Some investments don’t pay dividends for a few years, they pay them for generations. 

More than two decades ago, the Board of the former St. Clairsville Library Foundation made a decision that would shape the future of the library. On September 10, 2003, St. Clairsville Library Foundation Fund was established with the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, setting an ambitious goal: build a $1 million fund that would provide permanent annual support for the library.  

Over the years, a small but determined group – including John Estadt, Teresa Feisley, Charlotte Hill, and Maren Presutti – took up the challenge. They hosted barn parties at the Feisleys’ farm, took advantage of CFOV’s Amazing Raise, and worked to find new donors willing to invest in the endowment’s future. A few years ago, a generous gift of appreciated stock from a local family pushed the fund past the $1 million mark, exceeding the goal it was built around. 

But reaching $1 million wasn’t the finish line, it was the beginning of the fund’s greatest impact. Under CFOV’s standard spending policy, a fund at this level generates a grant for the library every single year, permanently. The first distribution, made in June 2024, went toward the library’s general operating support, with future grants expected to grow alongside the fund’s investment performance and any new gifts that come in. 

What began as a vision in 2003 has become a legacy. An endowment is more than a financial asset – it is a promise that a community’s values and institutions will continue long after today’s donors are gone. It also reflects a truth at the heart of this month’s theme: philanthropy isn’t measured by the size of a single gift, but by the impact it creates. When people invest in the future of their community together, the benefits are felt for generations.