1910 -1919

1913 | The Dayton Flood

Dayton’s greatest disaster, the 1913 flood, occurred on March 25th.

1914 | The Birth of Community Foundations

The first community foundation is founded in Cleveland, Ohio – The Cleveland Foundation. At the time, community foundations were an entirely new concept in philanthropy; however the idea allowed individuals from all walks of life to establish charitable funds with a commitment to help today or after their passing.

1917 | Dayton Enters WWI

McCook Field, the nation’s first center for military testing and engineering research, opened.

1919 | Dayton Art Institute Opens Its Doors

Established as a school in 1919, Dayton Art Institute, then known as the Dayton Museum of Arts, opened its doors. The museum quickly was embraced by the community, and counted some of the area’s most respected citizens among its founding patrons, including Orville Wright and the Patterson family. It enjoyed such popularity, in fact, that Julia Shaw Patterson Carnell, local philanthropist and one of The Dayton Foundation’s founders, contributed $2 million to help build DAI’s current home when it outgrew its first location after only a decade.

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1920-1929

1920 | First NFL Game Played in Dayton, Ohio

The first American Professional Football Association (precursor to the NFL) game held in Dayton, Ohio at Triangle Park.

1921 | Founding of The Dayton Foundation

In 1921, visionary thinking and caring individuals took one big idea – to help individuals find a way to have their charitable wishes stand the test of time – and made it a reality. The idea blossomed into The Dayton Foundation. The individual behind the idea was D. Frank Garland a one-time Dayton minister and longtime social activist. The family with the means to realize the dream was the Pattersons – John H. Patterson, founding president of the National Cash Register Company; Julia Shaw Patterson Carnell, the city’s leading businesswoman and, later, major underwriter of the Dayton Art Institute; and Robert Patterson, a noted civic leader. Together, they presented The Dayton Foundation with start-up capital of $250,000.

1923 | Air Force Museum Opens Its Doors

The U. S. Air Force Museum opened at McCook Field.

1926 | Foundation Awards Grant to Aid Children

Early on, the Foundation’s first director, Oscar Bard, received a letter from the executive secretary at The Barney Convalescent Center: “Since so many children are coming in with Infantile Paralysis (polio), it is necessary to place them on Bradford Frames and Osgood Splints. These cost $40 and have to be made to fit each child.” The Foundation responded with $500 for a “Brace Shop Revolving Fund.”

1927 | The Foundation Launches First Major Leadership Initiative

The Dayton Foundation funded studies on the building needs of city schools and the city’s debt and an investigation into alleged mismanagement at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, accused of inefficiency and possible influence by the then-active Ku Klux Klan. This work prompted community support for improved accountability within the electoral process.

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1930-1939

1930 | The Foundation’s Second Director Named

Don Battelle, a certified public accountant, became the second Foundation director in 1930, following Oscar Bard. He remained in that post, entirely as a volunteer, until 1973 and led the Foundation through The Great Depression. Battelle was succeeded by John Sullivan, a prominent local architect.

1930 | The Dayton Foundation Assists in the Establishment of The Dayton Art Institute

In its early years, and still today, the Foundation did a great deal to support the arts. In 1930, the community re-dedicated the Dayton Art Institute constructing the historic location that the museum operates out of today, only ten years after outgrowing its original space. In 1930, The Foundation awarded grants to the newly-opened Dayton Art Institute.

1932 | The Foundation’s Assistance During The Great Depression

The Foundation helped to ease the plight of those in need by underwriting free, public dental clinics during the Great Depression and after-school programs for children with parents at work in factories and the military during World War II.

