Welcome from the Director

Welcome from the Director

Welcome From the Director

 

A close up photo of Josh Gordon in a gray suit.

Josh Gordon, Executive Director

I write this having recently completed my first week serving as the Foundation’s Executive Director. This position comes with many responsibilities – and opportunities. Rather than listing them all for you, I’d like to publicly extend the commitment I’ve already made to our Board of Directors.

To the city, school district, nonprofit community of Barberton, fund holders, donors, grant partners, business community, and residents of Barberton: my door is open to you!

My experiences in business, government, and nonprofit leadership have taught me that trust is earned through transparency and a sincere willingness to listen and learn. I have always believed in being persistently curious and asking questions (without a fear of looking silly)! I encourage everyone to share their curiosities with me.

I am interested in learning what you’re curious about when it comes to the Foundation. What have you heard about us but would like to verify? What are you curious about, but never asked? What is your question about how the Foundation works? Ask away! Please email me at jgordon@barbertoncf.org. Or, if you see me around town at a Magics’ Basketball games, Kave getting a cup of coffee, leaving a movie at Lake 8, getting a bite to eat at Remarkable Diner – or anywhere – stop and say hi and tell me what you’d like to know. If I don’t have an answer on the spot, I’ll get one and follow up with you.

Something I learned about the Foundation in my first week as Executive Director is that I am fortunate to be surrounded by so many people who care deeply about building our community. The kindness and warmth of the team, the Board, the Friends of the Foundation group, officials from the City and school district, have all made me feel welcome and supported.

Their kindness is appreciated, as we have a lot of important work to do together.

This year will continue our focus in economic development, building on the work that has begun in that area. The Foundation has many projects either actively underway or under consideration right now.

We also have work to do in how we share what we do with the community. I believe that the more everyone understands about how the Foundation gets money, how we grow the money we have, and how we give it away to charitable organizations and important projects, the more impact our resources will have.

We are all about impact here at BCF. The question we ask ourselves is: What can we do to have the most positive impact for the most people in Barberton?

Whether you have questions or ideas, I’d love to hear them.

 

Sincerely,

Josh Gordon

Executive Director 

 

Job Posting for Main Street Barberton

Job Posting for Main Street Barberton

Barberton Community Foundation Logo

Job Posting for Main Street Barberton

Main Street Barberton was established in late 2022 through Heritage Ohio’s flagship Main Street programming. This position will be the first executive director for this organization, and we are very excited to bring new energy to downtown Barberton. Read the press release about the creation of Main Street Barberton to learn more about the organization.

Title: Executive Director

Reports to: Board of Directors

Status: Full Time, Salary $50-60,000 commensurate with experience, health insurance stipend available. Availability for evening meetings as required and off hours, including weekends.

How to Apply

Applications are due by Friday, March 31 at 4:00pm. Send your cover letter, resume and references to mainstreetbarberton@gmail.com and address your letter to Denny Liddle, Main Street Barberton Board Chair.

For questions, please contact Barberton Community Foundation at 330-745-5995.

 

Download this job description.

Job Summary

The Executive Director is the principal on-site staff person charged with developing, organizing, implementing, and documenting the Main Street approach in downtown Barberton, OH. The Executive Director will be responsible for reinvigorating downtown through managing relations with and focusing the work of business owners, property owners, committee members, and volunteers to accomplish the goals and objectives of the annual work plan.

Essential Duties

Coordinate activity of the Main Street program committees.

  • ensuring that communication between committees is well established
  • assist committees with implementation of work plan items (i.e., membership development, fundraising, etc.)
  • and communicate outcomes to the community

Manage all administrative aspects of the Main Street program.

  • including maintaining an appropriate data system for record keeping, purchasing, budget development and some bookkeeping
  • preparing all reports required by the state Main Street program on a monthly basis
  • assisting with the preparation of reports to funding agencies
  • and supervising interns, volunteers, and/or consultants when appropriate

Develop, in conjunction with the Main Street program’s committees, strategies for downtown economic development utilizing the community’s human and economic resources.

  • become familiar with all persons and groups directly or indirectly involved in the downtown area and encourage involvement
  • act as the liaison between the downtown constituency and all entities involved with downtown issues and solutions
  • mindful of the roles of various downtown interest groups, assist the Main Street committees in executing an annual action plan for implementing a downtown development program focused on four areas: design, promotion, organization, and economic restructuring
  • become knowledgeable with all programs available through other local agencies (City of Barberton, BCDC, Barberton Community Foundation) to maximize the impact of the main street program for its members.

Develop and conduct ongoing public awareness and education programs designed to enhance appreciation of the downtown’s architecture and other assets and to foster an understanding of the Main Street program’s goals and objectives.

  • through speaking engagements, media interviews, and appearances keep the program highly visible in the community

Assess the management capacity of major downtown organizations.

