-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --

March 13, 2024

CONTACT:  HEATHER BAILEY
(937) 478-3400

TIPP CITY, OH-

Record-Breaking Grant Year Ahead

During 2024, grants nearing $175,000 will be awarded by the Tipp City Foundation. All grants impact residents within 45371. This will be the largest grantmaking year in the foundation’s 81-year history.

Grants are made possible because of contributions, of any size, from the community. Donations are held in an endowment and only the interest is spent.

In the first quarter, the grant dollars requested were the highest ever considered by the group for a single quarter. The variety of innovation represented in the applications speaks to the visions of those leading area nonprofits.

Awards support the quality of life in the spheres of arts and culture, health and safety, recreation, social services, nature, and education.

Ultimately, 13 organizations received 17 awards totaling $63,854.82. Since 1943, $2,945,983.68 have been awarded to local causes through grantmaking.

The following is a list of recipients, award levels and the impact these grants will make. Any additional support that donor advisors gave through their grantmaking is included.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Connections of Tipp City, $700, supports an after-school program for middle and high school students.

Eagles’ Wings Stables, Inc., award, builds brain / body connections for people using this equine-assisted therapy program. With the purchase of an electric horse stall cleaning machine, more volunteer hours can be focused on the clients instead of shoveling out 10 stalls six times each week. A Lucky 13 Fund award.

New Path, Inc., award, aids residents struggling to make ends meet through emergency rent support. The majority needing this support are the elderly and disabled, including grandparents raising grandchildren. Awarded through the Robinson-Walters Family Fund and the Lucky 13 Fund.

Seeds of Hope OH, award, provides mattresses and bed frames for children coming into foster care. A Lucky 13 Fund award.

Tipp City Church of the Nazarene, $2,500, expands existing daycare and preschool options to include special needs children. This grant supports the remodeling of the building to accommodate the specialized equipment required. Awarded, in part, by the Hidden Picture Puzzles by Liz Ball Fund. Additional support from the Walter E. Caton Fund rounds out this request for a total of $5,000. This is the first of a 2-year commitment to the project, for a total of $10,000.

ARTS & CULTURE

Downtown Tipp City Partnership, $6,226.52, nods to the vibrant gathering space that the downtown is becoming through the purchase of stacking tables and chairs. These party staples will be available for borrowing by area nonprofits.

Downtown Tipp City Partnership, $2,196, spruces up the exteriors of downtown properties identified through the Partnership’s Façade Improvement Program. An Urban Stewardship Fund grant.

Tipp City Area Arts Council, $2,286, rebuilds the plein air arts weekend that was lost during COVID. A Tiny & Emma Drewing Fund grant. Additional support from the Lucky 13 Fund rounds out this request for a total of $3,500.

Tipp City Public Library, $876.20, engages small children in learning with the addition of a light table, a surface designed for creative play and developing fine motor skills. Additional support from the Walter E. Caton Fund rounds out this request for a total of $1,385.20.

Tippapalooza Music Festival, $3,451, encircles a city block of revelry with stanchions needed to keep a party safe. These alcohol-on-premises party staples will be available for borrowing by area nonprofits.

Project T.I.P.P. (Teens Impacting and Promoting Philanthropy), $5,000, gives teens grantmaking responsibility in conjunction with the Tipp City Chamber of Commerce’s Teen Leadership Academy.

Tipp City Exempted Village Schools, $2,000, promotes the two-week Stagecrafters Summer Theatre Drama Camp in 2024. Awarded, in part, from the Jim and June Kyle Family Fund.

HEALTH & SAFETY

The Edison Foundation, $5,000, supports the building of classrooms dedicated to the field of nursing at this community college. This is the 1^st of 5 payments, which will total $25,000. Awarded, in part, from the Bethel Community Fund.

Miami County Dental Clinic, award, supports human resources compliance for this agency, which serves over 600 residents of 45371 annually. A Walter E. Caton Fund award.

Tipp City Exempted Village Schools, $649, purchases LifeVac Airway Clearance devices, which will be placed in each school cafeteria. A Safety First Fund grant.

Tipp City Fire and Emergency Services, $7,000, keeps first responders fit for duty by replacing current workout equipment. A Safety First Fund grant.

