Hone sets retirement from Civic Foundation

CELINA - The head of a multimillion-dollar charitable organization that has helped countless students achieve their college dreams, supported community initiatives and spurred non-profits will step down in mid-December.

Carol A. Hone, who has served as Mercer County Civic Foundation's executive director since 2015, said she's enjoyed engaging with generous donors over the last six years but now wants to spend more time hiking and traveling with her husband, Tom, and visiting with her children and grandchildren.

"We want to enjoy our graying years," she said.

The foundation's board of trustees recently selected Hone's successor, Sharron Green, whose last day as executive director of Mercer County Council on Aging is Friday, according to an announcement in the council's October newsletter.

"I have no doubt in my mind that she's going to be a great fit here," Hone said of Green. "She's going to bring new energy. She has the enthusiasm. She's got the people skills. I hope our donors just fall in love with her and she does the same with them."

The foundation was established in 1960 by then Mercer County Probate Judge Homer Hinders and attorneys William Meikle and Carroll Stubbs.

"It started with a $7,800 check from somebody that wanted to support the Cheryl Ann programs," Hone said. "We stand on the shoulders of those founders."

A 501(c)3 organization that makes grants for charitable purposes, the civic foundation's overarching mission is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Mercer County by cultivating, managing and disbursing charitable resources.

"We can only pay out to nonprofits, except in scholarships. Those can go to kids. Loans can go to kids," she explained.

Today, the foundation has over 200 funds and more than $30 million in assets. It has a board of directors representing the city of Celina and villages in the county.

"It has just exploded," Hone said. "But we've had some sizable donations the last couple of years."

Hone's tenure as executive director came after a 36-year-career in education which she retired from in 2014. Hone, a 1978 Celina High School graduate with degrees from Miami University and Wright State University-Lake Campus, was perfectly content with retired life, at least for a few months.

"I said to my husband one day, 'I cannot clean closets anymore. There's something else out there,'" she recalled.

About a week later she got a call from then foundation executive director Glenn Hux, who was eyeing retirement. He encouraged her to throw her hat into the ring for the position.

"I knew the civic foundation gave out scholarships. That's pretty much all I really knew about (it). I came in and interviewed and lo and behold they hired me," she said.

Though her background was in special education and administration, Hone quickly adapted to her new job of establishing and maintaining relationships with donors. The foundation works with an outside firm to help manage its investments.

"You have to be the first face that the public sees and that has to be positive and warm and welcoming. That was easy," she said.

The more challenging aspect is the administration and record-keeping concerning the foundation's 200-plus funds, including more than 80 scholarship funds.

"It's a big job. There's a lot going on in here all the time. We do grants. We do loans. We do scholarships, and then we manage … 210 different funds right now. Each have their own parameters. Each have their own requirements," she said. "Some are donor-advised. Some are designated. Some are project funds that are going to be over shortly. There's a lot coming and going out."

The foundation disbursed $1.37 million in grants in 2020, according to the foundation's annual report. It also recently gave out more than $250,000 in scholarships, an all-time hight, Hone noted.

"It's these generous donors … they are just driven to be philanthropic," she said, calling their contributions heartwarming and mind-blowing. "I'm in awe at just their ability to want to give, to give and give some more."

Many of the donors commit to giving when considering end-of-life planning, she said.

"They know it's going to be here in perpetuity," she said. "If people give money to us that's endowed, which means we cannot spend the principal, then that thing is here forever."

She recounted how one older gentleman came to the office early on in her tenure on New Year's Eve, near the end of office hours, wanting to create a scholarship fund in memory of his wife - that very day.

"I remember just being in tears when I hugged that guy when he left that day, and I stayed in close contact with him," she said.

In fact, every donor has their own unique story and most don't want any accolades for their gifts. Working with them is the best part of the job, she said.