If five frogs sit on a log and decide to jump, how many frogs remain on the log?

"Five. There's a big difference between deciding and jumping," said Suzanne Morse, president of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change and author of "Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future."

Morse spoke Tuesday when civic leaders gathered at the Charleston Marriott for the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation's annual report to the community.

Communities thrive when civic leaders talk to each other, whether the issue is health care or racism, Morse said. "If you can talk about the problem, you can work through it."

Communities struggle when they let the future happen without imposing a plan for it, Morse said. Invest in projects with sure payoffs, like pre-natal care for expectant mothers and early childhood education for those most at risk, she urged.

Asheville, N.C., had been in decline for years when a plan emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s to bulldoze 11 acres of the downtown and put in an enclosed shopping mall, Morse said. The idea was to recapture shoppers who were reprogramming themselves to shop in the suburbs.

A man named Wayne Caldwell fought the idea, arguing it was a bad idea to erase the historic downtown, Morse said. The mall didn't get built and Asheville bounced back as a thriving arts community that drew in tourists.

"What would have happened," Morse asked, "had Wayne Caldwell gone on vacation?"

Founded in 1962, Greater Kanawha is a community foundation with more than $153 million in assets, having added $15.7 million in value from Dec. 31, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007. The foundation's assets are in 423 separate, named funds.

About $4.85 million of the assets - and 86 additional named funds - belong to three recently formed community foundations: $513,000 in the Boone County Community Foundation Fund; $109,000 in the Lincoln County Community Foundation Fund; and $4.24 million in the Greater Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation Fund.

Some Greater Kanawha funds go to donor-designated causes, some to donor-advised causes, some to a donor's general field of interest and some to a general all-purpose pool.

Grants awarded in 2007 totaled $5.2 million plus another $850,000 in scholarships.

Greater Kanawha serves Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Fayette, Lincoln and Boone counties.

To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.

If five frogs sit on a log and decide to jump, how many frogs remain on the log?

"Five. There's a big difference between deciding and jumping," said Suzanne Morse, president of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change and author of "Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future."

Morse spoke Tuesday when civic leaders gathered at the Charleston Marriott for the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation's annual report to the community.

Communities thrive when civic leaders talk to each other, whether the issue is health care or racism, Morse said. "If you can talk about the problem, you can work through it."

Communities struggle when they let the future happen without imposing a plan for it, Morse said. Invest in projects with sure payoffs, like pre-natal care for expectant mothers and early childhood education for those most at risk, she urged.

Asheville, N.C., had been in decline for years when a plan emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s to bulldoze 11 acres of the downtown and put in an enclosed shopping mall, Morse said. The idea was to recapture shoppers who were reprogramming themselves to shop in the suburbs.

A man named Wayne Caldwell fought the idea, arguing it was a bad idea to erase the historic downtown, Morse said. The mall didn't get built and Asheville bounced back as a thriving arts community that drew in tourists.

"What would have happened," Morse asked, "had Wayne Caldwell gone on vacation?"

Founded in 1962, Greater Kanawha is a community foundation with more than $153 million in assets, having added $15.7 million in value from Dec. 31, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007. The foundation's assets are in 423 separate, named funds.

About $4.85 million of the assets - and 86 additional named funds - belong to three recently formed community foundations: $513,000 in the Boone County Community Foundation Fund; $109,000 in the Lincoln County Community Foundation Fund; and $4.24 million in the Greater Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation Fund.

Some Greater Kanawha funds go to donor-designated causes, some to donor-advised causes, some to a donor's general field of interest and some to a general all-purpose pool.

Grants awarded in 2007 totaled $5.2 million plus another $850,000 in scholarships.

Greater Kanawha serves Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Fayette, Lincoln and Boone counties.

To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.