This category recognizes the cumulative philanthropic efforts of an individual or family during a period of at least 20 years of exceptional generosity who, through direct financial support or contribution (volunteer participation or leadership involvement) demonstrates outstanding civic and charitable responsibility and whose generosity encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles in the community. Candidates will specifically demonstrate significant, long-term involvement with one or more Cleveland area organizations.
Jean Fairfax
Jean Fairfax (1920-2019) believed in the power of education. This unsung hero played an important role in the integration of schools, creating the Legal Defense Fund's division of legal information and community service. As its director from 1965 to 1984, Fairfax helped black families navigate enrolling in white schools, from filling out paperwork to ensuring safety and finding courage. She created her first scholarship in Phoenix, Arizona, but soon learned that money alone was not enough: there was a need for life skills and support systems to combat gun violence, unwanted pregnancy, and other roadblocks for youth. Fairfax later discovered unconventional ways to enhance her scholarship giving at the Cleveland Foundation, even donating her house. Nationally, her work also helped overhaul school lunch programs and helped historically black colleges and universities in danger of losing funding. As quoted from her obituary, "she was an organizer at heart."
Robert Madison
Architect Robert Madison's first major project was a medical arts building for black doctors and dentists on 105th Street at Wade Park. Discrimination led the doctors to fund their own building and open their own practices, and Madison has experienced much of the same. Descended from slaves, he toppled obstacles to become the first black architecture school graduate in Ohio, and opened the first black-owned architecture firm in the state in 1954; at that time it was only the 10th in the country. Madison's pursuit of education, including at Harvard and ...cole des Beaux-Arts, guides his philanthropy: "It is not easy, but it can be done as long as you take a long-term view, plan, stay the course no matter how difficult, and execute." From giving T-squares to Cleveland's students, to hiring budding architects, to supporting Cleveland State budding University's MathCore program, his life is a lesson to others on the power of developing determination and a love of education.
Steve Minter
Growing up in Kinsman, Ohio, Steve Minter's family lived humbly, benefitting from the charity of others: a Christmas tree, half a side of beef, and lots of potatoes. It might be this support that bolsters his belief in recognizing the contributions of black people in building community. Minter is a social worker, policy maker, and former Executive Director of the Cleveland Foundation. Early in his career he worked to change public perception of Cleveland's poor, intentionally pursuing inclusivity through grantmaking, legislation, and a long-term view of community needs. In 1991, Minter and his wife Dolly marked a personal sense of accomplishment with the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio's Humanitarian Award. For his lifetime of service, he received this 2018 Cleveland Heritage Medal from the City of Cleveland.
