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DAYTON — When Karen Levin got the telephone call, she assumed it was an April Fool's Day joke.

"Yeah, right," she responded sarcastically when a colleague told her that the Levin Family Foundation would be receiving an international award for Outstanding Foundation on the first of April.

But it was far from a jest, and six months later family members were en route to a gala banquet in San Diego sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

"To be completely honest with you, we never thought we had a chance of winning," Karen confided to the large crowd. Past recipients include heavy-hitters like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Lilly Endowment Inc., The Kresge Foundation and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

"We're like guppies in the sea of philanthropy," says Ryan Levin, 34, the youngest of the foundation's six-member board of trustees who says the Levin foundation gives away $1.25 million annually.

But Bobbi Skipton, who heads the Widows Home Foundation and nominated the Levins for the special honor, says there are a number of factors that make their foundation a standout.

"First of all, their support is so widespread — they don't focus on just one type of service," she explains. "They fund everything from arts and education to health care. They also challenge others to do their best — so in many cases they may provide money but require matching funds."

Finally, she adds, while most foundations are grant-makers, the Levins are proactive — always on the lookout for needs that aren't being met, often willing to spend the time and funds necessary to fill those needs in creative ways, especially when it comes to the under served. One good example is "Celebrating Life and Health," the giant health fair held annually for the past six years at Sinclair Community College. When they learned that Montgomery County had the highest rate of medically uninsured in the state, the Levins determined to get involved.

"No one should have to decide between a mammogram and food," insists Karen.

They've turned their event into a giant party. In addition to dozens of free health screenings, they provide transportation, a full free lunch, a disc jockey and activities for the kids.

Another example of Levin entrepreneurial spirit is "Take Us Home," a film currently in production that tells the story of the exodus of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

After visiting both countries, Karen sought to learn more. When she found there was no documentary film available on the subject, she decided to assist with funding one.

In Israel, the foundation supports projects ranging from emergency preparedness and a drop-in center for youth-at-risk, to water reclamation.

The foundation is definitely a family affair with everyone getting into the act. But Skipton credits Executive Director Karen — who became involved in 2001 — for being the catalyst with the ability to "pull it all together."

"The family members had a good idea of what they wanted to accomplish," she observes," but they needed someone to provide the structure and organization which would allow them to achieve their goals."

AFP President Paulette V. Maehara says it's the Levin foundation's role as facilitator that makes it so outstanding. "A foundation has to be able to bring organizations together to address issues, but it also has to know when to step back and let the process run its course," she says.

A case in point is the collaboration between United Way and the Levins in which young people were invited to develop and present their own project ideas for funding. Final grants went to everything from a YMCA dance for the elderly to a campfire teen theatrical presentation on the dangers of drugs and violence.

Ryan admits he was a young man hoping for a windfall when his Uncle Sam Levin died in 1995, leaving millions. An entrepreneur whose movie empire included 17 theaters in the Miami Valley, Sam was one of five Levin children whose immigrant parents had fled anti-Semitism in Russia and Lithuania.

But instead of leaving his inheritance to individuals, Sam stipulated that the bulk of his inheritance was to go to a family foundation. He didn't specify exactly how the money was to be used.

"That became a gift in and of itself," says Ryan, who became the youngest foundation trustee in the state in 2000. "The money wasn't given to me, but I was given the ability to be in charge of giving it away."

Though his parents divorced in 1981, they remained friends; and in 2001, Karen, who had left Dayton to attend medical school, was asked to return to assist with the foundation.

Growing up in Dayton as the daughter of factory workers, she says her own blue-collar background has made her especially keen on helping the disenfranchised. Professionally trained as a physician's assistant, she will receive a master's degree in public health in August.

As a reality check after any award, she drives through her old neighborhoods. "I always wanted to help people, but never thought in a million years that I'd have the opportunity to be helping in this way," Karen says. Family members have agreed it's appropriate to return the money to the people who have patronized Levin business ventures through the years.

The Levins' business and foundation offices are located in adjoining suites in downtown Dayton. They're a homey affair, everyone dresses casually. There are handcrafted artifacts and wall-hangings from visits to countries around the world; handmade afghans thrown on comfy chairs and couches.

"It's hard enough coming to ask people for money, you don't want it to be a sterile environment," Karen explains.

Sometimes the Levins come to you. Kathy Dierker, executive director of Life Essentials, says a few days after she called the foundation to inquire about grants, Karen Levin showed up at her offices just to chat. Most foundations, says Dierker, would have simply mailed a grant application.

Dierker says in the years since, not only have the Levins funded a number of Life Essentials programs for seniors and the mentally ill, but have offered their offices for a twice-a-year graduation ceremony.

"Karen not only provides the space, but stays through each graduation, taking time to congratulate each individual on their accomplishments," says Dierker. "There are four or five graduates so it's not like she's playing to a big audience."

That intimate involvement symbolizes an important aspect of the Levin philosophy of giving.

"When you are dealing with fragile populations, always have personal contact," Karen advises other foundations. "You may be giving money, but showing up lets individuals know you really care."

For more information on the Levin Family Foundation, visit

www.levinfamilyfoundation.com.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or

mmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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