Middletown Community Foundation celebrates fifty years at the forefront facing challenges, incubating positive outcomes

Launched as a United Way endowment in 1976, Middletown Community Foundation (MCF) became a standalone agency in 1987. It has grown to a vibrant organization that manages approximately $43 million in assets, and enlists the help of many prominent Middletown companies, such as Cleveland Cliffs, Cohen Recycling, and Atrium Medical Center, among others, for financial and volunteer support. As an organization with only three full-time employees, MCF is a sterling example of a consensus- and collaboration-building organization that provides immeasurable benefits to the community.

Even the most successful organizations cannot thrive in stasis, and MCF faces an imminent transition as executive director Sarah Nathan ends four years at the helm at the end of December. She is relocating out of state for a new opportunity and marriage.

MCF remains an unshakable bulwark of Middletown’s compassion and generosity. MCF supports a diverse array of organizations that span a broad spectrum of human services, local arts organizations, and event sponsorships, among other causes vital to the community well-being.

As MCF celebrates 50 years of serving Middle City next year, it will surely reflect on its successes in playing a key role in the community’s revitalization. However, as with any solid philanthropic organization, there will be no resting on laurels as its dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and partners continue to meet the complex challenges that await all communities in the 21^st century.

Alana Spears, Butler County Educational Service Center (BCESC)

Alana Spears serves as BCESC’s director of early childhood state-funded programs which provides support for Bulter County, including Middletown, as well as neighborhood school districts and communities with services that range from supporting pregnant moms with wellness resources to adult education programs that help clients navigate mid-career pivots. Although state and federal funding subsidizes most of the BCESC’s programs, she said that contributions and grants from private organizations such as MCF have become increasingly important as the organization works to diversify the resources it provides.

“The position I was hired for was funded directly from an MCF grant, so I’ve been especially thankful to them,” she said.

Spears noted that MCF grants have played a key role in BCESC enlarging its Help Me Grow program, which facilitates caseworkers making monthly home visits to at-risk families with children from newborn to age three with individualized educational curricula that helps prepare enhance kindergarten readiness. Thanks to funding enhancements, she said that BCESC is now able to serve roughly 500 families through Help Me Grow.

Spears also noted that food insecurity has become an increasingly substantial challenge BCESC faces, and she praised MCF’s support as instrumental in supporting the Center’s Compassion program, which helps provide food assistance for schoolchildren. One prime example has been enabling the distribution of break boxes, which enable Middletown’s schools to distribute need-based food packages to make sure students remain fed while schools are closed over Christmas holidays and other breaks.

As BCESC encounters how to improve educational outcome, Spears praised MCF for its willingness to consider innovative ideas and co-create solutions. She’s optimistic that the partnership will continue to thrive amid new MCF leadership.

“I think change is always exciting, and I’m confident we will continue our fruitful partnership to support our region’s children and families,” Spears said.

Cari Hillman, MidPointe Library System

For 14 years, Cari Hillman has served as the community engagement director for Middletown’s MidPointe Library branch. In addition to supervising the library’s branding, marketing, and community outreach, she also manages the library’s partnership development. And, although the crux of MidPointe’s funding derives from a local tax levy and state funding, outside support such as MCF’s $20,000 contribution was vital to its participation in the Dolly Party Imagination Library, which was first introduced in Ohio in 2019 largely thanks to the impetus of First Lady Fran DeWine.

Children enrolled in the program receive a new book every month from birth until age five. Hillman noted data highlighting the importance of introducing early reading to children, and that 80% of a child’s brain development occurs by age three.

“What little kid doesn’t enjoy receiving mail addressed to them?” Hillman said. “Books in a child’s home is a strong indicator of future academic success, and Imagination Library is an important tool for that.”

What was her children’s favorite Imagination Library offering? “Goodnight, Gorilla,” Hillman promptly quipped.

She noted that, despite the perception that people no longer read and libraries are less essential to their communities, the reality is quite different.

“We’re as busy as we’ve ever been,” Hillman said. “A lot of the demand has to do with families seeing the value of early literacy. Also, libraries are increasingly becoming a ‘third place’ for their communities as a venue to host meetings and events. We now employ a caseworker that helps clients with job and housing assistance. We have partnerships with Council of Aging and Meals and Wheels that make us more important to our senior citizens. And, of course, story time will always be an important library function.”

Hillman noted that the most effective way to improve societal outcomes is to invest in children’s futures, and she is appreciative for the support that MCF provides in helping in this vital outreach.

“Funding for creative and innovative programs remains a focal point for libraries,” she said. “We’ve worked hard to evolve with the times, and we’re appreciative of the ongoing support [MCF] has provided.”

Verlena Stewart, Community Building Institute (CBI)

Stewart, Community Building Institute’s executive director, has been involved with the organization since 2010. Kelly Cowan, who was then the acting provost at Miami University-Middletown, launched the organization as a passion project to provide resources to support parents and mentoring to students. CBI is located within the Robert Sonny Hill Community Center on Lafayette Avenue, the organization offers an array of educational, employment, and food-insecurity assistance to the Middletown community.