1933 | Begins yearly grants to Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for free children’s concerts

In 1933, the Foundation helped fund an organization that would later become the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, awarding grants for public concerts held in the region. Today, Foundation donors and discretionary funds continue to support the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

1938 | Slow Growth for the Foundation

In 1938, the Foundation’s assets of $308,000 were barely above its initial endowment. With its means limited, the Foundation could do little to extend its reach. In fairness, during the Depression there was not the spare money, and during the war years not the spare attention, for expansion. Indeed, while The Dayton Foundation did all it could to help the Dayton region through the Great Depression, the Foundation’s major accomplishment may have been its simple survival. Of the 91 community foundations established around the country by 1939, 25 closed up shop in the following decade.

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1940-1949

1941 | Funds Afterschool Programs During World War II

In 1941, Dayton, along with the United States, entered into the Second World War. Eager to help, the Foundation paid for the “Day Gang” afterschool programs for 700 young people who, with fathers in the military and mothers in the factory, were left without adult supervision.

1942 | Carillon Bell Tower

In 1942 the Deeds Carillon Bell Tower was completed. The tower was built at the request of Colonel and Mrs. Edward Deeds, prominent community leaders and philanthropists. Completed in 1942, the 151-foot tower houses 57 bells.

1949 | The Kuntz Family Foundation Established

In 1949, six Kuntz brothers established The Kuntz Foundation as the charitable arm of one of Greater Dayton’s most prominent lumber companies at that time. This foundation will go on to span across three generations, perpetuating the family’s history that began overseas in the mid-1800s.

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1950-1959

1951 | Foundation Launched New Innovative Grants

New grants awarded for innovative projects, including efforts to educate the public to avoid poverty and vice.

1953 | Funded Studies to Help the Community

In the 1950s, the Foundation continued to underwrite studies of local issues. The first, in 1953, culminated in plans for the new Dayton courthouse, while urging that the landmark old courthouse be made headquarters for the Dayton (later Montgomery County) Historical Society.

1954 | Grant Funded Dayton Natural History Museum

The Foundation added a new area of funding – conservation and environment – with a grant to establish the Dayton Natural History Museum.

1960-1969

1961 | Helping to Secure the Future of Sinclair Community College

The Foundation funded a study that urged Sinclair Community College to focus on student training in fields with the strongest employment prospects, ultimately securing the school's future at a time when its future was uncertain. The study urged Sinclair to focus on training in those fields where employment prospects appeared strongest – the path Sinclair chose to follow.

1962 | New Main Branch of the Dayton Metro Library Opened

The new main branch of the Dayton Metro Library opened in downtown Dayton.

1967 | Wright State University Opened

In an effort to ensure that public higher education facilities were accessible and placed within 30 miles of every Ohioan, under then Ohio Governor James Rhode’s efforts, Wright State University was brought to fruition on a small plot of land near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in the 1960s.

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1970-1979

1972 | Foundation Names First African-American Governing Board Member

In 1972, John Moore, a retired chief of Civilian Personnel for the 2750th Air Base Wing at WPAFB, became the first African-American to be named to the Foundation’s Board. Moore would go on to serve on the Foundation’s Governing Board from 1972 to 1991 spending a term as Chair and helping to lead efforts to develop the African-American Community Fund. Additionally, Mr. Moore is credited with a leadership role in the creation of The Job Center, the largest one-stop employment and training center in the country.

1973 | John Sullivan Named Foundation Director

John Sullivan, Jr. a prominent local architect served as director of the Foundation from 1973 to 1982.

1974 | Xenia Tornado Struck

On April 3, 1974, the devastating F5 Xenia tornado struck Greene County.

1979 | Frederick C. Smith Became Chair of the Foundation’s Governing Board

Without Fred Smith, there would be no modern Dayton Foundation. Frederick C. Smith retired as CEO of Huffy Corporation to pursue a second career as a “public citizen” – head of the local United Way, national chairman of Planned Parenthood and chairman of Miami Valley Hospital, and became Chair of The Dayton Foundation’s Governing Board in 1979. In time, Smith brought in the Foundation’s first full-time director, Frederick Bartenstein III.

