The Dayton Foundation announced today that longtime donor Virginia Bernthal Toulmin has made plans for what is projected to be more than a $20 million legacy gift to the Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., and Virginia B. Toulmin Fund of The Dayton Foundation. This will be the largest single gift in the Foundation’s 88-year history and is expected to be among the largest gifts made in recent decades to a charitable organization in the Greater Dayton Region.

“The Dayton Foundation is honored to be entrusted with this incredibly generous gift. A true philanthropist in every respect, Virginia Toulmin selflessly shares her many gifts with those in need,” said Michael M. Parks, president of The Dayton Foundation. “This gift, which ultimately will carry no restrictions on The Dayton Foundation for how it can best be used to benefit Greater Dayton, will have a tremendous impact on our region over time. Since Mrs. Toulmin’s gift later will fund a permanent endowment, the Toulmins’ legacy will work to improve the quality of life for people throughout our community in perpetuity.

“We couldn’t be more grateful for this gift and for Mrs. Toulmin allowing us to announce this now in the hope that it will inspire others to give to help their community,” Parks continued. “For such a modest individual, this was not easy for her to permit us to be so public with her gift. She truly is a special person who wants the best for the Dayton region.”

Now a resident of Florida, Virginia Toulmin called Dayton home for more than 41 years. As a former nurse and businesswoman and the widow of international patent attorney Harry Aubrey Toulmin, Jr., and daughter-in-law to Harry A. Toulmin, Sr., the famed attorney who secured and defended the Wright Brothers’ patent for their flying machine, she established her Dayton Foundation fund to help others, leaving her gift to benefit her longtime home, while also honoring her husband and his family history.

Said Virginia Toulmin, “Harry and I had a very happy life together in Dayton. He grew up in the region and made a very successful living here. We owe Dayton something in return. I think the world of The Dayton Foundation, and I know that they will use these dollars wisely. I’m so glad to be doing this for the community that was so good to Harry and me.”

Initially grants from the fund will be advised by a committee, which will include the president of The Dayton Foundation, to support the Toulmins’ charitable interests in the Dayton area. In time it will become an unrestricted fund of The Dayton Foundation to help address needs and opportunities in the community through the Foundation’s competitive grantmaking process, as approved by the Foundation’s Governing Board.

Unrestricted gifts like Mrs. Toulmin’s are vital to the future of our community,” Parks said. “Mrs. Toulmin has demonstrated real leadership in the understanding of and advocacy for unrestricted giving through the strength of her gift and her foresight and commitment to this type of giving. Her gift will provide us with the ability to help support efforts of local organizations that address a variety of ongoing needs. In addition, they will enable the Foundation to support opportunities available to our community and to tackle broad community issues confronting our region through the Foundation’s leadership initiatives. Clearly Mrs. Toulmin’s gift ultimately will touch countless lives for generations to come.”

Said Mrs. Toulmin, “Giving unrestricted funds is a wonderful idea that everyone should consider. Harry always said that one shouldn’t try to dictate from the grave. If an organization’s management is good and strong, give them an unrestricted gift. They can decide how best to use it long after you have passed away.”

A committed volunteer as well as a generous patron, Mrs. Toulmin has a philosophy of giving that goes beyond the importance of giving back through monetary gifts. When talking about helping people less fortunate than oneself, she was quoted as saying, “Even if you can’t afford to give money, you can give love.”

Since 1921 The Dayton Foundation has been helping people help others in the Dayton community and beyond. The Dayton Foundation helps donors find the best and most tax-wise ways to achieve their charitable objectives, invests and manages donors’ charitable funds, and provides grants and leadership to grow philanthropy and help meet present and future community needs. More information about The Dayton Foundation and its services is available at www.daytonfoundation.org.