CBI is funded at the federal level but is largely dependent upon support from private organizations such as MCF. Stewart lauds MCF as its first funding partner, with a gift of $50,000 that enabled CBI to hire a director, seed money that has germinated into an organization indispensable in its support of the community’s challenges.

“Our organizational mission hasn’t really changed,” Stewart said. “CBI exists to be a resource for support residents’ growth and community revitalization by helping individuals move out of poverty to being self-sustaining, thriving members of society.”

She said that organization has leaned into its goals through a “cradle to career” approach that begins with a preschool-education initiative and rounds out with mentorship programs that help high school and college students prepare for the working world. MCF has played a vital role in helping CBI develop its repertoire of community programs. Stewart noted that a partnership with MCF has been essential through the following programs:

• Development of the Parent Leadership program, which supports caregivers with personal development skills to provide better modeling for impressionable youths.
• Extensive renovations of the Robert Sonny Hill Community Center’s state-of-the-art gym that provides a hub for community sports.
• An 1,800-sq.-ft. “family room” that provides a media room, conference space, and a literacy space designed for students in grades K-8.

Like MCF, CBI will also undergo a transition when Stewart retires at year’s end. CBI has named Marie Edwards, who is currently its school programs director, as her successor. Stewart looks forward to an ongoing strong partnership. The annual contributions from MCF to CBI vary based on grant applications and funding cycles, but she noted that $300,000 has been the largest single MCF disbursement to CBI to date.

“They’ve been an amazing partner for 16 years, a great partner, advocate, and resource, and I’m sure they will continue to do the same.”

Richard Isroff, past Middletown Community Foundation board president and member

Isroff enjoyed a successful retail career over several decades, primarily for Rogers Jewelers, where he served as VP of merchandising during a successful period where the organization surged from seven locations to 46. He’d long admired MCF’s work but hadn’t been able to engage with the organization because of his demanding travel schedule. Once he retired, he was eager to join the board, where he initially joined the finance committee, eventually serving on the board, including as its president in 2015 and 2016.

He said that one of his initial contributions to MCF was helping improve its professionalism. “I admired the mission and passion of the organization, but I thought it was important to help it operate more like a business,” he said. “I focused on helping the organization because more strategic in its goal setting and instituting regular performance reviews, among other things.”

During his tenure, he leaned into his experience in public engagement to enhance the organization’s efforts to reach the community, such as having JD Vance, fresh off the release of Hillbilly Elegy, relate how spending much of his childhood in Middletown figured prominently. Isroff also played a vital role in MCF’s Ready! campaign, which focused on fundraising to support early childhood education programs to improve school preparedness.

Isroff had to step away from MCF’s board after his wife’s passing and his own declining health but remains optimistic about the Foundation’s ongoing community contributions. As it continues to evolve to meet community needs, he said its importance for the organization to maintain diverse perspectives to better know how to serve Middie City.

“MCF doesn’t only serve Middletown; it supports the communities of Franklin, Trenton, and Monroe as well,” he said. “It’s important that these areas are representative. It’s also vital to have all the populations, by age, gender and race, have advocates within the organization as well. I would like to see more younger people serving with the Foundation. The sagacity of the old is important in helping steer an organization, but so it the enthusiasm of youth.”

Beth Yauch, current Middletown Community Foundation board president

Yauch, a partner with the Trenton-based law firm Hedges & Yauch, has been practicing law for 36 years, specializing primarily in divorce, estate planning, and family law. About her legal work, she quipped that “adoptions are the only truly happy function” that lawyers provide, so she appreciates helping engineer positive community outcomes as MCF board president. She was invited to join the board seven years ago and embraces the challenge of presiding over the MCF board’s selection of a new executive director.

“Sarah Nathan was a real catch as an ED for our organization,” she said. “For someone to have a Ph.D. in the field of philanthropy plus the community foundation experience she had, we were fortunate to find her. We wish her well in her future endeavors and will miss her. Every leader brings their own unique skills and qualities, and we look forward to selecting and collaborating with our next executive director.”

Yauch said that one of the most important qualities of selecting a new executive director is that they be a “people person.” Because MCF functions with only three full-time employees, it’s vital that ties remain strong with the organization’s many supporters. Seeking and cultivating new avenues to bolster CMF’s growth also remains a priority. She also noted that strong administrative skills to ensure organizational goals are on a successful track are also important.

“Our new ED will have to hit the ground running,” Yauch said. “A lot of meetings will be held in January that will set our financial path for 2026, so the new director will quickly play a role in helping chart our course.” As of last week, the board interviewed a handful of candidates, and a job offer had been made.

This Partner City Middletown series is made possible with support provided by: Cincinnati Commercial Contracting, the city of Middletown, the Middletown Community Foundation, and the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton. You can read other stories from the series here.