Globe Manufacturing Company Creates Donor Advised Community Fund

From NH Charitable Fund: The Globe Manufacturing Company has created the $1 million donor-advised Globe Community Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to support nonprofits and community efforts in Pittsfield and surrounding towns.

“We’ve been in Pittsfield for 116 years, and this is a way to say ‘thank you,’” said Globe CEO and co-owner Don Welch.

The company started the fund with $1 million. About $40,000 will be granted from the fund each year, and the fund is set up to serve the region in perpetuity. Globe has a tradition and history of generosity in the region – from helping local fire departments and day care centers to the Red Cross, 4-H, scouting programs and youth sports. Globe also established a fund at the Foundation in 2008 to support music and the arts in Pittsfield schools.

“We’re grateful to be in a position to help improve the quality of life for folks in Pittsfield and neighboring communities,” said Gef Freese, co-owner and senior vice president for manufacturing of Globe Manufacturing.

Globe, which makes clothing and boots for firefighters, has been run by four generations of the Freese family in Pittsfield since 1901. The company employs 425 people in three locations, including 320 at its Pittsfield headquarters. It supplies fire departments from Pittsfield to Anchorage, Alaska and in 82 countries, and manufactures all of its products in the U.S.

“Globe and the Freese family are so committed to their community, and it’s an honor to work with them on their philanthropy,” said Laura Rauscher, director of philanthropy at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. “Their generosity is an inspiration, and this fund will help people for generations to come.”
The Globe Community Fund is one more expression of the culture of a family business where community matters.

Theresa Perkins is a stitcher who has worked at Globe for 29 years. “It is a good place to work and they care about their people, and they show the people that they do care,” she said. The new fund “means a lot to many people,” she said. “They do so much for the community.”

A team of Globe employees will review requests for the new donor-advised fund and recommend grants on a rolling basis. The Foundation will work with the team, providing expertise about the nonprofit sector in New Hampshire and best practices for reviewing proposals.

Requests will go directly to the company.

“There’s a lot of good folks and a lot of good things happening in our community,” said company co-owner Rob Freese. “This is our part to spur that along. If the community is healthy, we’re healthy.”

Inquiries about funding through the Globe Community Fund may be made to: GlobeCommunityFund@globefiresuits.com.

Images Courtesy of Global Community Fund