Our Gem City is Known for Generosity

 

I have heard over the years that Dayton has the highest giving per capita over any other city in Ohio. Then I found this Dayton Daily News Article from August 2012 that validated what I believed to be true…

Dayton Leads Ohio Metros in Charitable Giving

“Dayton is the most generous major metropolitan area in Ohio, with residents on average donating 4.6 percent of their discretionary incomes to charity, according to a new analysis.

Dayton metropolitan residents overall give less money to charity than people in Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, but local residents give away a greater share of their discretionary incomes, which is a better measure of generosity, according to an analysis of IRS data released by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.”

“Dayton is the most generous major metropolitan area in Ohio.”

It’s not that Daytonians give more total dollars than any other city in Ohio… it’s that we give a greater percentage of our income, than those who live in any other city.

That’s pretty impressive! And that’s good news for the long list of non-profits, charitable organizations and churches here in the Miami Valley!

For the past five years I have been overseeing The Hope Foundation of Greater Dayton. Hope is a member agency of The Foodbank, Dayton. Hope operates a mobile food pantry that serves 1,000 households in Greene and Montgomery counties every month.

 

First, let me clear up some confusion about the difference between a food bank and a food pantry.

There is only ONE food bank in Dayton. It serves Montgomery county, Green county and half of Preble County. There are LOTS of food pantries. The Foodbank in Dayton is an amazing resource for those concerned about the growing problem of hunger. (Now labeled as “food insecurity.”) There are currently 88 member agencies that acquire food for their pantries from the Foodbank.

The Foodbank in Dayton is part of Feeding America, a network of 200+ food banks across the country. The Foodbank receives food donated by local businesses (Kroger, Aldi, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target and Meijer to name a few) as well as using it’s buying power to acquire large quantities of food at deep discounts from other sources, allowing them to then, in turn, provide its member agencies access to that food at a low agency fee. Over HALF of the 7.5 million pounds of food distributed by the Foodbank in Dayton is FREE to its member agents!

 

Let me put this into perspective for you…

Via the Foodbank, a member agency can acquire a one thousand pound skid of, say, canned corn for $100. At best, I might be able to otherwise purchase one can of corn for $.50. The average retail price per can is in the $1.25 range. By being a member agent of the Foodbank, we can acquire that same can of corn for TEN CENTS!

 

Technically, Foodbank member agencies don’t “buy” food from the Foodbank… Member agencies pay a per-pound fee, based upon the pounds of certain foods received. The nominal fee is assessed primarily to help cover food transportation costs.

In other words, I can turn a $20.00 donation into $200 of purchasing power.

I’ve been attending church for most of my life… I love the story in the Bible of when Jesus multiplied a kid’s sack lunch (otherwise known as loaves and fishes) to feed 5,000 people. (And when all was said and done, there were leftovers!)

The downside is Jesus also said, “The poor you will always have with you.” The reality is we could all empty our bank accounts and this problem won’t simply go away.

 

But we still fight the good fight… and it takes a lot of dedicated and generous people to do so. I am constantly amazed at how generous people can be! We don’t do a lot of fundraising, but from time to time an opportunity will come our way to help us raise some funds. Recently, someone donated a 1993 Harley-Davidson to The Hope Foundation. It’s a red 883cc sportster with a 1200cc “Screaming Eagle” kit. Only 17,000 miles! We are raffling it off to raise money. (Hoping to raise $20,000.)

 

Also, Hope was recently chosen to be one of the seven charities with the chance to receive a donation from the Dayton River Corridor Classic! The other charities are

A Kid Again

Culture Works

Dayton International Peace Museum

Hannah’s Treasure Chest

Safe Harbor

UpDayton

CLICK HERE for more information and to cast your vote!

I would like to take this opportunity to commend all of you for your generosity. I have been on the receiving end for many years. So, on behalf of all the charitable organizations, non-profits and churches in our region, THANK YOU!

If you would like to get more information about how you can help fight hunger in our community, simply click on the links below.

For more information, to volunteer or to donate to the Foodbank, Dayton CLICK HERE.

To purchase raffle tickets for the Harley for Hope raffle, CLICK HERE.

For more information about The Hope Foundation of Greater Dayton CLICK HERE.

For more information about the Dayton River Corridor Classic CLICK HERE.