1979 | The Rike Family Brought $1M Contribution to Foundation

The Dayton Foundation had had only one large increase in assets in decades. In 1979, after David L. Rike retired from the Foundation Board, he made a decision that was to have significant impact on the future direction of The Dayton Foundation. He closed his family foundation and folded a large share of it into The Dayton Foundation through the contribution of roughly $1 million to create the Rike Family Fund. This dramatically increased the Foundation’s assets and set the stage for the next step in the Foundation’s development. The Rike Family Foundation assisted children and others in the community.

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1980-1989

1980s | The Fred and Fred Years

The 1980s began a period of sinking deep roots in the community growth for The Dayton Foundation and at the forefront of this growth were Frederick C. Smith (1979-1989) and the Foundation’s first full-time director, Fred Bartenstein III, who served the organization from 1983 to 1992. Along with such Governing Board Members as Richard F. Glennon, Sr., Anne S. Greene, John E. Moore and Jesse Philips, they began a new legacy of great accomplishment for The Dayton Foundation.

They brought the Foundation from relatively low-key beginnings to a full-service, modern community foundation that is highly regarded locally and nationally.

Additionally, the Foundation undertook leadership initiatives – opening its doors to coordinate responses to community concerns – a niche that was much needed at this time and that provided a new service option and programs that would fully engage and benefit the entire Greater Dayton Region.

1980 | Foundation Named First Female Governing Board Member

In 1980, Anne Greene was the first woman to serve on The Dayton Foundation’s Governing Board. Mrs. Greene brought energy and enthusiasm to her 10-year tenure with the Foundation, a period of great change and rapid growth. Among other community roles, Mrs. Greene was a founder of the Dayton Human Relations Council and the first female president of the local United Way.

1982 | Making Philanthropy Accessible to All

The establishment of The Dayton Foundation’s Depository, one of the first such programs offered by a community foundation, made philanthropy accessible to individuals at virtually any financial level. Board member Dick Glennon said, “I guess the greatest contribution we made was when we gave Fred Bartenstein the go-ahead to put us in the Depository business, and we didn’t care if it was a $25 gift that was being written.” Emeritus Board member Lloyd Lewis, Jr., added, “We dealt with everyone; if it was fifty bucks, we dealt with it.”

1983 | Foundation Hired as First Full-time Director

In 1983, the Foundation hired its first full-time director, Frederick Bartenstein III. Bartenstein was well-grounded in Dayton’s affairs, having worked for the city, the Chamber of Commerce, edited Dayton Magazine and been CEO of the Victoria Theatre. Prior to the hire of Mr. Bartenstein, the Foundation’s visibility was very low, with an estimated less than 100 people in the region knowing about the Foundation. Together, he and Fred C. Smith set out to change that through the “Fred and Fred show,” regular luncheon meetings organized to explain the catalyzing role the Foundation could serve.

1983 | Donors Established Foundation’s First Donor-Advised Fund

William S. Anderson, retired NCR chairman and his wife Janice Anderson created the Foundation’s first Donor-Advised Fund. This was a key event in the rebirth of the Foundation.

1985 | Dayton-Montgomery County Public Education Fund Created

Local businesses wanted to donate to Dayton's schools, but needed assurances that the money would produce meaningful results. The Foundation convened a response and created the Dayton-Montgomery County Public Education Fund (later called the Alliance for Education) to support education and strengthen math and science instruction in Greater Dayton.

1986 | Carillon Historical Park Became Part of The Dayton Foundation

Preserving the region’s rich history for future generations, Carillon Historical Park, now part of Dayton History, became a subsidiary of The Dayton Foundation and was endowed by The Carillon Trust fund.

1989 | Self-Sufficiency Initiative Led to Job Center

The Foundation helped lead in the community’s response to welfare and employment issues. Following the Foundation’s multi-year research and Self-Sufficiency Initiative, working on state and local levels to effect profound changes in the state welfare system, the Foundation formed a coalition of organizations to guarantee payment of a loan to enable the creation of The Job Center. Each day nearly 2,000 people are helped by the Center, which serves as the focal point for the region to help citizens gain employment and overcome barriers to economic independence.

