COLUMBUS, OH (April 10, 2014)—The J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund is currently accepting applications for its 2014 grant program. The application deadline is Friday, May 30. Applications must be completed online through www.columbusfoundation.org and emailed to submit@columbusfoundation.org.
Each year, the fund awards grants to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations located in Jackson County that focus primarily on education or health issues. Since its founding 17 years ago, the fund has distributed over $585,000 in grants to 23 different organizations. A grant seldom exceeds $10,000.
Last year’s recipients included Jackson County Board on Aging, Inc.; Jackson County Health Department; Jackson Historical Society; Jackson-Vinton Community Action, Inc.; LAUNCH, Inc.; Saints Peter and Paul School; and Jackson Area YMCA.
About the J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund
The fund is named for Professor Floyd Dixon, who was raised on a farm in Jackson County near Oak Hill. In 1903, at the age of 17, he began a teaching career in the Wellston and Oak Hill schools. Mr. Dixon’s service to the area’s schools continued in 1920 with his appointment as superintendent of schools for Jackson County. During his tenure from 1920-1924, Mr. Dixon worked to pass a tax levy vital to the long-term success of Jackson schools, and was instrumental in creating two new high schools, Bloomfield Township and Scioto Township. He later became a professor of education at Ohio University in Athens.
Elizabeth Watson, Mr. Dixon’s daughter, created the J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund in 1997 to honor her father’s service to education. Mrs. Watson passed away in 2003. The fund is now administered by a committee consisting of two members of the Watson family and five members of the local community. Debbie Biggs of Jackson currently chairs the committee.
The Dixon Fund is a component of Community Foundations, Inc. For additional information about the fund, please contact Hailey Stroup at hstroup@columbusfoundation.org.
About Community Foundations, Inc.
Community Foundations, Inc. was established in 1987 to enable donors to support nonprofit organizations primarily in the state of Ohio and beyond the central Ohio region. For more information, call 614/251-4000.