A Community Foundation

The Tamworth Foundation is a community foundation serving the Town of Tamworth by supporting local nonprofits in the areas of health, civic and community responsibility, education, arts and culture, local infrastructure, recreation and safety.

Since 1937, The Tamworth Foundation has helped Tamworth fulfill its needs and create new projects that benefit the community, relying solely on the contributions of our donors. Our grants touch virtually all aspects of life in Tamworth. The Tamworth Foundation was formed in 1937 by a group of Tamworth citizens to protect and support the town they loved. Their model was Sandwich’s Quimby Fund. More than eighty-five years later TTF continues supporting and enhancing the quality of life in Tamworth by managing funds for general and specific purposes, making grants to local nonprofit groups for projects that contribute to its mission, and by underwriting special projects that will benefit the town.

We support our youth, our elderly, community and medical services, the arts, the town’s infrastructure, and many special projects. In making decisions, we strive to allocate funds where we feel they will provide the greatest present and future good for all Tamworth residents. We strive to bring awareness and care to all that we do, so that our grants and projects genuinely contribute to the quality of life in Tamworth. We are here to help where there is need.

Our Mission Statement

The purpose of this Corporation shall be to preserve and improve the physical properties and the spiritual, intellectual, social and physical well-being of the inhabitants of the Town of Tamworth in Carroll County, New Hampshire, through the acquisition, management and disposition of properties to that end. —September 4th, 1937

History

The Tamworth Foundation began in 1937 with $33.64 in hand. That was the amount left over after a group of summer residents purchased the Tamworth Turf & Carroll County Fair Association fair grounds. The Fair Association had lost money and was significantly in debt. Led by Alfred M. Tozzer and Harry F. Damon, the sum of $2,150.00 was raised to buy its existing shares and pay off its indebtedness. The land was made into a park.

With the remaining $33.64, the group met to form The Tamworth Foundation on September 4th, 1937. The initial trustees were Albert Boyden, Charles H. Porter, Ingersoll Bowditch, Mrs. Faith Bemis, and Mrs. Thomas J. Preston, all summer residents with deep roots in the area. Later a sixth trustee was added, Earl Remick, a year-round resident. (Now, in the 21st century, all The Tamworth Foundation’s trustees live here year-round.)

In 2004 The Tamworth Foundation became a 501(c)3 Community Foundation, updated its bylaws, and instituted a “twelve-month rolling average” system to determine how much could be dispersed in a year.
The original Articles of Incorporation of The Tamworth Foundation, 1937