President and CEO, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Dick Ober leads the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the largest private provider of nonprofit grants and student aid in northern New England. The Foundation manages over $620 million in charitable funds donated by hundreds of families and individuals, and awards some 5,000 grants and scholarships exceeding $30 million annually.
Ober has 30 years of experience in nonprofit management and civic affairs. Before coming to the Foundation, he held senior staff positions at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the Monadnock Conservancy. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and public commissions, including several Gubernatorial appointments.
Ober currently serves as a trustee of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and Board chair of the Community Foundations Leading Change (CF Leads) organization. He is also the founder of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network.
Ober has written and lectured widely on community philanthropy, civic life, and the connections between people and the places they live. His work has been published in books, book chapters, magazines, and journals. He has been recognized with awards from the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of New Hampshire, and Plymouth State University, and has repeatedly been named as one of the state’s most influential people by Business New Hampshire magazine.