I.D.E.A. Troy is a donor-advised fund organized by the Troy Foundation to, a predominantly white community 19 miles north of Dayton. The goal of I.D.E.A. Troy is to work towards racial equity by sponsoring engaging community events that provide opportunities to learn about non-white American history.
I.D.E.A. Troy was established by the Troy Foundation based on an understanding that raising awareness about the experiences of others in the community and building compassion towards one another is integral to improving the region. The Foundation developed the program based on the understanding that opportunities to develop better understanding of equity issues and racial injustice and can be hard to come by when your city has such a small minority population (6% Hispanic and 5% African American/Black).
The “I.D.E.A.” stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Advocates and encompasses four "teams": the Juneteenth Team, the MLK Team, Troy Freedom Chasers Team, and Diversity Awareness Team, which was created with the focus of addressing all of the other facets of diversity outside of just black and brown. The organization hosts a few annual events throughout the year in recognition iconic African American figures and cultural holidays to raise awareness about the importance of racial equity.
I.D.E.A. Troy strives to organize four events a year, at least one per quarter. To learn more about the work of I.D.E.A. Troy and some of the events they have hosted, check out our latest entry on our Good Ideas! page.