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Regional funding review committee to weigh support as panel warns philanthropy can’t plug looming gaps
Summary
At a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, panelists urged cross‑sector partnerships and warned that philanthropy alone cannot replace public funding cuts. A volunteer Funding Review Advisory Committee, chaired by Sandy Doyle Ahern, will hold an open forum on Oct. 7 to gather public input.
A volunteer Funding Review Advisory Committee convened at the request of the mayor’s office, Columbus City Council and county commissioners to study how the region can address gaps in funding for arts, human services and tourism, panelists said at a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum held at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
Panelists warned that private philanthropy, while significant, cannot substitute for shrinking public dollars. “Together, [our members] hold about $50,000,000,000 in assets right now,” Megan Cummings, president and CEO of Philanthropy Ohio, said of philanthropy organizations she represents. “But philanthropy cannot plug the hole. We don't have enough zeros in those assets to plug the hole.”
The committee, which panelist Sandy Doyle Ahern said she chairs, is charged with recommending regional approaches and private‑sector participation. “This is a group of people who are volunteers who have been asked by the mayor’s office and city council and the county commissioners to come together and think about what we can do as a region to fill some significant gaps,” Ahern said. She noted the work is likely to be contentious: “I already accepted the chair knowing I'm gonna piss everybody off.”
Why it matters: speakers said recent and sudden cuts to federal and state streams — including Medicaid and SNAP reductions mentioned during the forum — are increasing demand for nonprofit services with little runway to adjust. Cummings said foundations are receiving more requests than ever and are exploring options such as temporarily increasing spending rates to get more money into communities.
Panelists emphasized cross‑sector partnerships as the best path forward. “If we're trying to solve any problem without all of our resources at the table, we're crazy,” Cummings said, urging cooperation among foundations, corporations and government. Dr. Frederick Birtley, president and CEO of COSI and interim CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, described how partnerships enable scale: COSI’s Science Festival runs four days each May, staging 110 events across Franklin and adjacent counties and working with “over 200 partners” to produce a Saturday “Big Science Celebration” that is not confined to the museum building.
Speakers also cited long‑running local efforts that required sustained collaboration: the announcement linking Columbus State and Ohio State, they said, was the product of about 15 years of work and the earlier Columbus Promise initiative.
Public input and next steps: Ahern and other panelists stressed that the committee is working regionally and encouraged public participation. The committee will hold an open forum on Oct. 7 for residents and sector representatives to share needs and ideas.
The session contained no formal votes or policy actions; panelists framed the committee as a volunteer advisory body that will make recommendations to government officials and other partners.
