A Legacy of Local Giving
Investing in Johnstown, one project at a time.
Since 1984, the Mary E. Babcock Foundation has quietly supported the projects that make Johnstown a better place to live — from the library that bears her name to the town's parks and public spaces, its history, and the students of Johnstown's schools.
Our Story
Who was Mary E. Babcock?
Mary E. Babcock was born in [YEAR] in [PLACE] and came to Johnstown as a child. She graduated from Johnstown High School in 1925 as salutatorian, attended Denison University, and earned her degree from Ohio State University. She taught school for many years, and Johnstown remained the center of her life until her death in 1998.
She spent that lifetime pushing her town forward. She was strong-willed, outspoken, and ahead of her time — a woman who took public stands in an era when few women did. She wrote a weekly column for the Johnstown Independent, and she had no patience for anyone who wouldn't say plainly what they believed.
Her energy went, above all, into young people. She established student scholarships for Johnstown graduates and gave awards for artistic achievement and scholastic excellence. She also funded a speaker series that brought national figures within reach of the community, so that local students and residents would encounter ideas they might never have met otherwise.
In 1984 she established the Mary E. Babcock Foundation so that the work would continue without her. Four decades later, her foresight still shapes the cultural, educational, and civic life of Johnstown — including the library building the library board chose to name in her honor.
"I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
The by-line she ran above her weekly column in the Johnstown Independent
Historic portrait of Mary E. Babcock or archival Johnstown photograph
Mary E. Babcock, in brief
A factual summary of her life, drawn from the public record.
- [YEAR] Born in [PLACE]
- 1925 Graduates from Johnstown High School as salutatorian
- Education Attends Denison University; graduates from Ohio State University
- Career Teaches school
- 1984 Establishes the Mary E. Babcock Foundation
- 1998 Dies, leaving the foundation to carry the work forward in Johnstown
The Giving Ledger
A running record of community investment.
A few of the projects the foundation has funded, in whole or in part, across four decades in Johnstown. The full list is further down the page.
The Mary E. Babcock Library
The foundation was the lead donor to the Mary E. Babcock Library and to its recent addition, alongside a community-wide fundraising effort. The library board named the building in her honor.
Johnstown Library
Parks, Paths & Beautification
Bike path beautification, recreation areas, flower gardens, the “Welcome to Johnstown” signs, and improvements at local cemeteries — including straightening grave monuments — so the spaces the whole town shares stay worth sharing.
Parks & bike path
Preserving Johnstown's Record
Building and beautifying a historical site marking where a mastodon was uncovered in 1926, just off the bike path — and digitizing the Johnstown Independent, keeping more than a century of local reporting searchable for anyone who wants it.
Mastodon site & newspaper archive
Students & the Arts
Student scholarships and scholastic achievement awards, band uniforms and instruments, speech contests, school speaker programs, elementary trips to the Midland Theatre for plays and ballet, opera performances in the grade schools, and a STEM partnership with Owens Corning introducing students to the engineering fields.
Students & band
Concerts for the Whole Town
Symphony performances at the performing arts center, plus popular music for every generation — the Four Lads, country and western artists, the Heisey Wind Ensemble, and the Ohio University Marching Band — staged at the Performing Arts Center, on the town square, and at Chambers Field.
Concerts & town square
Equipment That Saves Lives
Cardiac equipment for the Monroe Township Fire Department — quiet, unglamorous funding of the kind that changes what happens on the worst day of someone's life.
Monroe Township Fire Dept.
Grants Funded, 1986–2026
Four decades, one town, in a list.
A partial record of what the foundation has paid for since it began making grants — filter by area, or search for a project you remember.
