The Charles F. Kettering Foundation has purchased a building in Dayton's Oregon District.
The foundation has purchased a building in Dayton's Oregon District, according to Dayton Daily News.
A Downtown Headquarters
The foundation plans to establish a new headquarters in downtown Dayton.
Davies was identified as the foundation's president and CEO as recently as a Dayton Rotary meeting notice from earlier this year. The Waitman Building itself sits at four stories in the heart of the Oregon District, a historic Dayton neighborhood.
The Foundation's Founding
The Charles F. Kettering Foundation was established in 1927 by Charles Kettering, a Dayton entrepreneur and inventor.
Today the foundation describes its mission as advancing inclusive democracies by fostering citizen engagement, promoting government accountability, and countering authoritarianism.
A Nonprofit Flush With Investment Gains
Unlike most nonprofits, the foundation has no need to fundraise, surviving instead off dividends from what the investigation described as a massive investment portfolio. The same investigation found that the foundation's net assets climbed from $463 million in 2024 to $594 million by the time the article was published, according to staff cited in that report.
Unlike most nonprofits, the foundation has no need to fundraise, surviving instead off dividends from what the investigation described as a massive investment portfolio. The same investigation found that the foundation's net assets climbed from $463 million in 2024 to $594 million by the time the article was published, according to staff cited in that report. The foundation's planned relocation centers on the Waitman Building. A September 2025 commercial listing on LoopNet had described the property at 401 E. 5th St. as a roughly 50,932-square-foot office building spread across four floors plus a lower level, though that listing predates and does not independently confirm the foundation's acquisition.
The planned move would bring the Dayton-born foundation back to the city where Charles Kettering built it, from its Washington Township address to a historic Oregon District building.
