization, human services, environmental quality, the arts, civic affairs, and retinal degenerative disease research continued throughout the decade of the 1990s. Improvement of the Cleveland Public Schools remained a top priority with special emphasis placed upon more effective administration. Environmental grantmaking focused locally on urban environmental problems, regionally on Great Lakes issues, and nationally on policy related to the mitigation of global climate change. The commitment to women's issues such as reproductive rights and family planning continued. As the bicentennial of the City of Cleveland approached in 1996, the foundation provided approximately $800,000 to support the projects of the Cleveland Bicentennial Commission. New museums located on Cleveland's lakefront, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the Great Lakes Science Center, were given substantial gifts as well. Job availability, training, and placement became an increasing problem in Cleveland during this decade, and the foundation increased its grantmaking in this area. In 1999 The George Gund Foundation was ranked in the top one hundred United States foundations with assets totaling over $476 million. Since its inception, the foundation has made grants totaling more than $257 million.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the George Gund Foundation

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History article on George Gund

Scope and Content

The George Gund Foundation Records, Series IV, 1974-2012 (bulk dates 2001-2011) consist primarily of grant files. These grant files include audited financial statements, brochures, correspondence, proposals, newspaper clippings, reports, publications, and other material submitted as attachments to proposals and reports. The collection also includes studies, receipts, minutes, notes, agendas, charters, and evaluations.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and philanthropic and non-profit history in northeastern Ohio. Researchers should be aware that The George Gund Foundation donates money to programs primarily in northeastern Ohio, but also funds organizations located throughout the state of Ohio and the United States. Researchers interested in the broad subject areas of the arts, civic affairs, economic development and revitalization, community revitalization, education, the environment, and human services will find this collection useful since these are the top regional and national priorities of the foundation. These records further document The George Gund Foundation's support for abortion rights, women's issues, children, youth and family issues, education reform, handgun control, poverty and homelessness issues, equal housing, museum development in northeastern Ohio, retinitis pigmentosa research, AIDS public policy and education, neighborhood development, cultural arts education, urban development issues, environmental conservation and education, energy conservation, civil liberties, minority and cultural issues, educational television and public radio, employment programs, peace studies, historic preservation, population control and family planning and public school education initiatives, particularly those in the Cleveland Municipal school system. The George Gund Foundation also fosters a cooperative atmosphere in the philanthropic community of northeastern Ohio, and these activities are reflected throughout this collection.

The collection also documents the foundation's support of county charter reform in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

Researchers must obtain the written permission of the George Gund Foundation to access this collection. Consult the WRHS Curator of Manuscripts for more information.

The researcher should also consult MS 4123 George Gund Foundation Records; MS 4821 George Gund Foundation Records, Series II; MS 5038 George Gund Foundation Records, Series III; MS 5503 George Gund Foundation Records, Series V; and PG 403 George Gund Foundation Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5296 George Gund Foundation Records, Series IV, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of the George Gund Foundation in 2010-2014.

Processing Information

Processed by Christine Borne and Margaret Burzynski-Bays in 2014.

Detailed Description of The Collection