The George Gund Memorial Forum on the State of the American Economy

George Gund was the Chairman of the Board of the former Cleveland Trust Company (now KeyBank). Born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, his family came to Cleveland in 1897.

Following graduation from Harvard, Mr. Gund’s early career included banking and real estate in Seattle, serving in Army intelligence during World War I, developing the Kaffe-Hag Corporation in Cleveland, attending Animal Husbandry School in Iowa and ranching in Nevada.

In 1936, Mr. Gund married Jessica Roesler and settled in Cleveland to raise a family. In 1937, he began a formal program of charitable giving, and his philanthropic concern extended throughout his life.

The George Gund Foundation was created in 1952 because Mr. Gund believed the private foundation concept provided the most positive, farsighted vehicle for intelligent underwriting of creative solutions for social ills.

Today, Mr. Gund’s vision is carried forth through the continued involvement of the Gund family in the Foundation’s work.

Since its inception, the George Gund Foundation has made hundreds of millions of dollars in grants towards the advancement of human welfare.