As state funding for the Forest Hills School District began to decrease, a steering committee of interested community members was formed in 2007 to look at the possibility of starting a private foundation to provide an additional source of funds. The committee discovered almost half the public school districts in the US had a private foundation and many of the school districts rated excellent in southwest Ohio already had active foundations that were raising funds for their schools. With these findings, a good understanding of how to get started, and a needs assessment completed, Articles of Incorporation were filed in 2007. By 2008, an initial vision and mission were created; bylaws were adopted and non-profit 501(c)(3) status was filed. At the end of 2008, the first Board of Directors for the Forest Hills Foundation for Education was seated. In 2011 the board was able to hire an Executive Director to manage the Foundation’s work.