AES Foundation awards over $1.5M to local nonprofits

The Boys & Girls Club of Dayton held their fifth annual Spark Great 
Futures fundraiser Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at Dayton Arcade. The signature event, sponsored by CareSource, celebrates the power of mentorship, leadership, and community while shining a spotlight on the transformational impact of the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton. WNBA Stars Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham were special guests for the event. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

The Boys & Girls Club of Dayton held their fifth annual Spark Great Futures fundraiser Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at Dayton Arcade. The signature event, sponsored by CareSource, celebrates the power of mentorship, leadership, and community while shining a spotlight on the transformational impact of the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton. WNBA Stars Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham were special guests for the event. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

The AES Ohio Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to 54 area organizations.

The foundation awards nine “Power Grants,” the largest grants, to local nonprofits. They are designed to empower partner organizations as they implement strategic programs addressing critical needs in the community, the organization said.

“We recognize the challenges in our communities, which call for innovative solutions and immediate support,” said AES Ohio Foundation board chair Brian Hylander. “That is why we can align with our partners to remove barriers to opportunity, improve access to education and health care, and enrich our cultural landscape.”

The AES Ohio Foundation Power Grant recipients are:

  • Dayton Society of Natural History, $150,000
  • Boys and Girls Club of Dayton, $125,000
  • Dayton Performing Art Alliance, $110,000
  • Dayton Art Institute, $75,000
  • Dayton Children’s Hospital, $75,000
  • Greater Dayton Public Television, ThinkTV, $60,000
  • American Red Cross Miami Valley Chapter, $50,000
  • Miami Valley Hospital Foundation, $50,000
  • Ronald McDonald House Charites Dayton, $50,000

Forty-five organizations are being awarded Community Impact Grants, the AES Foundation said.

Among these, 14 groups have never before gotten a grant from the AES Foundation. These grants will support initiatives focused on employment preparedness and advocacy against eviction.

The recipients include:

  • 4 Paws for Ability
  • Air Camp
  • Catholic Social Services
  • Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiatives
  • Girl Scouts of Western Ohio
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Junior Achievement of Oki Partners
  • Little Miami Watershed Network
  • Miami Valley Hospital Foundation
  • New Life Furniture
  • OH Taste, 6888 Kitchen Incubator
  • Omega Community Development Corporation
  • United Rehabilitation Services
  • Victory Project

Since 1985, the AES Ohio Foundation has awarded more than $48 million in grants to local non-profit organizations, the organization said. The Foundation ensures all grant funding stays within AES’s 24-county service area.

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