Community Investment Fund Spotlight: Equity Center

Get ready to be inspired! Learn to Earn Dayton Communications Intern, Caitlyn Russell, is sharing exclusive stories from the recipients of our Community Investment Fund. Discover the innovative ways these investments are shaping a brighter future for Dayton.

In 2021, the Equity Center was a small but passionate organization operating on a $40,000 budget. In just a few years, and many community partnerships later, it has grown into a key force within Dayton, expanding its reach and growing tenfold. They work to revive communities through education & workforce development. The Equity Center believes in the power of economic & social mobility to transform lives and build a brighter future for everyone. The support from the Community Investment Fund allowed the center to restructure its staff, reorganize operations, and build systems that supported scale and sustainability.

Several investments in staffing were made, and they now have a full team at 11 employees and six temporary employees. “We found the right people to scale the organization to meet demand and meet the promises we’ve made to donors without putting undue stress on our volunteers and staff.” said Ashton Dupler, who became the executive director in 2025.

There are many programs within the Equity Center that help support the Dayton community. They focus on four pillars of equity: workforce development, education, food and neighborhood security. The organization has maintained and expanded on those pillars. On the workforce development side, they offer a forklift training program, four additional industry-recognized credentials, and a cybersecurity training program that launched in 2023. The Equity Center partners with Digital Transformation Center and NPower to support workers with technology careers; they also offer two different programs for logistics and manufacturing with partners such as Dayton Regional Manufacturers Association and Procter & Gamble

“We've been able to meet our goals in wanting to help people get jobs faster, ” Dupler said. “Sixty-one percent of our folks get a job in the first 30 days, and 94% of participants who start with us, finish with us.”

Many of the participants who come through the workforce development program are also involved with the other initiatives at the center. In collaboration with Ebenezer Healthcare Access, the Equity Center designed a monthly food distribution of culturally appropriate food for families in need in the Dayton region as well as opening a store called Jan’s Closet in partnership with McKinley UMC, offering clothing and personal care. “We've been able to help roughly over 600 people last year with food, clothing and a job, just in the resettlement area,” Dupler said.

In the summer, the Equity Center runs a STEM-based summer camp, “No Dream Too Big” that reaches over 60 students weekly. The students are encouraged to use their imagination, Ashton explained, “How do we help children who don’t grow up seeing these opportunities imagine something bigger?”

Looking ahead, the Equity Center continues to ask: how can we do this better? With plans to expand its Equal Opportunity Hubs, the vision includes pop-up workforce labs, equity fellowships, and internships designed to grow local leadership. This expansion is rooted in one core belief: not in building a sustainable program, but a sustainable approach to economic mobility.

The Equity Center received funding from the Community Investment Fund (CIF). Launched in 2021 by Learn to Earn Dayton with funding from Blue Meridian Partners, CIF gives support to local organizations to help grow education, well-being, and economic mobility in Northwest Dayton. Two additional rounds of funding have been supported through local philanthropic organizations. The Equity Center received funding during the last two rounds of investments.