Guide to the Dayton Foundation Records


Title:
Dayton Foundation Records
Repository:
Wright State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives
Phone: 937-775-2092
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/
Creator:
Dayton Foundation
Dates:
1921-1983
Quantity:
2.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in 1921 with an endowment from the National Cash Register Company and John H. Patterson, the Dayton Foundation serves as a public trust fund and distributes grants to various community organizations and projects. Records consist of minutes of the Distribution Committee, financial records, annual reports, correspondence, and printed materials.
Identification:
MS-130
Language:
The records are in English

History of Dayton Foundation

In 1921, John H. Patterson, Robert Patterson, and Julia Carnell established the Dayton Foundation through an endowment of preferred stock of the National Cash Register Company valued at $250,000. In 1926, this stock was called for payment at a premium, thus increasing its value to $275,000. With the addition of various gifts of money and property over the years, the assets of the Dayton Foundation have grown to approximately $4 million in market value at the end of 1982.

As a public trust fund, the Dayton Foundation provides a vehicle by which individuals, groups, or corporations can bequest monies for charitable purposes. Contributions to the Dayton Foundation rather than a specific charity assure that one's intentions are carried out no matter what future changes occur in the community or any particular charitable organization.

The Dayton Foundation consists of two committees. The Board of Trustees is made up of the presidents of the three trustee banks whose trust departments invest the gifts made to the Foundation. Secondly, the Distribution Committee consists of five persons, on appointed by the Mayor, one appointed by the Mayor, one by the Judge of the Probate Court, one by the Senior Judge, U.S. Court, and two by the Trustees. These committee members have been distinguished people in the community and serve without compensation for a five year term and can be reappointed. Box 1, File 1 of the Dayton Foundation Records collection contains an alphabetically arranged listing of all members of the Distribution Committee over the years, and includes the date of their first appointment and any reappointments, which they replaced, and who appointed them. This data was found in the Distribution Committee's minutes and also in specific appointment letters.

The purpose of the Distribution Committee is to distribute the income earned from investments, abiding by any restriction. It is aided in its task by the director of the Foundation, until 1983 an unpaid position. Funds have been granted in six major areas: education and growth, social services, civic affairs, hospitals and health, arts and humanities, and conservation and environment. Box 1, File 1 also contains a profile by decades of grant-making in these six areas, indicating changes in emphasis over the years, and a listing of policies in grant-making established either in the Dayton Foundation's charter or by consensus of members of the Distribution Committee. Additionally, File 1 holds a chronological listing of the Foundation's directors and an historical sketch of grant-making from 1921 to 1982. Please refer to this paper, written by the processor of the collection, for a more detailed history of the activities of the Dayton Foundation.

Scope and Content

The Dayton Foundation Records consist of minutes of the Distribution Committee meetings, financial statements, annual reports, correspondence, and a small amount of miscellaneous material from Educational and Musical Arts.

Series I: Charter and Overview Data, 1921-1983, consists of the original 1921 charter upon which the Dayton Foundation was established. There is a list of distributional policies drawn up in 1972 by Don Battelle, director, at a time when the Distribution Committee questioned the feasibility of making grants for capital expenditures and also the continuance of granting funds to Community Chest supported agencies. Also included in this series are those papers prepared by the Dayton Foundation, Fred Bartenstein, III: Distribution Policy, 1983; Members of the Distribution Committee, 1921-1983; Directors of the Dayton Foundation, 1921-1983; and, A Trend Analysis of Grant-making, 1921-1983, with accompanying chart.

Series II: Minutes, 1921-1972, contains minutes retained by two directors of the Distribution Committee meeting, Oscar J. Bard, 1921-1930, and Donald D. Battelle, 1930-1972. The minutes are chronologically arranged and contain information on the decision-making process behind grant approval or denial, the specific amounts of money granted, and approval dates. The minutes also contain explanations regarding the reasons behind resignations of Committee members and the qualifications of newly appointed members. Appointment letters and interspersed among the minutes, as are letters from the auditors concerning the financial status of the Dayton Foundation.

Series III: Financial, 1921-1982, consists of a financial statement or receipts and disbursements, 1921-1925, in addition to audit reports for the years 1926 to 1974. These audits not only pinpoint the annual financial status of the Dayton Foundation, but also contain a statement written by the director which outlines the direction of grant-making for any particular year. Included also are ledger sheets arranged in order that they were removed from the journals, that is, chronologically within various categories. Audit preparation sheets and reports from the Trustee banks were retained for 1971 and 1972 as these expanded reports were not included in the 1972 printed audit for the year 1956 contains a summary of the distribution of grants, 1927-1956 which may be useful.

