WATERVILLE – In its 24 years, Waterville Community Foundation has been the silent partner for dozens of Anthony Wayne-area organizations – providing much-needed funding for projects that benefit children, animals, veterans, nonprofits and governmental entities.
Advocating Opportunity, Bittersweet Farms, Courageous Community Services, the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center, HOOVES, Nature’s Nursery an Sunshine Foundation are just a few of the well-known organizations that have benefitted from WCF grants over the years.
In 2025, the WCF gave $40,000 for the city of Waterville to purchase a drone for use by its police, fire and public works departments and $30,000 to help launch the Anthony Wayne Free Press.
Coming this year to a wall in downtown Waterville: a mural by local artist Dean Davis. Anthony Wayne Area Arts Commission (AWAAC) just received $5,000 in matching funds from the WCF to support an 18-foot by 80-foot public mural to be painted on a building at 217 Mechanic St. – visible to all who enter town from the bridge, said AWAAC vice president Lisa Exner.
“We are super excited and will be working to make this mural a reality in 2026,” Exner said.
The idea for the Waterville Community Foundation sprouted in the early 2000s, as Tom Titus, who was city treasurer for 25 years, regularly heard representatives from area organizations asking Council for funding.
“In one council meeting, one proposal was debated for a half an hour. I thought, ‘This isn’t working. Now we’ll get more and more people asking for donations. We’ve got to do something,” Titus said.
As he researched ideas, Titus found that a local foundation could be formed under the umbrella of the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, which WCF Board Member Paul Croy describes as the “mothership” – providing support and guidance.
Starting with $10,000 in seed money from the city, the WCF was formed on Sept. 26, 2002. With the WCF in place, Council could refer those in need of funding to apply for a grant.
Even with regular fundraisers, the early WCF had just $20,000 to $30,000 in the bank – not quite enough to make any major gifts, Croy said. That was until he began talking with a church friend, Katherine R. Smith, about plans for her estate.
“She loved children, but didn’t have any of her own,” Croy said. “She wanted to set up a trust that would help area children.”
Smith decided use a good portion of her estate to set up the Katherine R. Smith Fund through the WCF, with direction to provide grants each year to organizations or programs serving children, including those who have been abused or neglected, those who are disabled, and scholarships for Anthony Wayne and Otsego graduates.
“One person with a vision can truly make a difference,” said Janice Braida, a WCF board member since 2002. “I’ve seen the foundation grow from one generous gift by one person to the organization it is today. This is Katherine Smith’s enduring legacy. And we are grateful for her.”
Along the way, the WCF has gained an influx of cash from others as well, such as when the Waterville Community Improvement Corporation dissolved. Titus and his wife set up a memorial fund through the WCF to honor their son, who died of leukemia when he was five.
“Now we’re responsibly overseeing a couple of million. That gives us the ability to give out at least $60,000 a year. This year we gave out considerably more,” Croy said.
The Anthony Wayne Rotary Club (formerly the Waterville Rotary Club) has benefitted from the WCF as well, said past president Deb Cheney. When the Rotary’s high school program, Interact, wanted to assemble thousands of nutritious meals to give to impoverished people, the WCF provided the funds.
“Kids love doing those hands-on projects, like food packs and bed builds,” Cheney said, referring to a Let’s Build Beds project in which $3,000 funded materials and mattresses to construct and outfit 40 beds for children in need.
After the annual Blues, Brews and Brats Festival – Anthony Wayne Rotary Club’s biggest fundraiser – was impacted by poor weather last July, the WCF stepped up to help Rotary continue to support its community programs.
“The Waterville Community Foundation has been a great supporter of Rotary,” Cheney said.
Choosing which organizations receive funding is a difficult decision, Croy said. A subcommittee reviews the applications with help from the Greater Toledo Community Foundation – which helps with paperwork, summaries and recommendations
“We don’t give away money lightly. We may take a long time to make a decision. We’re trying to be a good steward of the money,” Croy said.
For the board members, seeing the funds go to work in their own community over the years has had a tremendous impact.
“We all share a love and commitment to the Waterville area. But each board member brings unique interests to the post. My passion is nurturing Waterville’s rich history and preserving its rural scenic landscapes as a regional destination,” Braida said.
Other board members include Bill Anderson, Todd Black, Pauline Glaza, Randy Sikorski, Jim Seiwert, Diana Waugh and Izzy Merkel. Merkel received a WCF scholarship when she graduated from Anthony Wayne High School in 2019.
Many outstanding students have been awarded scholarships, WCF members agree. Good grades, community involvement and high school participation – in sports, academic clubs or other activities – are factors considered by the scholarship committee. So are a good attitude and leadership potential.
“Working with the WCF is a great way to make a difference here and have your legacy continue to inspire the future of this great community,” Glaza said.
For Croy, who is an attorney aiding clients set up trusts, the WCF also provides an opportunity for retired individuals to support the community while staying in a lower tax bracket, as those ages 70-and-a-half years and older can give directly to a non-profit organization as non-taxable income as part of a required minimum distribution.
“You can set it up through a donor-directed pool fund. There are only eight community foundations in the country that can hold these kind of funds,” he said, explaining that the Greater Toledo Community Foundation – and the WCF – qualify. “This is a way to leave a legacy in our community.”
A new Waterville Community Foundation website is in the works. For information, visit toledocf.org.
