By Cooper Whitman, DMA Board Member and Downtown Medford Foundation Board President
As the first Downtown Medford Foundation (DMF) Board President, I’d like to announce that the Downtown Medford Foundation has been approved as a 501(c)(3) organization! You may be wondering why DMF is necessary if the Downtown Medford Association (DMA) is already doing its great work. Well, with this 501(c)(3) designation, donations to DMF may be tax deductible—this is different from rules around DMA’s 501(c)(6) designation. DMF is a completely separate nonprofit from DMA; however, the two organizations plan to work together to support downtown in the best way we can.
DMF Board members are as follows: Cooper Whitman, President; Richard Bauernfeind, Secretary; and Lisa Stanton, Treasurer. And while they’re not on DMF’s inaugural board, Annie Jenkins and Jennifer Nicholls deserve a tremendous amount of thanks for their work to make this happen.
The Board will be meeting soon to set its agenda for 2025, which will focus on fostering civic pride and community connections in downtown and the broader community. This will likely include hosting or supporting community activities in the downtown core, both educational and recreational. We hope that these activities will engage downtown residents, business owners, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and visitors. To support this work, we will apply for grants—which is a key activity available to a 501(c)(3) organization. We also hope to be able to offer grants in the future to support beautification efforts, education, and safety improvements in downtown.
At DMF we look forward to working with all of you! If anyone is interested in supporting the work of DMF, please contact any of the board members.