A letter from CFO Geoff O'Connell upon his retirement from CCF this December.
My first apartment in Cambridge was a small studio off Bigelow Street, in the late 1970s. When I accepted the CFO role at CCF four decades later, I found myself walking those same streets near Central Square. The city had transformed. Biotech towers in Kendall, new transit lines, whole neighborhoods reimagined. But something essential remained unchanged—Cambridge's unique character. The city still holds an extraordinary vibrancy within six and a half square miles.
That density shapes everything about working at a community foundation. You can walk from cutting-edge laboratories to food pantries in ten minutes. You see Brattle Street's historic mansions and the Port's triple-deckers as different chapters of the same story. This city contains multitudes, and after five years helping steward its philanthropic resources, I've learned to pay attention to all of them.
CCF found me through LinkedIn in 2020. The position called for someone to modernize operations at a foundation still working with paper systems and spreadsheets. When I walked into the office, we were eight people supporting a community through tremendous uncertainty. Some systems were aging past reliability. We had vital work to do and tools that needed to catch up.
My career path to CCF wound through IBM technology sales, investment banking at State Street, and corporate finance. But I'd already made the transition to mission-driven work at the Alzheimer's Association after my father passed from the disease. That experience taught me how consensus-driven organizations succeed through building agreement, listening carefully, and moving forward together.
My mission: to help build "the foundation of the foundation," the essential infrastructures—financial systems, operational processes, technology platforms—that enable everyone else to focus on the mission. CCF's leadership gave me the trust and latitude to rebuild CCF's systems from the ground up. That trust made everything possible.
The transformation has been substantial. Our assets have grown from $45 million to nearly $75 million. Staff expanded from eight to sixteen to support the charge of providing steadfast support of our community, while taking on bigger, more complicated social problems. We integrated three separate systems into one coherent platform. CCF can better handle the complexity Cambridge demands: multi-year initiatives, sophisticated donor services – particularly for Donor Advised Fund (DAF) partnerships that require strong operational muscles.
Perhaps the most significant structural change has been CCF's shift from a trust organization to a corporation. For over a century, we operated under bank trustees—a model that served its purpose when established in 1916
Over time, that structure became limiting. The corporate transition brings fiduciary responsibility home to the Foundation. We are well-positioned and can now work with external investment managers, create sophisticated giving vehicles, and receive the kind of transformational gifts Cambridge deserves. The Investment Committee has built rigorous vetting processes, performance metrics, governance requirements, and ongoing oversight practices.
Working at a community foundation teaches you to listen differently. Each neighborhood in Cambridge maintains its distinct character. The Port holds its ground amid surrounding change. Brattle Street preserves its tree-lined grace while Kendall Square's earth-shattering innovation transforms the skyline. Every corner tells its part of the larger narrative. A community foundation's responsibility is ensuring all those stories receive attention, not just the most prominent ones.
As I retire this December, in this season of giving, I'm grateful for the trust you've placed in CCF. The Foundation is in excellent hands with its new CFO Ellen Varney. CCF enters its next chapter with solid processes, strong systems, and the capacity to meet whatever Cambridge needs. That's what we've built together. That's what will endure.
To our donors, partners, and neighbors, I leave you with these parting thoughts: stay grounded. The Foundation's strength comes from its proximity to its work, the unglamorous daily effort of keeping a community whole. Visit the organizations you support. Walk the neighborhoods. Listen to the people doing the work. Stay focused on Cambridge itself.
Geoff O'Connell
Chief Financial Officer
