Connections is a service to our donors and the not-for-profit organizations in our community. It details grantmaking opportunities for you with local charities that have recently received a discretionary grant from The Dayton Foundation. All of these organizations have been researched by our Grants Department, and a summary of their grant proposals is included.

Listed below are those organizations that received a grant from The Dayton Foundation within the last discretionary grant cycle. As you may see, for many of these requests, we were able to fund only to a certain level. The organizations may still have unmet needs associated with their specified programs.

If you would like additional information about any of these programs, please feel free to contact the charity directly. Their phone numbers are listed below, or you may visit their web site, if available.

Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley - Bus Transportation
$35,000 Total Project Budget
$8,000 Granted

Funds will help purchase a used school bus to transport a minimum of 25 students. In addition to meeting new State of Ohio regulations for transporting youth to and from offsite educational and recreational experiences, the additional capacity will allow the agency to expand its summer programming for children ages 7 to 12, as well as enable an entire class of 22 students, an aide and a teacher to attend enrichment activities. The bus will increase cost effectiveness for the agency as it will reduce the use of multiple vehicles to transport students to enrichment activities.

Corner Cupboard Charities of Greater Dayton - Thrift Store Building Expansion
$225,000 Total Project Budget
$25,000 Granted

Established in 1960, Corner Cupboard Charities has provided more than $2.7 million to help support individuals in need in the Greater Dayton Region. This volunteer operated organization has outgrown its current thrift store, which provides the majority of the organization’s revenue. Funds will support the acquisition and renovation of a larger facility that will enable the thrift store to earn additional revenue and increase the organization’s donations to recipients.

Dayton Christian Center - Bus Purchase
$45,000 Total Project Budget
$8,000 Granted

In order to meet the new State of Ohio regulations for transporting youth to and from school, off-site educational experiences and additional recreational opportunities, the agency must replace its vans with a multi-functional school bus. Funds will help purchase a bus so that Dayton Christian Center can meet these new regulations and maintain its partnerships with Edison Community School, Dayton Leadership Academy (formerly Dayton View Academy) and other area schools by providing reliable transportation.

Dayton Opera Association - Special Support for 50th Anniversary Performance of Porgy & Bess
$474,974 Total Project Budget
$10,000 Granted

Funds will support special programming activities in celebration of Dayton Opera’s 50th Anniversary, including the opening production of Porgy & Bess, Gershwin’s American classic. The Opera’s endeavor includes three public performances, a student/family dress rehearsal, an education component and several outreach opportunities, as well as a partnership on a unique art project entitled “Porgy to Barack.” Porgy & Bess creates multiple collaborative opportunities between the Opera and other organizations in the region, including the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Art Institute, The Muse Machine, regional and local artists, churches and Wilberforce and Central State Universities.

Dayton Visual Arts Center - Online Gallery of Artists' Pages
$35,638 Total Project Budget
$6,000 Granted

The Dayton Visual Arts Center’s (DVAC) database and website project will provide an Internet presence for local artists via the DVAC website. The Online Gallery of Artists’ Pages project will improve artists’ ability to market their art to a larger audience and enhance DVAC’s ability to offer art-related services to artists, patrons and to the broader community of Dayton and Southwest Ohio. This initiative will create an access point for the regional and global art market to some of the 500 artists who are members of the Dayton Visual Arts Center. By providing connectivity via the Internet, DVAC will help maintain visibility, cultivate an audience and promote associated services, such as workshops and commissions. Additionally, the project will showcase local artists to individuals who are seeking local art to purchase, as well as gallery or museum curators seeking artists for exhibitions and projects.

Elizabeth's New Life Center - Capital Campaign
$2.5 Million Total Project Budget
$10,000 Granted

Currently operating five centers in the Greater Dayton Region, Elizabeth’s New Life Center offers pregnancy prevention, testing, education, mentoring and emergency assistance programs to clients who are underserved. Funds will assist with the organization’s capital campaign to consolidate three separate Dayton locations into one facility.

Family Violence Prevention Center of Greene County - Expanding Our Safe House
$187,000 Total Project Budget
$15,000 Granted

Family Violence Prevention Center of Greene County is the sole provider of services to victims of family violence in Greene County. The organization has experienced a significant increase in the number of clients seeking to stay at its shelter during 2009 compared to the previous year. They also have a waiting list. Funds will support the construction of a second-story residential area in the shelter, with three additional bedrooms and a common area that will serve 8 to 12 individuals who have experienced family violence.

4 Paws for Ability - Capital Campaign
$2 Million Total Project Budget
$10,000 Granted

Founded 10 years ago, 4 Paws for Ability enriches the lives of children with disabilities by providing highly trained service dogs for companionship and to promote independent living. They also will assist Gulf War veterans with mobility problems or hearing loss resulting from combat injuries. 4 Paws places hearing ear dogs, mobility assistance dogs, multipurpose assistance dogs, Autism assistance dogs and FASD assistance dogs. They also have begun to specialize in seizure assistance dogs. Funds will support the renovation and expansion of the organization’s current facility to help house and train more service dogs, as well as provide additional veterinary care to meet increased demand.

