For siblings Baxter Petrone, Claude Close, and Craddock Close, philanthropy is in their blood.
Together with their father Derick, they oversee grants by the Springsteen Foundation, a donor-advised fund established at Foundation For The Carolinas. The Foundation recently invested $500,000 in the CommonSpark campaign.
“The Springsteen Foundation strives to support projects and organizations with the ability to make a lasting and meaningful impact in our community,” Claude Close explains. “We are excited to partner with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation on what we hope will be a truly transformative project for the City of Charlotte and surrounding area.”
Generations of Generosity
This gift, and the Springsteen Foundation itself, continue a legacy of community philanthropy that goes back generations.
The siblings’ great-grandfather, Colonel Elliott White Springs, was a World War I flying ace and author, and the head of the textile company Springs Industries in Fort Mill, South Carolina. He created the Springs Foundation in 1942 to support and care for the company’s workers and surrounding communities.
Elliott’s wife established a second foundation in 1968 to support a broader geographic region, and in 2003 the two organizations merged to become The Springs Close Foundation, serving Chester, Lancaster and York Counties and led by the siblings’ grandmother and Derick’s mother, Anne Springs Close.
When Derick Close sold his ownership stake in the Carolina Panthers in 2018, he and his family felt strongly that proceeds should be used to improve the community that supported the team. The money was invested in the Springsteen Foundation, and Derick and his children continue to allocate the funds locally, with an emphasis on human services, health and education.
A Gift for the Future
Their gift to The CommonSpark will be recognized in the naming of a meeting room at the new Main Library, meant for use by entrepreneurs, non-profits, businesses and other small groups.
“This investment will benefit our entire community now and far into the future,” explains Jenni Gaisbauer, Library Foundation executive director. “So many of our most impactful institutions are possible because of the foresight and imagination of families who have been in this region for generations. We’re grateful to the Close family for their generosity and commitment to our community.”
To learn more and help ignite The CommonSpark, contact us at foundation@cmlibrary.org or 704-416-0803.