RECREATION

Bethel Local Schools, $5,000, honors our commitment to help build a new stadium at Bethel Schools. This is the 4^th of 5 payments, which will total $25,000. Awarded, in part, from the Bethel Arts Fund and the Bethel Community Fund.

Tipp City Parks Department, $6,500, contributes towards a Lillie Dog Splash Pad coming to Kyle Park. This will be the first of its kind in Miami and Montgomery Counties. Awarded, in part, from the Warren E. Miltenberger Parkland Fund and the Outdoor Experiences Fund iho Abby Kessler Bowling.

Tipp Pride Association, $7,500, honors our commitment to help build a new stadium in City Park. This is the 7^th of 10 payments, which will total $75,000.

EDUCATION

Bethel Local Schools, $5,000, grows math fluency for 2^nd graders through the purchase of Reflex, an online teaching tool. A Radle Family Fund for Science Education and Bethel Community Fund grant.

Bethel Local Schools, $1,970.10, accelerates reading fluency and comprehension for 3^rd – 5^th grade, about 450 learners. Many of these students are recent immigrants to the United States and are in the early stages of learning English. The Read Naturally tool gives students the reading essentials they need to build their new lives. A Bethel Community Fund grant.

Miami County Educational Service Center, award, meets the sensory needs of some preschool students with the purchase of a swinging chair. A Lucky 13 Fund award.

Quarterly grant deadlines are February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15 each year. Jim Ranft is available for your grant-related questions at 937-528-2482. Applications are available online at www.tippfoundation.org.

Members of the Foundation are Heather Bailey, Richard Bender, president, Bryan Blake, Mary Bowman, Diana Featherstone, treasurer, Dee Gillis, Joellen Heatherly, vice president, Bruce McKenzie, Glen McMurry, Jim Ranft, distribution chair, Julie Taylor, Andrew Venters, Jackie Wahl, Bill Wendel, secretary and Carolyn Wright.

The Tipp City Foundation is a component fund of The Troy Foundation. If you would like information about how to make a tax-deductible contribution or how to establish an endowment fund, please contact Heather Bailey at (937) 528-2482.

For more information visit www.tippfoundation.org or Tipp Foundation on Facebook and Instagram.

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By Nancy Bowman

Those behind the Downtown Tipp City Partnership (DTCP) have a lot to be excited about in 2024 including a revamped Community Events Resource Card.

The card already has been distributed via the U.S. mail and is available at downtown businesses.

An events card is not new to the downtown community. This year’s version was revamped by Tasha Weaver, who joined the DTCP last year as executive director. When she sought feedback from the community after starting the job, Weaver said she received a lot of comments about what was called “the refrigerator card” because it was placed by recipients on their refrigerators to serve as a reminder.

She looked at the previous card and decided a larger version would be appropriate, as would the use of space on the card for events versus sponsors, whose information was on the back of the card, facing, at least on the refrigerators, the door and not the recipient.

Instead of seeking out sponsors, Weaver instead applied to the Tipp City Foundation for a grant to pay for this year’s Community Events Resource Card.

The foundation distribution committee liked the idea, approving a $5,588 grant for design and printing of the card that contains a year’s worth of events along with key contact information for those called often. They include the schools, the city, DTCP, the arts council and Tipp Monroe Community Services. A small portion of the grant also will be used by the partnership to pay its website provider to update the online version of the calendar as more events are added and as occurs once in a while, a date change is needed.

Many calls received at the DTCP offices were seeking information not only on downtown activities but contact information for the schools and others, Weaver said.

Merchant Terri Bessler of Midwest Memories agreed saying many who visit the community on weekends would come into the business and ask questions not only about events but also the schools and community in general. “We always consider ourselves a face of the community on weekends. To be able to hand them this (card) that tells them so many things is really valuable,” Bessler said.

The events calendar also is used by merchants in their planning, she said. “It’s valuable to us, too,” Bessler said. Feedback on the Community Events Resource Card has been positive, Weaver said, “Everybody loves it.

"Tipp as a whole is a great community, a great downtown,” Bessler said. “This card really put information in your hands, not just at your fingertips online.”