1989 | Foundation Assets Grew from $6 Million to $45 Million

Between 1980 and 1990, the work of Fred Bartenstein III, Fred C. Smith and The Dayton Foundation’s Governing Board helped take the Foundation from $6 million in assets to $45 million. Simultaneously, they brought the Foundation from virtual obscurity to recognition as a true player in the community, designing and constructing a modern community foundation for the benefit of the entire Dayton/Miami Valley region.

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1990-1999

1990 | Victoria Theater Reopened Its Doors

buliding The saved and restored Victoria Theater opened.

1991 | Darrell Murphy Named Second President of the Foundation

In 1991, Darrell L. Murphy, former director of the Louisville Community Foundation, joined the Foundation as its second president and served until his retirement in 2001. With the support of the Governing Board, Murphy helped The Dayton Foundation become one of the more progressive and innovative community foundations in the country.

1992 | African-American Community Fund Founded

The African-American Community Fund was established in 1992 as a group of endowment funds within The Dayton Foundation, with The Dayton Foundation providing a $50,000 challenge grant to encourage initial contributions. Chaired at first by Lloyd Lewis, the AACF was the first such fund group in the nation created and administered solely by African Americans. An umbrella for 20 individual funds, the AACF had assets approaching $1 million in 1996, with a like amount in identified legacies. It was built by contributions from African-Americans, with a 50 percent match from the Foundation. The need for such a fund, John Moore said, is clear: “For us to have a strong community, we need private funds – not government money with strings attached, but money that community leaders can use at their discretion, based upon their understanding of the priorities.”.

1993 | Preschool/Family Prevention Project

The Preschool/Family Prevention Project, a collaborative effort involving The Dayton Foundation, was named one of 11 exemplary alcohol and drug prevention programs in the country. The program has helped thousands of children and families over the years and continues as part of the Dayton/ Montgomery County public health department.

1996 | Dayton Foundation Assets Reached $100 Million Mark

By 1996 total assets under management reached the $100 million mark, with an additional $110 million in documented legacies.

1999 | The Foundation Establishes The Disability Foundation

Under the leadership of Darrell Murphy, the Foundation launched The Disability Foundation, Inc., a supporting organization of The Dayton Foundation, created by a consortium of local nonprofits to provide supplemental support for individuals with disabilities without jeopardizing governmental benefits.

1999 | Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center Bonds Issued

Construction of the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center was in jeopardy. In addition to contributing $1 million, the Foundation provided backing for bonds to be issued, enabling construction to move forward.

1999 | Dayton Riverfront Revitalized

The Foundation awarded $300,000 to hire RiverScape’s first planners and help revitalize downtown Dayton’s riverfront to bring families and tourists back downtown.

1999 | Foundation’s Diversity Task Force Was Created

In 1999, The Dayton Foundation convened a 33-person Diversity Task Force to study and develop a plan to bring the issues of diversity and inclusion to the forefront of the Greater Dayton Region. Emeritus Governing Board Member John E. Moore, Sr., chaired this Foundation leadership initiative.

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2000-2009

2001 | Launched Out-of-School Youth Program

The Foundation launched a new Out-of-School Youth Program to provide alternative educational programs for area youth deemed lost to the school system.

2002 | Michael M. Parks Becomes President of The Dayton Foundation

In 2002, Michael M. Parks became the third president to lead The Dayton Foundation and continues to lead the Foundation in its current phase.

2002 | Foundation Thirteenth in the Nation in Grants Paid Out

In the early 2000s, The Dayton Foundation was 13th in the nation in grants paid out and 9th in the nation in new gifts received.

2003 | Foundation Launched Legacy Partnership Program, First in the Nation

In 2003, the Foundation established the Legacy Partnership Program . This first in the nation program helped local nonprofits establish or build endowment programs through the Foundation that will help ensure long-term stability of services and programs in the community.

