The Richland County Foundation was founded in 1945 by a group of seven community leaders. These original founders were inspired by local philanthropist Anna Scattergood, who had created a fund to benefit poverty-stricken elderly and terminally ill residents in Mansfield. It was with the guidance of D. Osborne Meese that the Foundation was established.

The Richland County Foundation was modeled after the Cleveland Foundation and was created as an independent nonprofit organization that could accept and administer charitable gifts and bequests, regardless of size, for the benefit of the local community. The mission of the Richland County Foundation is to improve and enhance the quality of life in Richland County through strategic philanthropy and community leadership.