L and M Products, Inc./Preble County Baord of Developmental Disabilities - Totally Handicap-Accessible Playground
$150,000 Total Project Budget
$5,000 Granted

The Preble County Board of Developmental Disabilities, L & M Products, Inc. (Adult Workshop of PCBDD), and Advocates for Special Kids (parent support group) have partnered to build a handicap-accessible playground for children and adults in Preble County. There currently is no accessible playground in the county. Funds will help construct a playground that will include accessible swings, wheelchair ramps, sensory items and raised play areas.

Miami Valley Housing Opportunities - Glenbeck Avenue/ACT Team Housing
$547,200 Total Project Budget
$5,500 Granted

The Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Montgomery County partnered with Miami Valley Housing Opportunities to access a $552,700 Ohio Department of Mental Health grant to acquire and renovate 12 permanent supportive housing units on Glenbeck Avenue for individuals with mental illnesses. The Glenbeck project was developed by a multi-disciplinary team that is charged with developing a more efficient community response to serving individuals who are mentally ill since the closing of Twin Valley Hospital. The Dayton Foundation’s discretionary grant completes the total project budget and allows the agency to move forward with the project.

Miami Valley Literacy Council - Relocation to a Single Facility
$82,000 Total Project Budget
$10,000 Granted

Funds will assist in relocating the Miami Valley Literacy Council (MVLC) from several locations into a single downtown Dayton facility located at 333 W. First Street. The new facility will provide MVLC and its clients with additional instructional space as the agency looks to expand its adult literacy programs.

The Muse Machine - Reinvigorating the "Muse" in Their Secondary School Program
$42,216 Total Project Budget
$10,000 Granted

The Reinvigorating the “Muse” in The Muse Machine’s Secondary School Program project will focus on two initiatives: increasing the commitment and passion levels of club advisors through five new teacher training projects and increasing the value of student membership through five strategic alliances that create new opportunities in student programming. Teacher training projects include: offsite learning experience workshops with visual artist Bing Davis, photographer Andy Snow, musician Peter Schikele, Human Race Theatre Education Director Marilyn Klaben and Wright State Stein Galleries coordinator Tess Cortes; artist presentations at monthly club advisor meeting; study guides for in-school performance; and four new classroom master classes. Student training projects include five new strategic alliances for students with FilmDayton, Bach Society of Dayton, Dayton Regional STEM School, Victoria Theatre Wicked Playwriting Project and Dog Sees God, a student production at Sinclair Commuity College. Funds will help underwrite artists’ fees and materials.

Toward Independence - Transportation for Clients
$65,000 Total Project Budget
$8,000 Granted

Toward Independence assists persons with developmental disabilities to live the fullest life possible by providing individualized services in a variety of community settings, including transportation to medical appointments and recreational activities. Funds will support the purchase of a full-size, handicap-accessible van with a lift and capacity for two wheelchairs.

Trotwood Area Handivan Ministry, Inc. - Van Purchas
$32,000 Total Project Budget
$8,000 Granted

Trotwood Area Handivan Ministry provides clients who are elderly and disabled in the Trotwood and Harrison Township area with free transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, banking and other outings. In 2008 the organization’s provided 3,000 client trips with three vans. Funds will support the purchase of a new van that will replace an older van with more than 200,000 miles.

Victoria Theatre Association - Changed for Good: The WICKED 10-Minute Playwriting Festival
$24,272 Total Project Budget
$8,500 Granted

Approximately 125 local students will attend three multi-disciplinary playwriting workshops. In addition to exploring playwriting techniques of the live stage production of WICKED, adapted from Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, the students will submit 10-minute original plays re-imagining a classic fairy tale to be critiqued by professional theatre artists and educators. The top six to eight plays will be staged by Sinclair Community College acting/directing majors at a March 2010 WICKED Playwriting Festival weekend at the Schuster Center. Funds will help Victoria Theatre Association pay for expenses related to this youth project.

YWCA Dayton - Telecommunications Upgrade
$39,000 Total Project Budget
$5,000 Granted

Funds will assist YWCA Dayton in replacing an analog telecommunications system with a new, digital phone system. The new system will be compatible with updated technologies, such as visual displays and Caller ID. Caller ID is important as the agency operates the community’s only 24/7 Domestic Violence Hotline (in partnership with Artemis Center). Without Caller ID, if a hotline caller is disconnected, the YWCA has no way to trace the call to determine if emergency assistance is needed. The Domestic Violence Hotline received 792 domestic violence-specific calls and an additional 1,025 program inquiries, for a total of 1,817 phone calls last year. Incidents of domestic violence are on the rise by approximately 25 percent in 2009 making an upgraded phone system critical to serving clients.