Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund Will Help Reduce Pay-to-Participate Barriers | Barberton Community Foundation

Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund Will Help Reduce Pay-to-Participate Barriers

BARBERTON, Ohio – Barberton Community Foundation has established the Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund, a field-of-interest fund designed to support students and families when a pay-to-participate fee creates a financial barrier. The Foundation is continuing to build the fund and welcomes charitable gifts from individuals, businesses, organizations, and other community supporters.

All students who need assistance will be able to access the fund via the school district and its working relationship with the Foundation. The funds are currently available thanks to many generous donors who are working toward a goal of covering all pay-to-participate fees for eligible students in the 2026-27 school year.

Barberton City Schools implemented pay-to-participate fees for middle and high school athletics, marching band, and color guard beginning with the 2026-27 school year. The decision came as the District works through state-mandated fiscal oversight by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and the recommendations from a performance audit by the Ohio Auditor of State. After reducing operating expenses by approximately $7 million in just one year, the District still needs to reduce costs further and has implemented the fees as a measure to preserve student activities while working toward long-term fiscal stability.

As news of the new fees reached the community, people began asking how they could help students and families facing an additional financial barrier. That response led to the creation of the Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund.

Original donors to the fund are, listed alphabetically: Jeremy Clemetson, Ronald Conrad, Dan Durbin, Joe Giovanini, Dr. Douglas Gormley, Kiwanis Club of Barberton, Landon Nyako, the Slovak Catholic Sokol Club of Barberton, and more.

For families concerned that a new fee might put participation out of reach for their student, the fund creates another avenue for support. While assistance requires eligibility and is contingent on available resources, the goal is to remove the cost of participating from being the reason a student has to step away from an activity that matters to them and provides valuable out-of-school learning experiences that can help prepare students for the workforce.

“One of the Foundation’s roles is to give people an organized way to respond when they see a need in our community,” said Josh Gordon, Executive Director of Barberton Community Foundation. “What has been especially encouraging is how quickly people stepped forward to help. We are grateful to the donors and community partners whose generosity is making this resource possible for Barberton students and families. This is an amazing community!”

The fund is designed to provide financial assistance with pay-to-participate fees for eligible students. The Foundation's fund does not cover the operating costs of athletic teams, marching band, or other school programs, nor does it address the District’s broader operating and financial needs.

Establishing the fund through Barberton Community Foundation provides the charitable structure needed to receive and steward gifts from individuals, businesses, organizations, and other community supporters. The Foundation is responsible for ensuring distributions remain consistent with the fund’s established purpose, governing criteria, Foundation policies, law, and the donor’s intentions.

Participation in athletics, marching band, color guard, and other student activities provides learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom. Students have opportunities to develop teamwork, communication, leadership, discipline, perseverance, time management, and accountability skills that serve them in school, the workplace, and throughout their lives. Helping students remain connected to these experiences is another way the community supports their preparation for future education, training, and careers.

The fund is designed to meet both immediate and long-term needs. It will initially operate as a pass-through fund, allowing charitable gifts to assist students immediately. At the end of 2028, remaining assets will transfer into an investable endowed fund beginning January 1, 2029. The goal is to grow the fund over the next several years so that it can generate an ongoing source of annual support for future Barberton students.

“Community foundations are built to think beyond an immediate need,” Gordon said. “Our goal is to grow this generosity we are seeing today into a permanent resource that continues opening opportunities for Barberton students long into the future.”

Community members may make a charitable gift to the Barberton Student Opportunity to Participate Fund through Barberton Community Foundation by clicking here, by calling 330-745-5995, or by mailing or bringing a check made payable to Barberton Community Foundation with “pay-to-participate fund” in the memo line. Charitable gifts may be tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.