File No. 2-99207
                                               Under Rule 497(e) of Regulation C


                                     [Logo]
                                    Columbia


                                 COLUMBIA FUNDS


                                Supplement to the
                        Columbia Special Fund Prospectus
                             dated February 24, 1997


COVER PAGE. The following legend is added to the cover page of the Prospectus:

     "Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed
     or endorsed by Fleet Financial Group, Inc. or any of its affiliates, the
     Advisor, or any Fleet Bank. Shares of the Fund are not Federally insured
     by, guaranteed by, obligations of or otherwise supported by the U.S.
     Government, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve
     Board or any other governmental agency. Investment in the Fund involves
     investment risk, including the possible loss of principal."

INVESTMENT ADVISOR. The section of the Prospectus entitled "INVESTMENT ADVISOR,"
appearing on page 7, is amended by replacing the first two paragraphs of that
section with the following:

     "The Fund has contracted with Columbia Funds Management Company (the
     "Advisor") to provide investment advisory services. The Advisor, subject to
     general oversight responsibility of the Fund's Board of Directors, is
     responsible for the overall management of the Fund's business affairs. The
     Advisor has acted in this capacity since 1982 and also provides investment
     management services to each of the following Columbia Funds: Columbia
     Common Stock Fund, Columbia International Stock Fund, Columbia Balanced
     Fund, Columbia Small Cap Fund, Columbia Real Estate Equity Fund, Columbia
     Growth Fund, Columbia Daily Income Company, Columbia U.S. Government
     Securities Fund, Columbia Municipal Bond Fund, Columbia Fixed Income
     Securities Fund, and Columbia High Yield Fund. The Advisor is an indirect
     wholly owned subsidiary of Fleet Financial Group, Inc. ("Fleet"), a
     publicly owned multibank holding company registered under the Bank Holding
     Company Act of 1956 with total assets of approximately $85 billion at
     December 31, 1996. The address of the Advisor is 1300 S.W. Sixth Avenue,
     P.O. Box 1350, Portland, Oregon 97201-1350.

     Under the investment advisory contact with each Fund, the Advisor provides
     research, advice, and supervision with respect to investment matters and
     determines what securities to purchase or sell and what portion of the
     Fund's assets to invest. The Advisor provides office space and pays all
     executive salaries and expenses and ordinary expenses of the Fund (other
     than the expense of clerical services relating to the administration of the
     Fund)."

OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS. The section of the Prospectus entitled "Other Service
Providers," appearing on page 8, is amended by replacing the first two
paragraphs of that section with the following:

     "Transfer Agent. Columbia Trust Company acts as transfer agent and dividend
     paying agent for the Fund. Its address is 1301 S.W. Fifth Avenue, P.O. Box
     1350 Portland, Oregon 97207-1350. The transfer agent is an indirect wholly
     owned subsidiary of Fleet.

     Distributor. Provident Distributor, Inc. ("PDI") is the principal
     underwriter of the Fund's shares. PDI's address is Four Falls Corporate
     Center, 6th Floor, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2961. Columbia Financial
     Center Incorporated ("Columbia Financial"), an indirect wholly-owned
     subsidiary of Fleet, has entered into a Broker-Dealer Agreement to sell
     shares of the Fund. You may invest or redeem your investment in the Fund
     through Columbia Financial. Its address is 1301 S.W. Fifth Avenue, P.O. Box
     1350, Portland, Oregon 97207-1350. PDI and Columbia Financial do not charge
     any fees or commissions to investors or the Fund for the sale of shares of
     the Fund."



                                       December 10, 1997


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                                     [Logo]
                                    Columbia


                                 COLUMBIA FUNDS

                                Supplement to the
                        Columbia Special Fund's Statement
                            of Additional Information
                             dated February 24, 1997


MANAGEMENT. The section of the Statement of Additional Information entitled
"MANAGEMENT," appearing on page 2, is amended by replacing all but the last two
paragraphs of the section with the following:

          "The directors and officers of the Fund are listed below, together
     with their principal business occupations. All principal business
     occupations have been held for more than five years, except that positions
     with the Columbia High Yield Fund, Inc., the Columbia Real Estate Equity
     Fund, Inc., and the Columbia Small Cap Fund, Inc., have been held since
     July 1993, January 1994, and August 1996, respectively, and except as
     otherwise indicated. The term "Columbia Funds" refers to Columbia Common
     Stock Fund, Inc., Columbia Growth Fund, Inc., Columbia Real Estate Equity
     Fund, Inc., Columbia International Stock Fund, Inc., Columbia High Yield
     Fund, Inc., Columbia Balanced Fund, Inc., Columbia Daily Income Company,
     Columbia Municipal Bond Fund, Inc., Columbia U.S. Government Securities
     Fund, Inc., Columbia Small Cap Fund, Inc., and Columbia Fixed Income
     Securities Fund, Inc.

     J. JERRY INSKEEP, JR.,*+ Chairman, President, Secretary, and Director of
     the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds; Chairman, President, Secretary,
     and Trustee of CMC Fund Trust ("CMC Trust"); Consultant for Fleet Financial
     Group, Inc. (since December 1997); formerly Chairman and a Director of
     Columbia Funds Management Company (the "Advisor"), Columbia Management Co.,
     Columbia Trust Company (the "Trust Company"); formerly a Director of
     Columbia Financial Center Incorporated ("Columbia Financial"). Mr.
     Inskeep's address is 1300 S.W. Sixth Avenue, P.O. Box 1350, Portland,
     Oregon 97207.

     JAMES C. GEORGE, Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds (since
     June 1994); Trustee of CMC Trust (since December 1997). Mr. George, the
     former Investment Manager of the Oregon State Treasury (1966-1992), is an
     investment consultant. Mr. George's business address is 1001 S.W. Fifth
     Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204.

     THOMAS R. MACKENZIE, Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds;
     Trustee of CMC Trust (since December 1997); Director of Group Mackenzie
     (architecture, planning, interior design, engineering). Mr. Mackenzie's
     business address is 0690 S.W. Bancroft Street, Portland, Oregon 97201.

     RICHARD L. WOOLWORTH,+ Director of the Fund and each of the Columbia Funds;
     Trustee of CMC Trust; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross
     and Blue Shield of Oregon; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the
     Regence Group, health insurers. Mr. Woolworth's business address is 100
     S.W. Market Street, Portland, Oregon 97201.

          *Mr. Inskeep is an "interested person" as defined by the Investment
     Company Act of 1940 and receives no directors fees or salaries from the
     Fund.

          +Members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has all
     powers of the Board of Directors when the Board is not in session, except
     as limited by law.

          Provident Distributors, Inc. ("PDI"), a registered securities broker
     and a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., is
     authorized under a distribution agreement with the Fund to sell shares of
     the Fund. Columbia Financial has entered into a Broker Dealer agreement
     with PDI to distribute the Fund's shares. PDI and Columbia Financial do not
     charge any fees or commissions to investors or the Fund for the sale of
     shares of the Fund."

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER FEES PAID TO AFFILIATES. The section of the
Statement of Additional Information entitled "INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER FEES
PAID TO AFFILIATES," appearing on page 3 is amended by replacing the third
paragraph with the following:

     "The Trust Company, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Fleet
     Financial Group, Inc., acts as custodian of certain Individual Retirement
     Accounts (IRAs) and sponsor of Prototype Money Purchase Pension and Profit
     Sharing Plans that invest in the Fund. The Trust Company charges account
     holders an annual fee of $25 per IRA account (fee is waived for accounts
     over $25,000) and a retirement plan setup fee of $100 and an annual fee of
     $50."



                                       December 10, 1997


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