Photo of C.B. Kern THE CARL B. KERN FUND
of The Dayton Foundation
established 1987

1401 S. Main Street, Suite 100  *  Dayton, OH 45409
(937) 222-0410  * * *  FAX: (937) 222-0636

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Looking for the former Friends of Kern, Inc. site? Click here to launch in new window.
July 25th, 2023 - With sad hearts, we regret to announce that Stuart T. Weinberg, MD; Founder, The Carl B. Kern Fund unexpectedly passed on July 17th, 2023. You can view his obituary (which in true Stuart fashion, he wrote himself) online here. The Carl B. Kern Fund was always a passion of Stuart's, and arrangements have been made for the fund's continuance. In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates any contributions made to the fund in Stuart's memory.
 
 
Welcome to The Carl B. Kern Fund, one of over 4,000 donor funds administered by The Dayton Foundation, a non-profit community foundation located in Dayton, Ohio. This Endowment Fund pays tribute to a person and an institution through annual distributions.

The person is 'C.B.' Kern, Dayton Y.M.C.A. Boys' Work Secretary from 1909-1917, whose outstanding work with youth was evident from the many testimonials and resolutions made in his memory after he died tragically and unexpectedly on June 3, 1917 at the age of 37.

The institution is organized camping, which 'C.B.' recognized as one of those unique experiences that can have such a profound, positive impact on the physical, mental, and spiritual development of youth. More of permanent value can be accomplished with a week in camp with a boy than months of casual contact, he wrote in a 1915 one-page report describing the activities of his summer camp, Camp Ozone, which was subsequently renamed Camp Kern in his honor on September 17, 1917.

The continuity of distributions from the Fund has been particularly helpful during the pandemic. From YMCA Camp Kern Executive Director Chris Addison on 4/17/2020, "Thank you so much for the foresight and the gift. These special circumstances have created a different kind of need at camp, and this donation will help us fill those needs. You have all done an absolutely tremendous job with the Fund and should be so proud of the benefits it has brought to camp and our campers over the years. We are obviously facing some challenging times ahead, but gifts like these will make a big difference."

We invite you to browse the Kern Fund web pages and learn more about the person and character of Carl B. Kern, the institution of organized camping which he embraced so strongly, and the activities of The Carl B. Kern Fund which serve to perpetuate the memory of 'C.B.' and support "the experience that lasts a lifetime".  

 
* * News and Announcements * *
  
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2026-02-22 - The 2025 Annual Report has been posted online on the Kern Fund Annual Reports page. Unfortunately, the name of Bill and Kathy Beck was omitted from the original list. We apologize for that error. This has now been corrected.

2025-11-08 - The November newsletter of how the distributed funds were used can be found here.

2025-05-29 - The 2025 distribution in the amount of $20,000 was presented to YMCA Camp Kern at camp’s annual Strawberries and Ice Cream event. $10,000 is designated for camperships and $10,000 is designated for the Bath House Capital Campaign. The total amount of distributions since the first $201 check in 1989 is $296,988.49.

2025-03-13 - The 2024 Annual Report has been posted online on the Kern Fund Annual Reports page. You can also find a digital copy of the November mailer here.

2024-05-30 - The 2024 distribution in the amount of $18,000 was presented to YMCA Camp Kern at camp’s annual Strawberries and Ice Cream event. The total amount of distributions since the first $201 check in 1989 is $276,988.49.

2024-03-18 - The 2023 Annual Report has been posted online on the Kern Fund Annual Reports page.

2024-03-10 - The 2023 Annual Report will be posted online on the Kern Fund Annual Reports page by the end of this month. There were 101 gifts from 87 donors totaling $21,490 in 2023. More details will be available when the report is published.

2023-06-01 - The 2023 distribution in the amount of $21,000 was presented to YMCA Camp Kern at camp's annual Strawberries and Ice Cream event. The total amount of distributions since the first $201 check in 1989 now exceeds a quarter million dollars.

2023-05-20 - The 15-slide PDF presentation has been revised with the latest donation information.

2023-01-30 - End-of-year numbers, an updated slide presentation, and a preview of our 2022 Annual Report have been posted. Enjoy!

2022-11-14 - A separate Donate Online page has been created and is available under the (now green) DONATE! dropdown.

2022-11-13 - The 2022 3rd-quarter numbers are in. OK, it's not a pretty sight... The Fund's balance as of 9/30 was $437,749.18... But it will come back! And your year-end contributions will help! For details, see the 2022 Quarterly Summary Reports.

2022-11-09 - The Frequently Asked Questions page has been updated with questions about online donation options and details about donating various types of financial assets.

2022-05-31 - The Advisory Board is very pleased to announce that former Camp Kern Executive Director Chris Addison will be joining the Board effective June 2nd. Welcome, Chris!

2022-04-30 - The 2022 1st-quarter numbers are in. The Fund's balance as of 3/31 was $546,857.16. Although there was a drop in market value, this was partially offset by over $12,000 in donations. For details, see the 2022 Quarterly Summary Reports.

2022-03-07 - Very sad to report that Advisory Board member and great-nephew of C.B. Kern Thomas Kuhn passed away Feb 27th at age 64. Donations are being received in his memory. His obituary can be found here.

2022-02-09 - The Kern Fund's 2021 Annual Report has been posted online and will also be mailed to nearly 1,100 individuals.

2022-02-05 - The 2021 year-end numbers are in, and the Fund's balance soared to $580,099.37!! Thanks to all of our donors! See the 2021 Quarterly Summary Reports page for additional details.

 

 

Developed by: Stuart T. Weinberg, MD; Founder, The Carl B. Kern Fund
Updated postmortem with love by his son: Nathan S. Weinberg
First placed on the WWW: April 5, 1995