Submitted by Summit Area Public Foundation
John W. Cooper (Jack) has retired as president of the board of Summit Area Public Foundation. The board has appointed Julie Keenan to succeed him.
When Cooper first joined the board as president in 1990, the organization held $1 million in assets. Under his leadership, SAPF has grown its assets to $16 million, which includes 35 donor-advised and restricted-purpose funds. Through these funds, SAPF has supported hundreds of local area nonprofit organizations and agencies.
“Going back to the organization’s very early days, Jack Cooper has been the driving force behind SAPF,” said Julie Keenan. “His conviction that coordinated local philanthropy can impact the lives of our neighbors has been broadly embraced. We celebrate Jack’s long tenure at the helm of SAPF and thank him for his leadership. The entire board looks forward to continuing his legacy of promoting philanthropy in the Summit area.”
“Jack Cooper exemplifies the true spirit of philanthropy through his extraordinary support of our community,” said Summit Mayor Nora Radest. “After having achieved tremendous success in business, he generously committed his knowledge, time, and resources to help others to advance as well. Under his three decades of leadership, SAPF grew exponentially into one of the largest and most successful area foundations, funding initiatives and supporting the work of organizations to make an indelible, lasting mark on our community.”
“It has been my great honor to serve an organization that is so deeply committed to local philanthropy,” said Cooper. “I’m very pleased and humbled by the difference SAPF has made. We have talented and dedicated trustees who will continue to advance SAPF’s mission each and every day.”
In addition to his leadership of SAPF, Cooper has served as a trustee with many other local nonprofit organizations, including Overlook Hospital Foundation, SAGE Eldercare, Northern New Jersey Estate Planning Council, Summit Area United Way, Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad, Summit Family Service Association, Summit Speech School and Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child. Cooper was a partner at Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook and Cooper, P.C.
In addition to naming Julie Keenan as president, the SAPF board has named David Dietze as vice president, Sandra R. Lizza as secretary, Leah Griffith as treasurer and Martha Sayre as assistant treasurer.SAPF is a community foundation that fosters philanthropy in the Summit, NJ, area by identifying local needs and offering donors flexible ways to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors. During the past 10 years, SAPF has awarded more than $4.7 million in grants to 117 nonprofit agencies. SAPF awards an average of 37 grants per year.
For more information on applying for a grant and the impact of SAPF in the Summit area community, visit sapfnj.org.
(above) Julie Keenan (new SAPF president) and Jack.
