About the Foundation
What Is the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation?
The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization connecting area donors, leaders and nonprofits to create positive change and lasting impact in Oak Park, River Forest and surrounding neighborhoods in western Cook County, Illinois.
The Foundation is an integral presence in the community, offering leadership and a platform for community stakeholders to collaborate and address overarching issues. We advise donors on the best way to turn their values into impact, and manage charitable assets on their behalf. We help students and others find support to further their education and experiences. And we set area nonprofit organizations and programs on a path to success through grants, training, and vital social assets and connections.
We envision a racially just and equitable society where everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, has the opportunity to participate, thrive, and prosper. Join us in making that vision a reality for west Cook County.
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Our Vision
A racially just society
in which all members of our community
thrive and prosper. -
Our Mission
Unite community members to mobilize resources to advance a racially just society and equitable outcomes for residents of Oak Park, River Forest and surrounding communities.
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Our Core Values
Equity
Belonging • Courage
Hope
For over 65 years, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation has addressed the region’s pressing needs. Follow the timeline to discover our evolution into a stalwart supporter of social justice and advancing opportunities for all who call this area home.
Our History
Inspiration for the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation came from several concerned citizens: attorney Moore Peregrine, businessman Bob Follett, Oak Park Village attorney Art Thorpe, and others. Their initial goal was to improve derelict housing. In the mid-1950s residents watched a grand Victorian home along Oak Park Avenue deteriorate. Although that house was demolished before sufficient funds could be raised to save it, a small group of civic leaders and key donors forged ahead to create an organization that looked beyond housing to a broader desire to preserve the integrity of our villages.
On December 10, the Foundation was created as a charitable trust among five local banks. It happened at a gathering attended by both village presidents, the high school superintendent, directors of the Chamber of Commerce and the Community Welfare Council, and bank leaders.
Luther Replogle was named the Foundation’s first president. A long-time Oak Park resident and founder of Replogle Globes (made famous during the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair), he was a developing philanthropist.
In May, Replogle celebrated the Community Foundation’s official launch, noting, “Our board of directors is confident that the Foundation will be of great help in solving community problems and aiding many worthy projects in the years ahead.”
The assets remained in trust until this year, when community impact began on a significant scale with the election of Nancy Follett as president of the board. The board decided the Foundation should become more active in addressing long-term needs of area charities.
Follett recruited Ann Pepper to serve as the Foundation’s first executive director, who worked part-time out of her home from 1989 to 1993. By 1994, the Foundation’s assets had increased to slightly under $500,000.
Carolyn Saxton became the Foundation’s executive director. Previously, she was executive director of the Community Chest of Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park.
Women Leaders in Philanthropy (WLIP) formed under the leadership of Executive Director Carolyn Saxton. WLIP recognized the incredible generosity and achievements of leading women in the community, and helped build the unrestricted endowment of the Community Foundation, pooling resources to be invested in the community in perpetuity. In addition to grantmaking, WLIP offers educational programs and social gatherings for its members.
An important change began in the mid-90s, with a shift from a trust structure affiliated with five local banks to a corporate not-for-profit structure. This provided greater flexibility in the Foundation’s ability to accept gifts and manage funds. With these changes, the Foundation began awarding more project grants in the community.
- The Foundation strengthened its relationships with community organizations. For example, when Family Services (now Thrive Counseling Center) wanted to launch an endowment program, the Foundation served as a repository for contributions and fund management.
- The Community Chest of Oak Park, River Forest & Forest Park placed its endowment with the Foundation, as did the Nineteenth Century Club and the Oak Park-River Forest High School Scholarship Fund.
- The Foundation established the “Making a Good Gift Better” program. Funded by an anonymous donor, it encouraged organizations to strengthen their operational and development capacities by building permanent endowments to attract planned gifts and provide ongoing, predictable revenue streams. Thirteen agencies participated, ranging from the Animal Care League to the Wonder Works Children’s Museum, resulting in more than 600 donors contributing to a net increase of $573,000 in local agency endowments. Currently, 30 local social impact organizations have funds with us.
