Torch passes to new leader of Community Foundation of Central Missouri

The Community Foundation of Central Missouri, host of the annual CoMoGives campaign, has found its new leader.

John Baker, retiring after 13 years as executive director, officially passed the torch last week to Eric Sappington, who formerly was the vice president of institutional advancement for Missouri Valley College in Marshall.

A retirement celebration was held Wednesday for Baker, which also welcomed Sappington to the community. It also served as a chance for the foundation to announce a new fund in Baker's honor, known as the "Live Here Give Here" fund. This new communitywide endowment is "dedicated to enhancing the lives of local residents and supporting nonprofit organizations," the foundation said in a news release. The endowment will thrive on contributions of any size.

"We believe that the 'Live Here Give Here' fund will serve as a catalyst for positive change in our community," said Susan Hart, board chair. "By providing a sustainable source of support for local initiatives, we can empower residents to actively participate in shaping the future of our region."

Leading the foundation into the future

Sappington has a "proven track record in fundraising and community development, coupled with his passion for philanthropy, (it made) him the ideal candidate to lead our foundation into its next chapter of growth and impact," Hart said.

He is a lifelong Missouri resident, and Sappington said Columbia has always been close to his heart in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday.

Apart from a few years in the Kansas City area, he's always lived in the central to north central part of the state, seeing Columbia as a central hub for activity, Sappington said.

"Columbia was always the big city you came to. It is exciting to be here every day at work in the downtown area and be a part of all the things that are going on in Columbia," he said.

Sappington has upward of 15 years experience in institutional advancement through a nearly 20-year career with Missouri Valley.

"(This job) really aligns with all the things, you know, philanthropic work has been my passion for close to 20 years. Being able to come to work for the Community Foundation like this and almost 170 organizations to increase their giving receipts is something I am thrilled about," he said, noting his educational background in business. "I am fortunate over the years I have been able to recognize I enjoy connecting with people, helping organizations."

While the interview and hiring process was separate from Baker's duties, he and the other foundation staff members did get a chance to meet with Sappington before he was offered the job.

"I think Eric will do very well. He has good experience in fundraising and fund development," Baker said. "He will bring a lot of strength and insight into that function of his role. He's a good learner and I think he should be very productive over the next few years. I look forward to the directions they'll take.

"He seemed to truly internalize the mission of the foundation and to use the power of philanthropy to improve lives in central Missouri. That was, I thought, a very important thing to hear from him (during the interview process)."

Interviews happened over the phone, via zoom and through in-person meetings with foundation board members, Sappington said. One of the final interviews was with the entire approximately 20-person board.

"That is extremely impressive in this day and age to get 20 people in a room discussing the same topic. To get everybody so passionate about one cause, that was extremely impressive to me. To have the board's support and their interest in hiring the right person to lead the foundation into the future," he said.

Through this past week and next, Sappington is soaking up as much information as he can from Baker during the leadership transition. Sappington doesn't expect there to be significant changes with the leadership changeover, and said he wants to build on what the foundation and CoMoGives already does.

"I've asked John to please not change his cellphone number anytime soon, because I'm sure I'll be calling him," Sappington said jokingly. "CoMoGives is something special. It's not something you see a lot of, at least you didn't. The foundation was a leader in getting that out in this state and getting the community and region to really buy-in to coming together and helping each other."

Baker still aims to have active retirement

After the transition period from this past week and next finishes, Baker will take it easy, but only for about a week. A Florida vacation beckons in the latter half of April. Following that, Baker has other planned activities for the next three or four months.

Once this flurry of activity is over, Baker will see what next venture is calling to him, he said.

"I'll listen to my inner muse that will guide me where I think I might want to do next. I still have my brain and body and I like to be active," Baker said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Community Foundation of Central Missouri welcomes new leader