By Nancy Bowman

Those behind the Downtown Tipp City Partnership (DTCP) have a lot to be excited about in 2024 including a revamped Community Events Resource Card.

The card already has been distributed via the U.S. mail and is available at downtown businesses.

An events card is not new to the downtown community. This year’s version was revamped by Tasha Weaver, who joined the DTCP last year as executive director. When she sought feedback from the community after starting the job, Weaver said she received a lot of comments about what was called “the refrigerator card” because it was placed by recipients on their refrigerators to serve as a reminder.

She looked at the previous card and decided a larger version would be appropriate, as would the use of space on the card for events versus sponsors, whose information was on the back of the card, facing, at least on the refrigerators, the door and not the recipient.

Instead of seeking out sponsors, Weaver instead applied to the Tipp City Foundation for a grant to pay for this year’s Community Events Resource Card.

The foundation distribution committee liked the idea, approving a $5,588 grant for design and printing of the card that contains a year’s worth of events along with key contact information for those called often. They include the schools, the city, DTCP, the arts council and Tipp Monroe Community Services. A small portion of the grant also will be used by the partnership to pay its website provider to update the online version of the calendar as more events are added and as occurs once in a while, a date change is needed.

Many calls received at the DTCP offices were seeking information not only on downtown activities but contact information for the schools and others, Weaver said.

Merchant Terri Bessler of Midwest Memories agreed saying many who visit the community on weekends would come into the business and ask questions not only about events but also the schools and community in general. “We always consider ourselves a face of the community on weekends. To be able to hand them this (card) that tells them so many things is really valuable,” Bessler said.

The events calendar also is used by merchants in their planning, she said. “It’s valuable to us, too,” Bessler said. Feedback on the Community Events Resource Card has been positive, Weaver said, “Everybody loves it.

"Tipp as a whole is a great community, a great downtown,” Bessler said. “This card really put information in your hands, not just at your fingertips online.”

By Nancy Bowman

Stephen Monath acknowledges that running a school district band program can be costly, but said the Tipp City Exempted Village Schools is fortunate to have support from the band boosters and others including local foundations.

“The performing arts are expensive,” said Monath, district band director. “Support from organizations like the Tipp City Foundation allows us to broaden our horizon and continue to provide a better experience for our students, which translates to a better experience for our audience also. Having high quality, reliable equipment allows for the students to have an increased sense of pride and self-esteem while performing.”  As examples of costs, he said a marching band show can cost $10,000, while one marching band uniform, head to toe, is $580.

Among the most impactful grants received recently (2022) from the foundation was $3,000 to support purchase of a new band trailer, Monath said.

“The old trailer was around 20 years old and was becoming more of a liability than an asset. The trailer, along with a box truck, is used to transport instruments and props to and from games, competitions, parades, concerts and other events. The previous trailer even made trips to New York, Chicago and Orlando,” he said.

Among other grants received from the Tipp City Foundation have been:

• $699 in 2023, to update the high school band room with a harmony director. This is a keyboard that helps make teaching more effective.
• $3,450 and $2,782 grants in 2022 were used to purchase a new xylophone and vibraphone for the high school band program.
• $1,334 in 2022 to purchase new concert band performance folders.
• $4,486 in 2021 to buy a marimba for the high school Indoor Percussion Ensemble.
• $400, in 2021, bought a tarp to protect the gym floor for the Percussion Ensemble in grades seven-12.

The support of parents, the community and foundations is important to the music programs and the students who devote their time to participate, Monath said. Those music programs teach students far more than skills and an appreciation for music, he said.

“At some point, yes, I have to care that they play the right notes and march on the right foot. But at the end of the day, I care more about who they are five to 10 years after they graduate,” he said.

“I care much more, especially now that I have kids of my own, that my students go on to be outstanding productive members of society. Yes, they had to learn the right notes to play...but more importantly, hopefully they learn what notes to live by. “

By Nancy Bowman

Megan Powell hopes the students who elect to take her semester- long ceramics course at Bethel High School “find a mode of artmaking that really speaks to their souls.”

Powell is the creator of the program in its first year of availability for students in grades nine-12.

She came to the Bethel schools in August 2022, previously teaching at Beavercreek High School.