77 grants shown
- Major funding for the new Mary E. Babcock Library and its subsequent addition
- Microfilming and digitization of the historical Johnstown Independents
- Johnstown Historical Society — renovations to the old Johnstown Jail
- Assistance moving and renovating the Cornell one-room schoolhouse to Johnstown
- Pictorial history book of Johnstown
- Construction of the visitation site for the 1926 Mastodon discovery off the bike trail
- Cleaning and repair of historical monuments and fencing at Bigelow Cemetery
- Johnstown and Northridge summer reading program
- Books for seniors in Johnstown
- Annual Johnstown park yard flowers — Victorian Gardens
- “Welcome to Johnstown” signs, original and replacement
- Town benches and trash receptacles in Bigelow Park
- Downtown Johnstown holiday lights
- Downtown light pole fixtures and holiday decorations
- Johnstown playground equipment
- Bigelow Park fencing
- Johnstown town landscaping
- Belt Park renovations
- Johnstown clock and bench construction
- Alexandria Parker Community Park renovations
- Bike path termination cleanup — new bollards, parking blocks, and blacktop
- New Santa House for downtown Johnstown
- New landscaping at the Searfoss Arboretum
- Johnstown electronic sign in the town square
- Bleachers for Youth Athletic Park
- Johnstown Youth Athletic Association — equipment and grounds improvement
- Annual Academic Achievement Awards for Northridge and Johnstown High seniors
- Math and science lecture series in area schools
- Public speaking program for Northridge and Johnstown students
- Owens Corning science program for Johnstown and Northridge students
- Artist-in-residence programs in area schools
- School speakers and programs in science, art, and technology
- Oregon Elementary School computers
- Teacher appreciation luncheons
- Photo display cases for Johnstown High graduates
- Excel Academy tuition assistance
- Junior Achievement school program
- Johnstown Parent Advocates Odyssey
- Shelving and chairs for Johnstown elementary and junior high buildings
- Northridge and Alexandria Schools UN and creative arts programs
- Northridge Schools gifted program
- Education programs at The Works in Newark for Johnstown students
- Defibrillators for Johnstown and Northridge schools
- Major funding for the Northridge Schools stadium
- Johnstown Athletic Boosters — new uniforms, girls soccer
- Opera Columbus performances in Johnstown elementary schools
- BalletMet and Opera Columbus programs at Johnstown schools
- Annual trips to the Midland Theatre for Johnstown area elementary students
- Symphony concerts at the Performing Arts Center
- Downtown Johnstown concerts — Skyline, Dixieland, Northwest Territory, McGuffey Lane, the Four Lads
- OSU Men’s Glee Club performance at the Performing Arts Center
- Ohio University Band performance, with the Johnstown Athletic Boosters
- Otterbein College Band school performance
- Land of Legend Philharmonic Orchestra concert performance
- Monroe Township Opera House performances
- Special musical instruments for Johnstown schools
- Uniform purchases for the Johnstown High band
- Johnstown Marching Band computer
- Johnstown Band Boosters
- Johnstown High School choir robes
- Johnstown Schools music department technical equipment
- Johnstown High band travel to the Outback Bowl
- Visit from a professional vocalist to Johnstown choral classes
- New lighting for the Johnstown High Performing Arts Center
- Major funding for renovations at the Performing Arts Center
- Monroe Township cardiac CPR equipment
- St. Albans Township Fire Department thermal imaging camera
- Hartford Township Fire Department equipment
- Equipment for the Johnstown Fire Department
- Johnstown Police Department equipment
- American Red Cross blood program
- Salvation Army school clothing fund
- Salvation Army building contribution
- Major funding at various times for Monroe Township Hall renovations
- Major funding for Township Hall — cupola, lift chair, and renovations
- Hartford Fair building renovation
- Hartford Village chairs and tables
No grants match that search.
This list is drawn from foundation records and represents examples rather than a complete accounting. Amounts are not published.
Grant Applications
Have a project that would make Johnstown better?
The foundation welcomes applications from 501(c)(3) organizations and government entities serving the Johnstown community. Here's how it works.
Check that you’re eligible
Grants are made only to organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3), or to government entities — public schools, townships, villages, fire and police departments, and libraries. Individuals and for-profit businesses cannot be funded.
Submit your application
Print the application, fill it out, and email it back to info@babcockfoundation.com — or mail it in. Applications are reviewed at the foundation's regular meetings.
Hear back from the foundation
Applicants are notified after review. Funded projects join the foundation's ledger of community investments.
Required with every application
Please attach a copy of your IRS determination letter, or documentation of your status as a government entity, along with your federal tax identification number. Applications without it cannot be reviewed.