The Charles F. Kettering Foundation will open a new headquarters in Dayton’s Oregon District.
This brings the nonprofit back to downtown Dayton where its work began nearly two centuries ago.
“Dayton has always been central to the foundation’s identity, even as the reach of our work has grown nationally and globally,” said Sharon Davies, president and CEO of the Kettering Foundation. “Moving downtown gives us an opportunity to be more present and accessible in our home city, deepen relationships with local partners and create a place where ideas and experiences from Dayton can connect with conversations about democracy happening across the country and around the world.”
Its new home will be in the historic Waitman Building at 401 E. Fifth St. which will undergo renovations ahead of the move.
The foundation said the space will allow it to offer more accessible collaboration as it situates itself closer to many of the civic, cultural, nonprofit, community and academic partners in its network.
The Kettering Foundation will move from its current campus on Commons Road by fall of 2028.
This move will accommodate recent growth in the foundation and continue its mission to serve within its hometown of Dayton.
“The foundation board strongly supports this move downtown as Kettering prepares for its second century,” said Sherry Magill, Kettering Foundation board chair. “It’s an investment in the future of the foundation, in our relationships with partners and in Dayton’s continuing importance to Kettering’s work.”
The foundation was founded in 1972 by the inventor and civic leader Charles F. Kettering. It has since grown, working to advance inclusive democracy through civid engagement, the promotion of government accountability and work to counter authoritarianism in the states and around the world.
