Our vision and Commitment
Our vision at the Couch Family Foundation is a future where children can be safe, healthy, and thrive. Where children grow up feeling loved and respected for who they are. Where children have bright futures no matter their socio-economic status or the color of their skin.
We will continue to work closely with our partners towards a community that is inclusive, equitable and prosperous. A community of opportunity where race, place and socioeconomic status no longer predicts educational and economic attainment…a community that is finally able to shed the harmful impact of our country’s long history of oppressive and racist systems that created the inequitable outcomes we see today. We believe that equity exists when people have access to the opportunities and resources needed to reach their full potential and when everyone feels empowered to be their full authentic selves.
We believe that confronting systemic racism starts with honest self-reflection. We commit to learning about the inequities that surround us. We commit to listening with empathy to learn from people across our communities, especially those who have been marginalized, and from our nonprofit partners who are closest to this work. We commit to working with others to call out injustices now, to support organizations working toward long-lasting positive change, and to model anti-racist behavior ourselves.
Our children are watching and listening.
Our story
Dick and Barbara Couch are very grateful. Their journey together in life has been filled with good fortune. But they both remember more difficult times when living paycheck to paycheck was more the norm. They will never forget those times and what that felt like, and they know there are far too many families living that way today.
In 1968, as an engineer and recent graduate of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, Dick started Hypertherm in a garage. The first eight years were challenging financially, but in the early 70’s Dick’s persistence and tenacity began to pay off. Hypertherm went from prototype to a commercial product and the rest is history. Barbara had the privilege of working with Dick first in Human Resources and then Corporate Social Responsibility before founding the Hypertherm HOPE Foundation—the company’s charitable giving arm.
Years later, when it came time to seriously think through the succession of the company, Dick and Barbara considered multiple options. Certainly there was interest from strategic buyers and financial investors. But in the end, they chose an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) model, placing ownership in the hands of the employees—the people who helped build the company and its success. For the Couches this was the right and best option aligning with their belief of sharing rewards. Through the ESOP transaction, the Couches were able to create the Couch Family Foundation.
Why do they call it a “family” Foundation? As parents of three daughters, they believe one of the greatest gifts they could offer their girls was the opportunity to be involved in their circle of philanthropy, the opportunity to learn first-hand the extraordinary joy that comes from giving back. Involving family in the Foundation was a priority.
The Couch Family Foundation is still evolving, and is strategic in its giving while focusing on the most important community and societal needs. An important strategic focus area is in the space of early childhood education. The Couches understand firsthand the challenge in finding affordable, high-quality childcare and contrast that with the opportunities their grandchildren were afforded. Doesn’t every child deserve that? They think so.
Dick and Barbara look forward to working together as a family in growing the Foundation to serve the most pressing needs in their communities. They know they can’t change the entire world, but they believe they can impact the part that is within their reach.