2004 | African-American Community Fund Received Largest Gift to That Time

Henry A. Garcia, a former professor of music at Wilberforce and Central State universities and a local organist, gifted $600,000 to the African-American Community Fund (AACF) establishing the Henry A. Garcia Fund and becoming AACF’s largest gift thus far. Garcia chose an endowment fund to support students in the music department at Wilberforce University by providing scholarship assistance for tuition, housing or educational expenses. As a young African-American man in the 1940s, Henry overcame many of the educational barriers of the time and earned an education degree from The Ohio State University. He then became the first African-American student to graduate from an Ohio music conservatory. The Dayton Foundation and African-American Community Fund helped Mr. Garcia carry on his legacy.

2004 | Judy McCormick Became Foundation’s First Woman Chair

Judy D. McCormick, who succeeded Robert S. Neff as chair of The Dayton Foundation Governing Board, was named Chair in 2004 becoming the Foundation’s first woman chair. During her term, Mrs. McCormick oversaw the revision of the Foundation’s investment policies, for even greater stability and diversification. Under her leadership, the Foundation grew by $43 million, delivered $68 million over two years to nonprofits, grew the Legacy Partnership Program to 45 local nonprofits who are increasing the planned and deferred gifts coming to their organizations, continued the important work of the Diversity Task Force and launched a new Board initiative, the Neighborhood School Centers Project to help rebuild neighborhoods in Dayton and assist families.

2004 | K-12 Leadership Initiative Largely Funded by Foundation

The Dayton Foundation Board committed to making the Teacher/Leadership Academy – a powerful concept, based on a tested program of educator training – available to Miami Valley school districts and approved $450,000 for this effort over three years. The early findings indicated that educator training works, with “every student moving up, including those traditionally left behind.” Seventeen Miami Valley school districts have participated in the program, benefiting 65,000 students, 5,000 teachers and 250 administrators.

2005 | Foundation Launched Neighborhood School Centers

The Foundation launched an innovative education initiative, the Neighborhood School Centers Program, partnering to implement pilot elementary school sites in five of Dayton’s poorest neighborhoods. This is a pioneering approach to building neighborhood education centers that strengthen children, families, schools and urban neighborhoods.

2006 | Two Large Stewards of Youth Scholarship Programs Merged

Two large stewards of youth scholarship programs – Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship Program and The Dayton Foundation – formed a new partnership, awarding the largest number of individual scholarships annually of any organization in Greater Dayton.

Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship Program was established in 1981 by former Dayton Public schools counselor Ruth Richardson, after social security benefits for many eligible students seeking post-secondary education, were eliminated.

2006 | A National Treasure Donated

The Foundation helped preserve a piece of national history by facilitating NCR Corporation’s gift of Hawthorn Hill, the Wright Brothers’ 1914 home in Oakwood, to The Wright Family Foundation of The Dayton Foundation.

2006 | Foundation Nationally Certified

The Dayton Foundation became nationally certified for its organizational and financial practices and successfully met 43 National Standards set forth for U.S. community foundations.

2007 | Gap in Minority Business and Economic Development Narrowed

In an effort to harness the resources of minority citizens to improve the economic fortunes of our region and create greater economic inclusion for all citizens, the Foundation entered into a groundbreaking partnership that produced the Commission on Minority Inclusion and the Minority Economic Development Council to forward the effort.

2008 | Dayton Crayons to Classrooms Established

An estimated 23,000 children in Greater Dayton cannot afford basic school supplies. The Foundation collaborated to start Dayton Crayons to Classrooms to help provide free educational supplies for students who cannot afford them, giving them a better chance of success in school.

2009 | Nonprofit Alliance Support Program Provided Help during Economic Downturn

In the midst of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, with many community nonprofits’ survival at stake, the Foundation convened partners to launch the Nonprofit Alliance Support Program. This pilot effort provides technical support to nonprofits ready to explore efficiencies through alliances, partnerships and/or mergers with other nonprofits to help ensure their long-term viability and the enhanced quality of life that they provide to our community.

