Onward, with confidence and conviction

The seed of our Foundation was a charitable trust by former Governor Huntley Spaulding, his wife, Harriet, and his sister Marion Potter. Their bequest, said attorney Dudley Orr, expressed “confidence in the future, conviction that justice and mercy would endure in America.”

At a time when justice and mercy seem in short supply, we are blessed that Orr and his fellow trustees of the Spaulding-Potter Trusts, John McLane and Eugene Struckhoff, took seriously that defining verb “endure.” In 1962, they created the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation — a permanent source of philanthropic capital of, by and for the people of New Hampshire.

It was, Orr said, an act of hope.

Hope that other visionary families and individuals would start funds of their own — and they did. Hope that generations of nonprofit leaders would dedicate their lives to centering equity and opportunity; protecting the environment; advancing arts and culture; fighting for access to education, health care, child and elder care; and other basic rights — and they have.

And hope that even in the most difficult times, New Hampshire’s community foundation would not only endure, but thrive — and it will. Not despite periods of stress and change, but because of them.

The stories in this issue of Purpose illustrate that:

• New Hampshire faces a severe housing crisis caused by soaring costs and stagnant inventory. That’s why the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund is investing in Homes NorthNH (page 6).
• Overdose deaths are way down, but even one is too many. That’s why our staff helped develop new grant programs from the state Opioid Abatement Fund (page 4).
• Federal cuts to Medicaid undermine health access and affordability for everyone, especially in rural areas. That’s why we helped the state’s Department of Health and Human Services secure $240 million for the Rural Health Transformation program (page 4).
• People who experience discrimination simply for who they are know how to bend the arc toward justice. That’s why we are so inspired by the community leaders who designed and are running our new Racial Justice Fund (page 4).
• Generous donors can provide hope in challenging times. That’s why they work in creative partnership with the Foundation (page 14).

We are in deeply unsettling times — globally, nationally and locally. The threats and impacts are real, especially for our neighbors who are most vulnerable because of background, identity and circumstance.

And yet these stories and countless others like them speak of justice, mercy and endurance. They conjure Langston Hughes’ description of the United States as “The Land that never has been yet / And yet must be.”

As we prepare to welcome the Foundation’s next president and CEO this summer, I am filled with the same confidence and conviction that animated our founders six decades ago. Because the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is here. For good.

So I will sign off as always…

Onward.