Franklin S. Clark III, MD, retired surgeon and NC businessman, served as a board member of Cumberland Community Foundation from 1983 to 1986. He helped develop the first endowment building program and has continued to support the community foundation through the years. In 2022, Clark established the
Clark Endowment to Enrich the Lives of People with Disabilities to promote life enrichment and supportive living for people with disabilities in Cumberland County, North Carolina who are striving to maximize their independence.
The $1,000,000 distribution from the fund will be paid to ServiceSource Foundation to create
The Clark Endowment to Support Independence and will provide gap funding for ServiceSource North Carolina programs that support individuals who have disabilities to maximize their independence. The mission of Employment Source Inc. dba ServiceSource North Carolina is to facilitate services and partnerships to support people with disabilities, their families, their caregivers, and community members to build more inclusive communities.
Clark, who serves on the ServiceSource Foundation board of advisors, is a long time donor and volunteer to organizations that improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Clark said that he was inspired by his own sister who fiercely worked to maintain her own independence despite disabilities, riding her bicycle to her job at ServiceSource for many years while living with their mother. Clark said, “Clair enjoyed her job, her independence, and her freedom thanks to our mother devoting her own life to protecting those things for Clair. It is my goal to help others with disabilities have the same independence and a better life.”
ServiceSource will provide supportive living and job coaching services to individuals with disabilities as they move from transitional to permanent housing in our community. “Dr. Clark’s generous support will meet a critical and growing community need over the long term in our community, as young adult children with disabilities will have the opportunity to live more independently. We look forward to growing the endowment to enhance the independence of young adults with disabilities with supportive living and job coaching services as they transition into permanent housing in our community” stated Andy Rind, Executive Vice President. The $1,000,000 gift to ServiceSource Foundation will launch the organization’s goal to raise matching funds for The Clark Endowment to Support Independence. For more information contact
tara.hinton@servicesource.org
Cumberland Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable foundation that manages over 600 endowments and awards over $6 million annually in scholarships and grants to charitable organizations. Each fund supports a charitable cause designed by the donors who created them. Cumberland Community Foundation is audited annually and accredited in National Standards for US Community Foundations. For more information visit
www.cumberlandcf.org.