Company Profile
Company Overview
Vision
Better communities for all.
Mission
Build and enhance the quality of life in the greater Rochester area through philanthropic leadership and community partnerships.
Values
Our core values provide the basis of how we serve. These core values are:
Integrity - We work to deserve the trust of those we serve by operating ethically with honesty, openness and respect in all aspects of our work.
Collaboration - We believe in the transformative power of partnerships, combining resources for community benefit.
Inclusion - We value persons, from all walks of life and we seek broad community involvement; working together in partnership we accomplish much more.
Innovation - We demonstrate and welcome creativity, resourcefulness and ingenuity for achieving community good.
Stewardship - We take seriously the fiduciary responsibility of safeguarding and growing the philanthropic assets and resources entrusted to us for the good of the greater Rochester area.
Higher Standards
Rochester Area Foundation meets National Standards for operational quality, donor service and accountability in the community foundation sector.
Company History
The Rochester Area Foundation (RAF) was the vision of Mr. Harry Harwick, a longtime chief administrator at Mayo Clinic. He and his contemporaries established RAF in 1944 to make a positive impact in the Rochester area and assist those in need. The original funds of the Foundation were derived from a grant of $3,500 from Mayo Clinic. From the beginning RAF has been helping people make a difference in the quality of life in the greater Rochester area and beyond.
As a community foundation RAF has three roles. It is a vehicle for building philanthropy in the community working with donors and connecting them to the causes where they can make a difference. RAF is a grantmaker, working with nonprofit organizations helping them to build their capacity to make a difference. RAF is a community leader – a convener, a catalyst bringing people together in partnership to impact our community.
Every funding decision made at the Rochester Area Foundation benefits from the collective wisdom of people Harry J. Harwick and organizations wanting to help the greater Rochester area. At RAF, we keep our heads and our hearts on the pulse of the community—applying solid analytics to philanthropic passion to help to the Greater Rochester Area in meaningful and measurable ways.