- The Foundation was one of an initial 18 community foundations in Illinois to be chosen for a grant tendered by the Grand Victoria Foundation. Community members rose to meet this challenge grant. In 2008, this culminated in the Communityworks endowment fund of $4.5 million at the Foundation. Through an advisory board composed of institutional and civic leaders, Communityworks established an environmental sustainability plan, PlanItGreen; a community leadership program, Leadership Lab; and a community collaboration empowering every youth in our community to reach their full potential, Success of All Youth.
Theresa Amato became executive director. She was the founder and first president of the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, and was the first executive director of Citizen Works in Washington, DC, before leading the Foundation.
Sophia Lloyd named executive director of the Foundation. Her community engagement efforts for the foundation were essential in the creation of the Dominican University Community Leadership Program, the Future Philanthropist Program and Plan It Green, Oak Park and River Forest’s environmental sustainability plan.
The Future Philanthropists Program (FPP) was created to teach the next generation about philanthropy through hands-on experiences in grantmaking, fundraising, and community service during students’ junior and senior years of high school. Students who reside in Oak Park or River Forest and attend OPRF High District 200, Fenwick, Trinity, and other private schools are eligible to participate.
The Foundation became a trustee of the Russell and Josephine Kott Memorial Charitable Trust. The Kott Memorial Charitable Trust honors Russell and Josephine Kott, and provides annual funding to support a range of charitable organizations improving the lives of individuals, with an emphasis on services for older adults. The Trust supports the Kott Gerontology Scholars Program, which trains and prepares interns in skills for a career focused on creating and delivering services to senior citizens.
The Foundation further enhanced its programming for area social impact organizations through Impact Excellence, an ongoing series of seminars, conferences and training to build organizational capacity.
Kristin Carlson Vogen named the first president and CEO of the Foundation, succeeding Sophia Lloyd. During her tenure, Vogen helped grow the assets of the Community Foundation and Kott Memorial Charitable Trust by a combined 16 percent, from $58 million to $69 million.
Four unique giving group funds were established: Entrepreneur Leaders in Philanthropy, NextGen Leaders in Philanthropy and a new focus for both the Future Philanthropists Program and Women Leaders in Philanthropy, celebrating its 20th year. These giving groups provide philanthropic education and collective impact grantmaking for individuals with similar affinities.
Antonio “Tony” Martinez, Jr. became president and CEO of the Foundation. During his tenure the Foundation enhanced its mission and vision, and expanded its geographical reach to encompass the greater west Cook County region.
The Foundation created the Rapid Response and Recovery Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mobilizing more than $1.2 million in resources to agencies fighting to provide daily, ongoing support to our most vulnerable neighbors: those struggling with food insecurity, permanent housing, and health concerns. Read the impact report.
The Foundation released the Community Voices report, the culmination of two years of work by the board and staff, in collaboration with a range of organizations and community members, to determine key priority areas where the Foundation could make the greatest impact. The Foundation met with community members throughout the west Cook County region to learn more about the challenges they face and opportunities to help each other, and conducted in-depth data research and analysis to support the four key priority areas and solutions shared by the community members.
The Foundation saw the incubation of its community leadership program, Leadership Lab, lead to its successful transition into an independent organization. The initiative’s mission to create a stronger, more engaged leadership pipeline to ensure that Oak Park, River Forest, and surrounding communities are desirable places to live and work, continues on as the Community Connections Leadership Program.
Carrie Summy was selected to serve as President and CEO effective August 1, 2025, after holding the position on an interim basis since April. A longtime River Forest resident, Summy has served in a variety of roles with the Foundation, most recently as director of external affairs.
Looking to the future, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation offers leadership and a platform for community stakeholders to collaborate and address overarching issues; provides philanthropic advisory services to donors and manages charitable assets on donors’ behalf; and helps area nonprofit organizations and programs succeed through training sessions, capacity grants and community grants, and vital social assets and connections. We seek to unify and inspire community members to mobilize resources to advance a racially just society in which all members of our community thrive and prosper.