Barberton Community Foundation Launches Fund Supporting Pay to Participate | Barberton Community Foundation

Community generosity helps Barberton Middle School and Barberton High School students access athletics and extracurricular experiences that build teamwork, commitment, resilience, and skills that prepare them for the future.

BARBERTON, Ohio – Barberton Community Foundation is working with Barberton City School District and generous donors to establish a fund helping families cover new participation fees for student-athletes, marching band members, and color guard members during the 2026-2027 school year. 

Barberton City School District announced the pay-to-participate policy in July as it navigates state-mandated fiscal oversight through the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and responds to recommendations from a performance audit conducted by the Ohio Auditor of State’s office. The district reported that it has already reduced operating expenses by approximately $7 million and implemented the fees to protect athletic teams, marching band, and color guard from elimination. 

Under the new policy, high school student-athletes will pay $100 per sport, and marching band and color guard members will pay $100 to participate. Middle school student-athletes will pay $50 per sport. Individual and household caps will limit the total amount families may be required to pay during the school year. 

As families learned about the new fees, community members began asking a simple question: How can we help? 

Checks and pledges are already coming in from donors who want to help ensure participation fees do not keep young people from being part of a team, band, or activity. 

“Showing up, working with others, overcoming challenges, and giving your best are skills that prepare young people for their futures,” said Josh Gordon, executive director of Barberton Community Foundation. “Our community understands the value of these experiences, and when a potential barrier arose that could make it hard for some families to encourage a student’s participation in athletics, band, or color guard, people are stepping forward and asking how they could be part of the solution.” 

The Foundation will coordinate charitable gifts and work with the school district to distribute assistance through a clear and consistent process. 

The fund will initially operate as a pass-through fund, allowing charitable gifts to be used to address the immediate need. As support grows, the fund will eventually become a permanent endowment capable of generating assistance for participation fees year after year, as well as other needs when pay to participate fees are no longer required by the district. 

The Foundation and school district are finalizing the fund agreement, eligibility requirements, and administrative process. Community members do not need to wait to support the effort. 

Checks can be made payable to Barberton Community Foundation, with “Pay to Play Fund” written in the memo line and may be delivered to the Foundation office. Donors with questions may call 330-745-5995. 

On the heels of strong community support for the recently established Sokol Youth Sport Fund, the response to this new fund demonstrates Barberton’s continued commitment to youth athletics and out-of-school-time opportunities for all students. Donors who want to support broader youth sports needs for generations may also contribute to the Sokol Youth Sport Fund, a permanent endowment that will provide annual support to nonprofit youth sports organizations.