On Giving Tuesday, TCF is all about giving – and receiving

Giving Tuesday has a dual purpose for Tiffin Community Foundation. On one hand, the charitable organization is always open for donations from the community. On the other hand, the foundation provides grants year-round for a wide variety of community needs. As TCF prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023, Executive Director Jodie Reinbolt said she's eager to continue and expand the legacy began by the foundation's founders. In honor of Giving Tuesday, she said TCF (www.tiffinfoundation.org) is giving $1,000 grants in honor of its nine board members to a variety of charitable organizations chosen by the board members. "The Tiffin Community Foundation has been blessed with a dedicated board of trustees made up of nine local leaders who are passionate about their community," Reinbolt said. "We sincerely appreciate the diverse gifts these folks bring to the foundation and their ability to perpetuate the significance of our mission as a unified board." The nine grants are: • Andy Stephey, chairman – Patchworks House • Tim Demith, vice chairman – YMCA • Neil Jordan, treasurer – Seneca County Junior Fair • Jim Gucker, secretary – Tiffin University Student Emergency Fund • Francine Neal – Turkey Trot: Salvation Army, YMCA Food for Children • Makenzie Weininger – FACT • Jennifer Musgrave – "Pay It Forward," Tiffin City Schools • Mark Somodi – First Call for Help • Rob Huntington – Sisters in Shelter "I am extremely thankful to serve on the TCF board," Stephey said. "Working with this organization means I get to continue the legacy and generosity of the people and families that have established funds with the foundation. It means that I get to assist in distributing the monies to the community in a number of ways such as individual scholarships and grants to many different causes and missions. The Tiffin Community Foundation provides an avenue for and actively promotes philanthropy and I am very lucky to be a part of the team." How to help Public support is an important part of the foundation's ability to help the community. "Supporting the bedrock of the Tiffin Community Foundation are the hundreds of donors who contribute sums large and small to strengthen the capacity of the endowment funds to provide charitable and educational resources," the TCF website says. The foundation welcomes donations, which are tax-deductible, and donors can decide where and how their money is used if they wish. Funds are invested and the proceeds are used to award grants. For holiday shoppers looking for the perfect gift for that person on their list who seemingly "has everything," Reinbolt suggested a gift to Tiffin Community Foundation in his or her honor. "Whether that person is passionate about arts, education, history or something else in the community, community foundation staff can assist 'shoppers' in identifying a permanent fund to match their interests," she said. The foundation will send a personalized card to that person announcing the gift, and provides the "shopper" with a tax receipt for the charitable gift. The TCF office is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 31 S. Washington St., across the street from The Ritz Theatre. Reinbolt welcomes visitors to stop by and see the pictures lining the office walls, representing each of its funds. "Giving a gift to a community fund at TCF is a way to honor anyone who cares about Seneca County," she said. Donations also may be mailed or made online at www.tiffinfoundation.org. Where the money goes "We are most thankful for our amazing donors who make it possible for us to continue our mission to assist and promote the well-being of the citizens of the city of Tiffin and Seneca County," Reinbolt said. "We do that primarily by making grants to non-profit organizations in our community. "Like everyone else, our earnings on investments are down this year but that has not stopped us from continuing our work," she said. "Donors continue their support of the foundation and we continue to make grants and seek new ways to impact our community." TCF makes grants for things such as food security, shelter and utilities, mental health support and children at risk. "We also grant scholarships and funding for things like parks, accessible trails and many activities that are available to the entire community," she said. "We are especially looking forward to seeing the new snowflake decorations the city is putting up for Christmas this year." The city applied for a grant from the White Fund to complete funding for the project. "The White Fund was able to give them half of the needed amount so our board of trustees awarded the other half from the Unrestricted Fund of TCF," Reinbolt said. "We love projects like this that provide enjoyment for the entire population." The foundation is home to more than 100 charitable funds, ranging from those that provide funding for the needs of specific groups of people to more general funds that are open to a variety of requests. TCF's newest fund is the Herb Thibodeau Scholarship Fund for bowling students. "Mr. Thibodeau worked tirelessly to advance the sport of bowling, not only in Seneca County but in the state of Ohio and the entire United States," Reinbolt said. "It was Herb who made sure to get bowling recognized as a letter sport. His family and friends have created this scholarship to honor his memory and the work he did to promote student bowling." In addition, she said TCF recently helped the former Tiffin Y-Wives to recreate itself and continue to carry out its mission of supporting women and children in Seneca County. The organization started a fund this year called Tiffin Women In Action and recently hosted a successful extravaganza in partnership with JAM's Monthly Markets. "With the profits of their sales and a steady stream of contributions from area women supporting their mission, this fund is growing quickly," Reinbolt said. "Can't wait to see what projects and organizations will benefit from this new fund." Another example is the the Betty Jane Memorial Fund, which is designated to support charitable organizations and activities in Tiffin and the surrounding area that assist and promote physical, mental, social and vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities. And the White Family Charitable Trust is an unrestricted fund. Grant requests may be made for general, capital or specific project support that enhances the lives of residents. More TCF activities Another aspect of the foundation is its Youth Advisory Council led by former teacher and counselor, Debbie Gerschutz. The group consists of 12 juniors and seniors representing local high schools, who spend one day a month visiting local nonprofit organizations and learning how they impact the community. "For our first meeting this year, TSEP Director Aaron Montz hosted a tour of Downtown Tiffin on the Tiffin Pedal Bike," she said. "Students learned about economic development and how all of us work together to bring about positive change in our community." In other meetings, she said the group "will be considering what community means and how an interconnected web of people, structures and organizations offer us a shared place and set of goals on which to build our lives." Reinbolt said the foundation also facilitates communication within the community. "I think the reason we've been making such cool changes to the community is because everybody works well together," she said. "We do our work, and it just encourages other people to do great things as well." The foundation was founded in 1983 by attorney Charles D. "Bud" Hering Jr. with assistance from Warren Kahn of Fifth Third Bank. Attending the first meeting were Jane Frost Kalnow, Gordon C. Wagner, Fred Corbin, Fred Spurck along with Hering, and Kahn serving as secretary. Since then, the foundation has grown to include more than 80 funds. "As we come out of the pandemic, our community today looks somewhat different than it did even a few years ago," Reinbolt said. "We have many new leaders and our local government and community members are still adjusting to a new reality. We must adjust too as this era provides us with new opportunities to be thankful and giving in our ever-changing, always-growing, wonderful community."