2009 | Partnering for the Environment

A new initiative launched by The Dayton Foundation, the Greater Dayton Partners for the Environment, is an alliance of environmental, government and civic organizations, and public and private educational institutions. Their goal is to protect, preserve, restore and promote the Greater Dayton Region’s natural resources, including among them the Great Miami River and Little Miami River Watersheds.

2009 | Partnership at Work

Two charitable organizations that benefit individuals with disabilities – The Disability Foundation, a supporting organization of The Dayton Foundation, and the Brighter Tomorrow Foundation (BTF) – merged to form a new partnership that will better serve individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and the community.

2009 | Partnership to Benefit Region with Improved Access to Health Care, Educational Programs

In 2009, the Physicians’ Charitable Foundation of the Miami Valley (PCF) partnered with The Dayton Foundation to better serve the health care needs of the region by becoming a fund of The Dayton Foundation. The $7 million PCF was one of The Dayton Foundation’s largest charitable funds to date.

Established in 1973 as the Western Ohio Foundation for Medical Care, PCF adopted its new name in 1994. Its mission is to improve the quality, accessibility and cost effectiveness of health care services in the Miami Valley area, including Montgomery, Miami, Preble, Greene, Warren, Clark and Darke counties.

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2010-2019

2010 | Virginia Bernthal Toulmin: Donor Makes Largest Legacy Gift in Dayton Foundation History

Longtime Foundation donor Virginia Bernthal Toulmin announced her plans for a more than a $20 million legacy gift to the Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., and Virginia B. Toulmin Fund of The Dayton Foundation. Upon Mrs. Toulmin’s passing in 2010, an unrestricted legacy gift of $26 million was transferred to the Foundation. This gift would be the largest single gift in the Foundation’s 89-year history and was expected to be among the largest gifts made in recent decades to a charitable organization in the Greater Dayton Region.

The gift endows the Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., and Virginia B. Toulmin Fund of The Dayton Foundation, an unrestricted fund to be utilized by the Foundation where community need or opportunity is greatest in the Greater Dayton Region today and in perpetuity.

2010 | Montgomery County Ohio College Promise program

Montgomery County Ohio College Promise Program was founded in 2010 with a goal of providing-life changing opportunities for 500 local students over a 10-year period. These students, whose lives have been impacted by poverty, are identified and selected during their eighth grade year and are supported during high school by a caring adult mentor who meets with them on a weekly basis through programming offered by College Promise.

Upon the successful completion of high school and meeting the entrance requirements of a College Promise partner college or university, students are awarded scholarships that allow them to attend college at little to no cost to them or their families.

2011 | The Dayton Foundation Celebrated 90 Years

At that time, the Foundation included 3,000 committed donors and $370 million in community assets under management (an all-time high), granting more than $30 million a year to charity and the betterment of their community.

Over 90 years, The Dayton Foundation had continued to evolve in the progressive manner in which Dr. Garland and the Patterson family operated. And true to the original design to involve donors from all walks of life, brought together by a common purpose to help their community.

2011 | Pearl A. Dale and Audrey Parker Bequeath Largest Ever Gift to AACF

Pearl A. Dale was no stranger to the barriers African-Americans faced growing up in the early 20th century. It was her parents' influence on her, instilling in her a passion for education, that inspired Pearl Dale to establish a deferred scholarship fund through the African-American Community Fund (AACF) of The Dayton Foundation. She wanted to help Greater Dayton African-American youth pursue their educational dreams, free of the difficulties she had faced as a single African-American woman trying to make her own way.

Upon her passing in 2011, she bequeathed $650,000 – the largest single gift to AACF to date – to The Pearl A. Dale and Audrey Parker Scholarship Fund. Scholarships from the fund have been awarded to 16 students to date, including Terrell Dorsey, a 2012 graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School.