“My hope for this program is to provide my students with a space where they can explore the artistic possibilities of clay and create something lasting and meaningful,” Powell said.

During the semester, the students will learn about traditional hand-building and wheel throwing techniques, she said. “While the students love building structures with their hands, I find they most enjoy the challenge of throwing their own vessels on the wheel.”

The ceramics program is funded with a $3,778 grant Powell sought from the Tipp City Foundation. “Without it, I would not be able to offer this amazing opportunity to my students. With the generous support from the Tipp Foundation, I was able to purchase clay, glazes, tools and a pottery wheel! What an amazing contribution to the Bethel Local School district,” she said.

She was encouraged by the school principal to seek the foundation support.

The grant was made from the Bethel Arts Fund, which was established in 2014 by sisters Barbara Bailey and Sonia Ewald. The fund is a tribute to their parents Emmert and Jane Studebaker.

Powell said art has been in her life since a very young age. She recalled spending summer afternoons at her grandparents where she would scribble with crayons on paper at their kitchen table. In high school, she fell in love with film photography spending countless hours in a darkroom. It was in college where she discovered a love of ceramics.

“I was required to take several ceramics and sculpture classes for my degree and really learned to love the material. There's something so magical about the tangibility of working with the Earth,” she said.

Powell is a graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School and holds degrees in studio art from The Ohio State University and a master of science in education from the University of Dayton. She, her husband and two children live in Dayton.

She said she enjoys teaching at Bethel and leading the ceramics course.

“It is such an honor and privilege to guide the young minds of Bethel High School in their artistic journey and I can't wait to see what fabulous creations that come out of our new ceramics program,” Powell said.

She invited anyone in the community interested in seeing the students’ creations, to attend the annual student art show scheduled for 5-7 p.m. March 7 at Bethel High School.

There are times in life when you realize that some people just seem to be plain lucky. It’s not that they win the lottery every other week, or are recognized for some great feat, but rather that from all appearances, there is just something uniquely special about how things work out for them. Frank Scenna and Heather Bailey seem to fit in that category.

For evidence of that, consider their nuptials. Heather and Frank were married on Friday, October 13, in a surprise wedding at the Willowtree Inn, just west of town. The twist was that the celebration took place at a party they themed "Get Lucky with Frank & Heather," and their party guests were completely unaware that they were actually wedding guests—and that the party would include a marriage ceremony! What a day to truly be remembered, as Heather and Frank remark that it was “one of the very best days of our lives.” There’s just some special luck in that.

With deep roots in the area, Heather’s family goes way back, with parts of her family having resided in the area we now call Tipp City since 1813. And while Frank is a relative newcomer to the area, moving here in 2004, he now also proudly calls this place home. Both desire to make sure that the community and region in which they live continues to grow in a positive direction, as Tipp City long has.

With that desire in mind, Frank and Heather focused on establishing charitable funds. With Heather’s father a tax and estate planner, both Heather and Frank recognized the need to make sure that their efforts would grow not only now, but well past their lifetime. To that end, in 2009 they established the Urban Stewardship Fund to do just that. Used as a long-term estate planning tool, this fund improves buildings in downtown Tipp City.

Thinking back to their wedding when searching for a name, Frank and Heather opened an additional fund called Lucky 13 more recently, in 2019. This fund helps community organizations by allowing Frank and Heather to donate stock into the fund without realizing any capital gains on the appreciation of the stock. This means that the full value of the stock is available for Heather and Frank to provide to charity.

As a donor-advised fund, Frank and Heather are also lucky to be able to direct their charitable support to institutions and groups who share their ideals and passions, from Glen Helen Nature Preserve to Brunner Literacy Center and many others, such as WYSO, the Dayton Art Institute, Ohio’s Hospice, Child Care Choices, Think TV, the League of Women Voters…. The list is endless, with all beneficiaries sharing ideals close to Frank and Heather.

By working with the Tipp City Foundation, everyone—Frank and Heather, charitable organizations, and local residents and the community—prospers, especially when endowments are built to last well into the future. To me, that sounds like a community which is “lucky” to have people like Frank and Heather. And as for Heather and Frank, well, it pays to be lucky.