Ohio: Dayton, Columbus AIDS Groups Merge

The Dayton-based AIDS Resource Center Ohio and the Columbus AIDS Task Force (CATF) are combining to create a new organization whose service area will cover 70 percent of the state. Under the merger, effective July 1, the group will retain the name ARC Ohio.

Bill Hardy, ARC Ohio's director for more than 18 years, will serve as CEO; he said the merger represents a "strategic business decision." CATF CEO Peggy Anderson will oversee program operations.

By combining the two largest AIDS service organizations in the state, officials can offer high-quality, cost-effective HIV treatment, testing, prevention, and advocacy services. Offices in Dayton, Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Toledo, Athens, Chillicothe, and Newark will serve more than 2,500 Ohioans by providing care, financial assistance, and supportive programs.

Another advantage, said Hardy, is that ARC Ohio will be more effective in terms of fundraising and lobbying. "That is especially important in this economic time of great upheaval for the nonprofit community and especially for AIDS organizations like ours," he said.

The partner organizations have similar histories and serve contiguous areas, Hardy noted. The merger results from a yearlong assessment funded by the Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo Community foundations.

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