PIQUA — Miami County Foundation announces a new office location and a new board member and shares its grant and scholarship funding opportunities and application deadlines with the community.

Miami County Foundation welcomes Liz Sonnanstine, president and CEO of Tipp City Chamber of Commerce, onto its board of directors. The board is comprised of representatives from cities, villages and townships throughout the county. Sonnanstine resides in Tipp City (Bethel Township) on the “Sonnanstine family farm” along with her husband, Todd, and children, Ben and Natalie. She shared, “I’ve always believed in having a balance of professional and philanthropic contributions within any community. I’m honored to serve the entire Miami County area in fulfilling the mission and vision of the foundation. This is an important role, and I look forward to what is ahead!” In a late 2022 meeting, the board also congratulated and thanked outgoing board members, Joe Duncan, Tipp City, and Jim Oda, Piqua, for their decades of service supporting the mission of the foundation.

Miami County Foundation has a new home! The foundation’s new office is now located at 326 N. Main St. in the Piqua Chamber of Commerce building. For more than 20 years, the foundation office was located around the corner on Wayne Street.

“We’ve reached a stage in our development where our wonderful organization needs comfortable quarters to professionally accommodate its growing office operations and staffing and to offer proper meeting space for grant and scholarship review and board discussions. It’s easy to see that this is just the place, surrounded by just the right people, for the foundation,” said Natalie Rohlfs, executive director.

Kathy Sherman, president of Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce, shared, “The Piqua Chamber of Commerce and I want to thank Miami County Foundation’s board of directors for choosing this location as their new ‘home.’ The foundation and Natalie are a perfect fit and a great addition to the Chamber of Commerce and Mainstreet Piqua who also hold their offices in the building. With the our foot traffic in the building, even more people will become familiar with the benefits provided to our non-profit community through the foundation’s great work.”

Miami County Foundation will continue to receive mail only at: P.O. Box 1526, Piqua, OH 45356.

The foundation’s spring grant cycle is open now! Calling Miami County-serving non-profit organizations, schools and municipalities: Be sure to get your grant application turned in or postmarked by Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m. There is a drop box outside of the Piqua Chamber building at 326 N. Main St., Piqua, or grant applications may be mailed via USPS to Miami County Foundation, P.O. Box 1526, Piqua, OH 45356.

Miami County Foundation has awarded more than $9.6 million in funding since its inception to benefit local non-profit organizations, schools, classrooms and area communities through its grant funding, and has supported hundreds of local students’ post-secondary paths through its endowed scholarships. Miami County non-profit organization leaders and volunteers, teachers, school counselors or administrators, and city or township administrators should refer to miamicountyfoundation.org/grants for grant application guidelines and criteria.

Scholarship season is officially underway. In 2022, local students received nearly $138,000 from Miami County Foundation with a distribution of 50 awards. Several unique opportunities for qualified graduating high school seniors are available. Depending on where applicants reside or graduate from, there are awards for those studying in the fields of art, agriculture, public service, engineering, nursing/medicine, Newton students and Newton students pursuing careers or training within trade industries, members of Troy High School Band (or guard), or St. Patrick Catholic School graduates attending Lehman High School. Opportunities are also available for those residing in Miami or Darke Counties, and several awards are options for current post-secondary education students.

Please visit miamicountyfoundation.org/scholarship-listing for scholarship descriptions, criteria and online application links. Students should contact their high school guidance counselor or Miami County Foundation’s executive director for more information.

The Thelma Ross Dalton Memorial Scholarship is awarded to several students with a deadline to apply of March 19, 2023. All other Miami County Foundation scholarship applications are due March 26, 2023.

If you have questions regarding grants or scholarships this spring, please contact Miami County Foundation’s executive director, Natalie Rohlfs at 937-773-9012.