  • encourage improvements in the downtown community’s ability to undertake joint activities such as promotional events, advertising, uniform store hours, special events, business recruitment, parking management and so on
  • provide advice and information on successful downtown management
  • encourage a cooperative climate between downtown interests and local public officials

Help build strong and productive working relationships with appropriate public agencies at the local and state levels.

Utilizing the Main Street program format, develop and maintain data systems to track the process and progress of the local Main Street program.

  • these systems should include economic monitoring, individual building files, thorough photographic documentation of all physical changes and information on job creation and business retention

Represent the community at the local, state, and national levels to important constituencies.

  • speak effectively on the program’s directions and findings, always mindful of the need to improve state and national economic development policies as they relate to smaller communities

Other duties as assigned.

Job Knowledge and Skills Required

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The Executive Director should have education and/or experience in one or more of the following areas: nonprofit administration, marketing, fundraising, economics, finance, public relations, design, journalism, planning, business administration, public administration, retailing, volunteer coordination, or small business development. The Executive Director must be sensitive to design and preservation issues. The Executive Director must understand the issues confronting downtown businesspeople, property owners, public agencies, and community organizations. The Executive Director must be entrepreneurial, energetic, imaginative, well organized, and capable of functioning effectively in a very independent situation. Basic mathematical and computer skills are essential. Supervisory skills are desirable. Excellent communication skills, including verbal, written, and public speaking are desired as well as interpersonal skills, including coalition building, ability to build relationships with diverse populations.

Physical Demands

The Executive Director will be expected to represent the organization at functions, meetings, events, and programs at the local, state, and national levels. Must be able to work some evenings and weekends. The employee must have a valid driver’s license.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • General office environment

This job description does not list all duties of the job. You may be asked by the leadership team to perform other instructions and duties. You will be evaluated in part based on your performance of the tasks listed in this job description.

The Board of Directors has the right to revise this job description at any time. The job description is not a contract for employment, and either you or the employer may terminate employment at any time, for any reason.

How to Apply

Applications are due by Friday, March 31 at 4:00pm.

Send your cover letter, resume and references to mainstreetbarberton@gmail.com and address your letter to Denny Liddle, Main Street Barberton Board Chair.

For questions, please contact Barberton Community Foundation at 330-745-5995.

Additional Information:

It is Main Street Barberton’s  policy that, as required by law, equal employment opportunities be available to all persons without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other category protected under state or local law.

Letter from the Director: Suzanne Allen, Ph.D. Discusses Needs Assessment

Letter from the Director: Suzanne Allen, Ph.D. Discusses Needs Assessment

A Note on the Needs Assessment

From Suzanne Allen Ph.D., executive director of Barberton Community Foundation

By now you have heard about, or participated in, the needs assessment that Barberton Community Foundation and our partners facilitated at the beginning of the year. In the coming weeks, we are releasing the executive summary of those findings and considering how the assessment informs our strategic planning for the future.

I want to thank our board of directors for supporting the survey, along with our three partners, Jeff Ramnytz at Barberton City Schools, Dr. Michael Hughes at Summa Health – Barberton Campus, and Mayor Bill Judge with the City of Barberton for their collaboration on this effort.

I would also like to thank Measurement Resources Company (MRC), who conducted the community-wide survey, held focus groups and produced the final report and recommendations.

Why did we facilitate this survey and what do we hope to accomplish with the data we have received?

At the conclusion of 2021, Barberton Community Foundation completed our final payment on the construction of Barberton High School. For the past 20 years, the majority of our granting capacity has been tied to the high school’s debt payment. Now that this responsibility has concluded, we can turn our attention to other needs in the community. In order to do that, our plan is to identify what those needs really are.

The Foundation had three key questions for the needs assessment to examine. What strengths and challenges exist in Barberton? How do different elements of the community influence each other and contribute to the broader story of need? Where is the City of Barberton and the Foundation best positioned to make a real impact on quality of life in Barberton?

We found that Barberton community members value Barberton as a small-town and a family-oriented community with history and opportunity. However, adults and youth reported challenges with the social climate in Barberton, some difficulty in finding adequate opportunities for employment and voiced concerns over the condition of roads and sidewalks. Despite these concerns, there is a strong desire to see, and assist with, growth and improvements in Barberton.

One focus group participant said, “People who grew up here, live here, work here, take pride in being from here. There are a lot of people who step up and want to see the city get better due to that hometown pride.”

The Foundation is going to utilize this data to help us build our strategic framework for 2023 and in the future. The executive summary of this needs assessment report lists the strengths and top needs identified by the research and will be available on our website (www.barbertoncf.org) in the coming weeks.

If you are interested in a deeper conversation about the findings in the needs assessment, please contact me at (330) 745-5995.