2011 | The Out-of-School Youth Program Launched

This program provided alternative educational programs for area youth deemed lost to the school system and destined to end up in prison.

2012 | Dayton Performing Arts Alliance Supported

The Dayton Foundation awarded $500,000 and provided support through the Nonprofit Alliance Support Program to ease the transition of the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra into the newly formed Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, a first-in-the-nation merger of three performing arts groups.

2012 | Learn to Earn Dayton Took Flight

To help assure that all of Greater Dayton’s children are ready to learn when they enter kindergarten and ready to earn when they graduate from college or other post-secondary institution, the Foundation adopted Learn to Earn Dayton as a leadership initiative and awarded $300,000 over three years.

2012 | Foundation Established Partners in Giving Program

The program offers donors the opportunity to join with the Foundation in contributing to nonprofits selected to receive grants through discretionary grant process.

2013 | The Dayton Foundation Launched ScholarshipCONNECT℠

ScholarshipCONNECT℠ offers scholarship opportunities through The Dayton Foundation and educational foundations that are part of the Foundation. The system uses a detailed questionnaire to match students, based upon their educational interests and background, to possible scholarship opportunities. Students and parents also can help plan and pay for college by accessing links to online financial aid, scholarship and loan resources, and tools, such as a college debt calculator. The system was launched under the leadership of Governing Board Chair, Jerry Tatar.

2014 | Three-Quarters of a Billion Dollars in Grants Awarded since 1921

The Dayton Foundation surpassed a remarkable achievement at the close of 2014 – more than $759 million in grants awarded to charitable organizations in Greater Dayton and beyond since inception in 1921.

2014 | Del Mar Social Innovation Award Helped Bridge the Gap in Senior Programming

Thanks to the Del Mar Social Innovation Award for Older Adult Programming presented by the DMH-Fund of The Dayton Foundation, five local not-for profit organizations received a total of $486,472 to fund new and innovative programs that will help address health, social isolation and other issues faced by adults age 55 and older. An additional $297,800 was awarded in 2015 and $125,500 in 2017.

2015 | Miami Valley Works Initiative

The Dayton Foundation partnered with Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley to combat unemployment through the Miami Valley Works leadership initiative. This new, major initiative of The Dayton Foundation would help lift chronically unemployed individuals out of poverty and on a path to self-sufficiency by obtaining and maintaining employment and advancing in a career.

2016 | A Dayton Institution Created the Foundation’s Second Largest Fund

To help ensure the continued care of this sacred property long into the future, the Calvary Cemetery Association transferred assets to The Dayton Foundation to establish the Calvary Cemetery Fund, now the Foundation’s second largest fund.

2016 | Del Mar Encore Fellows Initiative Launched

The Del Mar Encore Fellows Initiative, made possible thanks to a $1 million gift from Del Mar Healthcare and its DMH-Fund of The Dayton Foundation, engages highly talented and experienced older adults to help advance impactful community efforts.

2016 | The Dayton Foundation Launched The Greenlight Grants Program

In response to nonprofit partners’ feedback for a need for more funding opportunities for small, quick projects. In 2016, The Dayton Foundation launched Greenlight Grants, a competitive grants program for Greater Dayton nonprofits. The Foundation’s Greenlight Grants are small, quick grants, from $500 to $7,500, that can help fund special projects, program expansions and capital improvements. These grants make a huge difference for an organization that wants to purchase software to better manage and grow its donor base, provide supplies for a new after school program or make facility renovations to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Unlike the Foundation’s regular discretionary grants program, which is able to fund only a portion of the total project budget.

2018 | Asian-Indian Community Fund Founded

The Asian-Indian Community Fund (AICF) of The Dayton Foundation is established to serve as an umbrella to charitable funds that facilitate the giving interests of Greater Dayton’s Asian-Indian community. AICF offers Asian-Indians an opportunity to establish individual, named funds that, when positioned together under AICF, make a larger philanthropic impact in the Greater Dayton region.

