2025 Marks the 50th Year of the Ben B. Cheney Foundation, the foundation that bears the name of the witty, generous and baseball-loving businessman behind the Cheney lumber company. Since its inception, the “Cheney Foundation” (as it is known to most) has existed to improve the quality of life in the communities where the lumber company operated.
Ben B. Cheney lived life fully and richly, devoting himself to his work, his family and his community. His upbringing came with its share of complications, yet his insatiable desire to invent, succeed and build a happy life for himself and his family caused him to become the successful owner of a regional lumber company that operated in Western Washington, Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Many know of Ben Cheney’s contribution to Pierce County through Cheney Stadium, but it should be known that his dedication to sports, accompanied by his generous spirit, caused him to sponsor countless youth sports teams. It is estimated that he sponsored more than 5,000 young athletes throughout his lifetime, a number that has exponentially grown through the work of the Cheney Foundation.
The Ben B. Cheney Foundation began grant making as a private foundation in 1975, furthering Ben Cheney’s legacy of service and desire to support the communities that allowed him to find success and meaning in life.
Among the very first groups to receive a grant from the Ben B. Cheney Foundation were Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound ($10,000 for a remodeling project), Northwest Trek Foundation ($39,000 for their shelter and covered walkways), and the City of South Bend ($10,000 for a baseball field). These are all wonderful organizations that continue to do great work today. Five decades later and at the last count, the Ben B. Cheney Foundation has made more than 6,400 grants, for a total distribution of more than $120,000,000. Some grants have been made to recipients with the vision for a new building, a better vehicle or an expensive piece of medical equipment. Of course, many playgrounds and ballparks have benefitted from the Cheney Foundation along the way, a lasting tribute to Ben’s love of supporting youth, sports, and play.
The Ben B. Cheney Foundation truly considers these grantees to be community partners, recognizing that nothing would be accomplished without the individuals and teams tirelessly and enthusiastically using their time and talents to serve our community in the areas of education, health care, charity, social services, or one of the other eight areas within the focus of the Foundation. These are the partners who over 50 years have also improved the quality of life for many. These are the groups that dreamed of a beautiful play yard for children who didn’t have access to one. These are the parents who envisioned state-of-the-art sports facilities for their community’s young athletes. These are the hands that grabbed a hammer to repair a home or refurbish a teen center, the minds that created innovative ideas to address food insecurity, the eyes that saw a dire need in their community and then took the steps (and likely overcame obstacles) to help meet that need.
What does our 50th year of the Ben B. Cheney Foundation look like? 2025 will be a year of legacy for the Foundation. We hope you will join us all year long in celebration of our founder and our community partners through service, vision and generosity.
Learn more about the history of our Foundation and the life of Ben B. Cheney through this short video on our website.