Doug Godard’s mission to give kids the tools and warmth they need to succeed

Doug Godard may no longer be a full-time real estate agent, but he’s working harder than ever to give back to his community. As the founder of Bonzy Charities, a published author and the organizer of a coat drive that donates thousands of coats to children in Columbus annually, he’s just getting started.

Doug Godard

Moving to UA

Although Godard raised his family in Upper Arlington and is known and loved by much of the community, he didn’t call Columbus home until the ’80s. Godard was born in Akron and earned a bachelor’s in Marketing Management at Miami University. After college, he briefly lived in Chicago before relocating to Columbus for work.

Godard relocated to Upper Arlington to pursue a career in commercial real estate at Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis Group, now known as CBRE Group Inc. It was here that he met his wife, Cheryl, a UA native. The two settled down in UA, where they raised three children.

During his four decades at CBRE, Godard not only built his career but also found the spark that now drives his service-focused work.

Recognizing a need

Doug Godard

Coat Day

In the early winter of 2019, during Godard’s days in commercial real estate, he noticed a coat at the front desk of his office with the label “Operation Warm.” Godard googled the name and discovered it was an organization that donated more than 800,000 coats to children in need annually throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Godard was inspired by this mission and decided to organize a Coat Day for the students of West Broad Elementary School. In order to gain funds for the Coat Day and for his future charitable goals, Godard established Bonzy Charities, Inc. Through Operation Warm, he purchased coats for each student.

The Upper Arlington Rotary Club, of which Godard is an active member, stepped up to the plate and helped reimburse a large portion of the cost. More than 30 rotary members volunteered on the first Coat Day.

On Dec. 18, 2019, Bonzy celebrated its first-ever Coat Day, partnering with Upper Arlington Rotary to ensure every student at West Broad Elementary School stayed warm with a brand-new winter coat.

Then came COVID-19, but rather than halt the Coat Day, Godard arranged for coats to be drop-shipped to the school. The next year, he wanted to reach more schools in Columbus, so he began hosting multiple Coat Days at schools around the city, starting with roughly 2,000 coats.

Now, Bonzy donates more than 4,000 coats to children each year, and in 2025, it donated to Coat Days for eight schools across central Ohio.

“These kids are in these situations, not because of anything they’ve done. They’re born into these situations, and what we want to do is create a foundation,” Godard says. “Giving them a warm coat so they can go to school, cutting down the absentee rates, just giving them a chance to succeed in life.”

Learning through literacy

Godard’s coat drives were a hit, but as he conducted the drives, he learned of a need that went beyond outerwear. He asked the schools what their needs were, and teachers mentioned that, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were behind in literacy.

Doug Godard

Literacy Day

“As I looked into it, there was a national movement on financial literacy, basically teaching the kids the value of saving,” Godard says.

According to the National Endowment for Financial Education, 29 states now require high school students to receive financial literacy instruction before they graduate as of 2025. But for students at the elementary and middle school levels, while there are state standards and a model curriculum available, there’s no statewide requirement that districts teach financial literacy at those younger grade levels.

“I said, ‘Okay, so maybe we’ll raise more money, and we’ll buy more books,’” Godard says. “I didn’t see the books I liked… So, I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to write books.’”

Godard decided that, along with Coat Drives, Bonzy’s next project would be improving financial literacy, starting with elementary students. Godard had no professional writing experience, but he took inspiration from Dr. Seuss’s ability to transform complex ideas into simple concepts that young children can understand.

“I grew up with Dr. Seuss, and that phonetic awareness goes along with how the books are written, so it’s very easy for the kids to conceptualize,” Godard says.

His first book, Best Day at the Zoo, follows twins Skye and Rey as they spend a long-saved-for day at the zoo, learning simple lessons about saving, budgeting, planning and giving through the choices they make along the way.

The second edition, A Surprise for a Friend, follows these same principles, along with the third book, Your Dreams Can Come True, which was just published and is available now.

“There’s a lot of great little lessons,” Godard says. “Not just financial literacy skills, but also lessons for life.”

Godard is self-published, and he works with illustrator Nadia Ronquillo on each of his books. Although he doesn’t have a publishing company to filter his work through, he has built-in editors by his side to ensure his books are hardcover-ready.

“When I have a book that’s pretty close to being finished, I send it out to my family, and it goes through what I call the Godard Gauntlet,” Godard says. “They don’t hold back… and it’s a much better product because of it.”

Godard published his first book in June 2024, but his work didn’t stop there. He wasn’t content simply creating a resource – he wanted to play an active role in bringing it into classrooms. Thus, Financial Literacy Days took form.

Financial Literacy Days bring volunteers into K–2 classrooms, where they engage students through lively read-alouds of illustrated books. The program offers an easy, effective method for teaching financial skills while creating an avenue for banks to support local schools. The program began in Columbus, but now, volunteers travel nationwide.

“I knew it was gratifying, but I had no idea the scale of the gratification,” Godard says. “The kids just light up with the books. The fact that they get a book to keep and take home… A lot of these kids don’t have a lot of books at home, so this is very special to them.”

Retirement never quite stuck for Godard. Splitting roughly 50 hours a week between Bonzy Charities and real estate work with nonprofits such as the Community Shelter Board, he sees this not as slowing down but as the start of a new chapter – one that feels well worth the effort if it helps kids stay in school and learn how to save for their futures.

“These are wonderful kids,” Godard says. “They just need a shot, and we’re giving them a shot.”