04090 L 03-04 Annual Report - The Dayton Foundation

Letter from the Chair and the President
Right Here at Home...
Mother Teresa once said that there are no great
acts, only small acts done with great love.
Major changes frequently grow from
small seeds planted in our own backyards.
Our community provides us with a place to
live out what we most deeply believe. And as
Frederick C. Smith found (see the opening
of this annual report), sometimes what we
do at home can have what he calls “the
ripple effect.” It can serve as an example to
others far beyond our borders.
No one knows what can come from a
small act of kindness.
The featured donor examples in this
report highlight the broader story of the
Foundation’s 2,700 donors and how they
express and live their values and ideals
through the funds they’ve established.
As a community foundation, The Dayton
Foundation has the joyful task of bringing
together thousands of people and families, and
helping them to have a greater impact collectively
than any of us could do alone. That is
the magic of community foundations.
And through this collective effort, Foundation
donors are deepening the sense of
community that exists here. The desire for
community is one of the deepest – and
civilizing – age-old needs of human beings.
Without it, we lack roots and a sense of
place and belonging that nourish the human
spirit and foster a network of caring toward
others. The profound nature of this cannot
be overstated.
Report on 2003-
2004
During the last fiscal year,
donors contributed $40.2
million to the Foundation
and to their Foundation
funds. In the same time
period, $34.2 million
flowed out from donor
funds at The Dayton
Foundation to charitable
organizations and to
our community.
These dollars helped
to build homes for people
needing them, feed the
hungry, educate children,
foster interracial understanding,
further the work
of places of worship,
promote health, nurture
the arts, protect the environment
and give sick
children the chance to
live out a special dream.
These are among the
many heartfelt acts committed
by our donors.
Because of this love of
community, The Dayton
Foundation, as of June 30,
2004, holds $238 million
in community assets and
records nearly $222 million
in documented planned
and deferred gifts that will
come to the Foundation
Foundation President Michael M. Parks and Governing Board Chair
Judy D. McCormick
at some future time for
the benefit of our region
and numerous charitable
organizations.
Stewardship
To assure the best stewardship
we can bring to
the management of these
community assets, the
Foundation Governing
Board revisited the
Foundation’s investment
policy in the last fiscal
year and adopted a revised
policy, designed for even
greater stability and diversification.
Funds invested
under the Foundation’s
new investment policy
should provide recipient
nonprofit organizations
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Letter: The Dayton Foundation Report to the Community 2003-2004