History of the Iddings Foundation

The Iddings Foundation began as the Iddings Benevolent Trust under the Wills of Roscoe C. and Andrew S. Iddings. The bachelor brothers shared a strong commitment to the Dayton area and created the Foundation as a philanthropic device to serve the needs of all citizens. The brothers' wills specified that their assets should be used for the following purposes:

To assist public, charitable, benevolent or educational institutions supported wholly or in part by private donations or public taxes,
Promote scientific research to advance human knowledge, alleviate human suffering and cure mental illness,
Care for the sick, aged, blind and helpless, as well as needy men, women and children,
And provide treatment and relief of crippled children.

The brothers also stipulated that grants were limited to State of Ohio non-profit organizations. The Foundation's Distribution Committee has further focused most grants on the Greater Dayton area, specifically Montgomery County. In the past 50 years, the Iddings Benevolent Trust has contributed over $22,000,000 in grants to over 350 non-profit organizations.

The Distribution Committee realized very early that responding to the aforementioned needs, and needs of the community in general, was a continual process through changing times. However, the areas of interest and criteria for funding have remained fairly consistent as the Foundation strives to improve the well being of our community.

Grant applications are classified in four categories: Major Projects, Capital Projects, Medium Projects and Small Projects. Annually, the average number of grants has ranged from 50 to 75.

History of the Iddings Foundation

The Iddings Brothers