 The Donald A. Spencer Achievement Award was established in his honor to recognize the accomplishments of minority students at Ohio University and the Blackburn-Spencer Scholarship and Achievement Awards were named in part for him.He served on the boards of Ohio University (two years as president), Ohio Valley Goodwill, the Fenwick Club, and Family Housing Developers.He was a founding board member of the Friends of Cincinnati Parks and an executive board member of the Walnut Hills High School Foundation, which developed a $12-million addition to the public high school with private funds, a first in the United States.