Series IV: Printed Materials, 1973-1981, consists of nine annual reports which also served as publicity handouts for the Dayton Foundation in order to encourage contributions. The reports outline a brief history of the Dayton Foundation, the mechanics of making contributions and their tax-deductible status, areas of grant distribution, organizations receiving funds and the specific amounts granted for that year, members of the Distribution Committee, plus the market value of the general and specific funds managed by the Trustee banks.

Series V: Correspondence, 1922-1973, consists of correspondence of the Dayton Foundation. The letters are arranged chronologically within three loosely defined subject areas in addition to a miscellaneous category. First, there are letters from various other community foundations across the country during the years, 1922-1929, requesting information from the Dayton Foundation about its operations, tax status, and disbursement of funds. In particular, this series contains the 1922 letter from Raymond Moley, director of the Cleveland Foundation, from which the Dayton Foundation took its example, incorporating many policies of the Cleveland Foundation.

Secondly, this series contains data regarding the tax status of the Dayton Foundation. Included are letters between the Foundation and the Internal Revenue Service detailing the question of its charitable status and its ability to meet and maintain the test for a community foundation, that is, it be organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. There is also correspondence regarding the change in tax status in 1969 when the Dayton Foundation was designated as a public charity. As such, it had to also meet the publicly supported test, that is, it had to receive support from a broad number of contributors throughout the community. By meeting this test, it acquired a tax-free status for any earnings received on investments.

Thirdly, this series contains letters requesting funds by various organizations and accompanying letters approving or refusing grants of money. Included from the years 1922-1929 are letters from the following organizations: Barney Community Center, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Dayton Research Association whose interest was civic concerns, Montgomery County Children's Home, Board of Education, Dayton Community Chest, and the Ohio Association for the Welfare of the Mentally Sick. The collection contains correspondence from one other period of years, 1970-1973 plus a very small amount from 1963. The following organizations are examples but do not include all those organizations requesting grants from the Dayton Foundation: Miami Valley Hospital, Sinclair College, Catholic Charities, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Writers' Workshop, United Cerebral Palsy of Dayton, Council of Southern Mountains, The Loretto, Ohio Hospital Association, Human Relations Council, Lutheran Social Service, United Nations, Omega, Fairborn Playhouse, Mankind Incorporated, Planned Parenthood, Volunteers of America, Emergency Services Bureau, Project Share, Trotwood Circle Theater, Yellow Springs Encounter, Dayton Mental Health Center, Amber House, and the Dayton Metro Area Council on Camping.

Series VI: Educational and Musical Arts, 1938, 1963-1973, consists of various printed materials, all dealing with some aspect of Carillon Park: a booklet on Wright Field, a History of Newcom Tavern, materials on Dayton streetcars, and correspondence about the moving of Newcom Tavern from Van Cleve Park to Carillon Park, and the plaques for Newcom Tavern memorial to Colonel Deeds. Additionally, there are federal tax exemption forms and supporting tax data plus material regarding the continuing existence and maintenance of the Educational and Musical Arts public charity status.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged into six series.
Series I: Charter and Overview Data
Series II: Minutes
Series III: Financial
Series IV: Printed Materials
Series V: Correspondence
Series VI: Educational and Musical Arts

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection.

Subject Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Community foundations

Organizations/Corporations:

Dayton Foundation -- Archives.

Places:

Dayton (Ohio)

Material Types:

Annual reports
Correspondence
Financial records
Minutes (administrative records)

Preferred Citation

[Description of item, Date, Box #, Folder #], MS-130, Dayton Foundation Records, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Shortly after his appointment as director of the Dayton Foundation in January 1983, Fred Bartenstein III recommended to the Distribution Committee that the majority of the Dayton Foundation's records be donated to the Wright State Archives and Special Collections. The Committee agreed that this was a necessary step not only to preserve and protect the Foundation's records, but also to free much needed office space. The Wright State Archives obtained a smaller quantity of records after contacting the previous director, John Sullivan, who had stored miscellaneous correspondence and financial records at his home.

Processing Information

Processed by: Sandra Beidler, Spring 1983.


Other Finding Aid

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections & Archives, Wright State Libraries web site at
https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/798.