2018 | Foundation Grant Helped with Building of Gem City Market

Studies show that Dayton ranks second in the nation for food hardship in households with children, and Montgomery County as a whole has fewer grocery stores per 10,000 people than the state average. To help address this issue, the Greater Dayton Union Cooperative Initiative (GDUCI) launched plans in 2015 for Gem City Market, a full-service cooperative grocery store to be located along lower Salem Avenue near downtown Dayton.

The Dayton Foundation supported the project with a $5,000 discretionary grant in 2016, which helped the GDUCI with marketing efforts, including creating a website. The Foundation also awarded a $75,000 discretionary grant in 2017, and donors in the Foundation’s Partners in Giving program provided an additional $14,600 in grants.

2019 | Foundation Established Disaster Relief Fund to Help Those Impacted by Devastating Tornadoes

In order to provide a rapid response to the devastation left in the wake of the tornadoes that swept through Greater Dayton and Celina on May 27, The Dayton Foundation established the Greater Dayton Disaster Relief Fund. The fund allowed the Foundation to quickly distribute disaster relief funds to charitable organizations that currently are working to help provide food, clothing and shelter for our friends and neighbors affected by these storms.

Contributions to the Greater Dayton Disaster Relief Fund still are rolling in as well, with $1.5 million raised to date to assist with tornado recovery and rebuilding efforts. More than $500,000 in grants initially were distributed from the fund to nonprofits assisting tornado victims with immediate needs, such as housing, landlord/tenant issues, food and other necessities. Remaining funds and future contributions support long-term recovery and community rebuilding needs, which are estimated to last up to five years and total hundreds of millions of dollars.

2019 | New Look. New Location. Renewed Commitment to Community

The Foundation moved to its new home at 1401 S. Main Street, a new two-story building built on property owned by the University of Dayton in a key development area within the City of Dayton. Joining with the Foundation in this academic and office facility located on South Main Street are the University of Dayton’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community and the Dayton Development Coalition.

For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, The Dayton Foundation would have a sign providing greater visibility on one of the region’s most traveled roads. More importantly, the Foundation embarked on an exciting future to expand its community partnership, leadership initiatives and philanthropic work by aligning with other community leaders, educators and students to address issues at the heart of Greater Dayton.

2019 | Foundation Partnered with UD to Manage $1.5M in Assets

The Foundation partnered with the University of Dayton’s Davis Center for Portfolio Management to allow undergraduate investors to advise and manage the pool of assets designated by its donors.

2019 | Tragedy Fund Established to Help Others Following Oregon District Shooting

In response to the mass shooting that occurred in the early hours of August 4, 2019, The Dayton Foundation established the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund. The fund allowed individuals to make charitable contributions to help the families directly affected by this terrible tragedy.

A total of 5,061 individual gifts were received into the fund since it was established less than 12 hours after the mass shooting. In November of 2019, the fund distributed $3.8 million to victims of the mass shooting. A second distribution was made in the fall of 2020.

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2020-

2020 | COVID-19 Response Fund Created for Greater Dayton

With the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and an increased strain on individuals and families in the Dayton Region, The Dayton Foundation and the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, along with a coalition of philanthropic, government and other individual partners, joined together to establish the COVID-19 Response Fund for Greater Dayton. Individuals, businesses, foundations and organizations were able to make charitable contributions to the fund, which helped provide flexible resources to nonprofits that are at the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.

2020 | Foundation Partnered on Institute for Livable and Equitable Communities

In a call for greater equality within the Dayton Region and the nation, the Foundation lifted the Institute for Livable and Equitable Communities in 2020. This partnership with the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, Del Mar Healthcare Fund of The Dayton Foundation, AARP/WHO and Learn to Earn Dayton, as well as local business, healthcare, nonprofit and higher education institutions, will build a coalition of key allies and participants throughout the region to work together to create an equitable, age-friendly and livable community for all.