By Jill Koorndyk, Senior Director, Donor Services
Last fiscal year, nearly 200 local nonprofits applied for funding to support innovative, collaborative and dynamic programs designed to effect real change in Greater Dayton. Though we funded a number of these requests, many proposals went unfunded or were funded at a smaller amount than requested because The Dayton Foundation’s grants processes are highly competitive.
To help fill the gap, the Foundation launched Partners in Giving in 2012 to engage donor-advised fund holders in this grantmaking process and to join with us to make a collective impact on regional programs and initiatives. The program provides fund holders with information about new projects that have been vetted by The Dayton Foundation and allows them to support efforts that align with their charitable giving goals.
Partners in Giving initially was piloted with a small group of fund holders, but it has since grown significantly. Thanks to the Partners, an additional $1.3 million has been awarded to area not-for-profit organizations that applied for and received funding through the Foundation’s Discretionary and Basic Human Needs Grants processes. Projects that have received support from the Partners include a new health and wellness center in Northwest Dayton; assistive equipment and services for individuals who are blind or have low vision; and personal health and hygiene kits for students attending local, low-income schools.
The process is simple. For each grant cycle, the Partners receive a summary of the eligible grant requests. Some grant cycles contain information about Dayton Foundation-sponsored initiatives, which are collaborative efforts designed to encourage systemic change for some of our community’s biggest challenges. After reviewing the information, fund holders may (or may not) choose to provide additional support through their funds for any number of projects. These additional grants are much appreciated by the nonprofit grant recipients, as they help them to secure the funding necessary to launch critical efforts.
Thanks to the Partners [in Giving], an additional $1.3 million has been awarded to area not-for-profit organizations that applied for and received funding through the Foundation’s Discretionary and Basic Human Needs Grants processes.
The Partners have said that participating in the program simplifies the giving process and offers them a wide range of projects to support. They point out that it is an easy way to leverage their giving, saving them the time of researching worthy causes and organizations, many of which they may not have known about were it not for the Foundation. Another benefit of the program is it allows donors to give anonymously to the nonprofit organizations whose projects they wish to support through their fund if they so choose.
For more information about how you can make a greater impact by joining the Partners in Giving program, please contact me at jkoorndyk@daytonfoundation.org or (937) 225-9944.