he High family made headlines in early 2022 when members donated their shares in family-owned High Industries to their family-founded nonprofit, the High Foundation.
- Their aim was to multiply the foundation’s charitable impact by linking it to the fortunes of the Lancaster County-based company, which had revenue of $570 million in 2021.
- The value of the gift was not disclosed at the time. But it is now a matter of public record as part of a tax return filed this year by the foundation.
What’s the number: The return posted by GuideStar, pegs the value of the donated High Industries stock at nearly $115.2 million.
- The stock also paid dividends of more than $2.2 million to the foundation, according to the return, the foundation’s most recent.
- The stock’s value was determined by a third-party, according to High Foundation executive director Robin Stauffer, who confirmed the numbers.
- Since the 1980s, the Highs had previously donated more than $30 million through the High Foundation, and other charitable vehicles according to a recent report on the foundation’s impact.
The background: The stock donation was announced in March 2022 by family members, including S. Dale High, whose father founded the company in 1931.
- The donation did not change the leadership of High Industries, a diverse group of businesses in manufacturing and construction led by CEO Michael Shirk.
- However, the family hoped that the nonprofit ownership would add extra incentives for the company’s nearly 2,000 employees, since profit from their work would go to benefit the community.
- The foundation is focused on eliminating poverty and improving the lives of people in Lancaster County and other areas where High companies do business.
- The foundation itself donated more than $3 million in the most recent fiscal year, according to the impact report.
- The stock donation did not include the High real estate business, which has a more complex structure.
What’s next: The foundation’s impact is expected to expand to reflect the value of the stock donation, the foundation’s largest asset.
- When the gift was announced last year, Stauffer noted that the foundation had created a new governance structure to handle growth and added two new trustees: Tom Baldrige, former president and CEO of the Lancaster Chamber, and Hilda Shirk, former president and CEO of Lancaster Health Center.
- “Due to the gift of S. Dale High, this is just the beginning of a movement for good that is growing in momentum every day,” the foundation wrote in its impact report. “High Foundation is emboldened to build the bridge to a more equitable, just and inclusive future for all people in our communities.”
