Nominate a Game Changer

Game Changer Application Opens

It’s that time of year again! The annual Game Changer Award is open and accepting nominations through July 15. 2021 has been an exceptional year for many reasons. Help us identify those individuals and organizations who deserve recognition! You can download a nomination form or apply online by following the links below.

Read about our past Game Changers >

Criteria:

Nominees should be an individual or an organization that has made a positive impact in Barberton through their leadership, vision and/or commitment to the community. Tell us what you admire about them, how they have benefitted Barberton, and acts of service they have performed. Nominees should be connected to the community as a resident, a volunteer, or through their work.

Recognition:

The Game Changer award is traditionally presented during Barberton Community Foundation’s annual dinner. This year’s annual dinner is on Thursday, November 4 at the Galaxy Restaurant. Tickets and sponsorships for the dinner will be announced later this summer.

Process and evaluation:

The application window is open until July 15. A committee consisting of a cross section of citizens from Barberton reviews all nominations and makes a selection by the end of July.

 Application:

Executive Director, Suzanne Allen, shares an overview of 25 years of impact from the Foundation

2021 is a special year for Barberton Community Foundation. We are celebrating our 25^th Anniversary!

Officially, our anniversary is in September – September 27, 2021 to be exact. It all started 25 years ago, when Barberton voters overwhelmingly supported turning an original $86 million in funds and securities from the sale of Barberton Citizens Hospital into a lasting endowment.

From this endowment, Barberton Community Foundation was created as a tax-exempt nonprofit, and the funds were permanently invested with the intent to use the interest to support grants and scholarships.  By law, a community foundation can only make grants to nonprofits, and the only individuals who may receive funds are scholarship awardees.

Our founders also wanted to make sure the monies from the sale of the hospital stayed in Barberton forever, and so crafted language in our by-laws that state we can only make grants to support nonprofits that support the residents of Barberton.

The first grant made by the Foundation was on February 2, 1997. The new Foundation Board voted to uphold their promise to the community and fund the $32 million necessary to build an entirely new facility for Barberton High School. This grant was contingent upon the citizens of Barberton approving a $32 million bond issue, which they did. Over the course of the past 25 years, this investment for the high school has saved Barberton residents $58 million in taxes.

Since its inception, and because of the interest earned from the permanently invested funds and generous contributions from donors, Barberton Community Foundation has awarded 5,263 grants to nonprofits serving our community and 3,319 scholarships to our graduates totaling more than $107million. We hope you’ll agree these 25 years have provided a great return on voter’s original investment, and we look forward to continuing our good work.

As always, the mission of Barberton Community Foundation is to strengthen the Barberton community for current and future generations by providing leadership, fostering collaboration, and creating a legacy of giving to do good.

If you want to learn more about the Foundation, visit our website at barbertoncf.org or please give us a call at 330-745-5995.