Aurora Project · 1986–2026
40 Years Forward
Aurora’s 40th anniversary is the public moment we celebrate what the community built together. Every gift made before then counts toward the goal.
For Now → For Good
Our goal is $400,000 for Aurora’s 40th anniversary.
When the funding that sustained this work for decades shifted, Toledo answered. A foundation grant, an anonymous gift, and hundreds of neighbors kept Aurora’s doors open. 40 Years Forward turns that moment into a foundation that sustains the organization, not just for now, but for good.
$68,515.00 raised
September 24, 2027
$32
covers a family
for a day
$250
covers a family for
about a week
$1,000
covers a family for
about a month
$10,000
covers a family
for a full year
Every $10,000 invested in Aurora saves the community an estimated $30,000 in emergency shelter, foster care, and other costs. Dollar-for-dollar, it is one of the most effective gifts you can make in Toledo.
Many employers match charitable gifts. A quick check with yours could double your impact!
This is not a rescue. It is a foundation for the next 40 years.
The funding environment for programs like Aurora Project has changed across the country. Federal and state dollars that supported this work for decades have been cut or restructured. We’re not alone in feeling it, but Aurora has always found a way. We’ve been rebuilding how we’re funded, leaning on long-standing partnerships and new sources of support so we depend less on any single grant. 40 Years Forward is how we finish that work and make it last.
What Aurora gives a woman, she keeps.
Janet came to Aurora at her lowest point. Since completing the program, Janet created and now leads the Moving Forward class. Today, nearly ten years sober, she’s become the teacher she once needed. She did not just rebuild her own life. She stayed to help rebuild others.
“If it weren’t for Aurora, my son would have gone into foster care.”
This is what 40 years of mission-driven work looks like.
Founded in 1986, Aurora is the only program of its kind in the region that allows mothers and children to remain together while addressing the root causes of homelessness, including substance use disorders and severe persistent mental illness.
~64 women and children served each year
67% arrive with significant child-services involvement
70% of graduates housed and stable 2+ years later
With Gratitude
40 Years Forward is possible because Toledo showed up.
Founding partner · $10,000
The Owens Corning Foundation committed $10,000 to 40 Years Forward — a full year of keeping one mother and her children together.
Share Your Why
Why does Aurora matter to you?
Whether you've given for decades or just found us this year, we'd love to learn your story. It could be featured in an upcoming newsletter or on our social channels.
She was thirteen when she wrote to Aurora
Shaelyn’s an adult now, but her childhood perspective is exactly why this work is so important.
We will share where we landed on September 24.
Aurora’s 40th anniversary is the public moment we celebrate what the community built together. Every gift made before then counts toward the goal.
Be part of the next 40 years.
Many employers match charitable gifts. A quick check with yours could double your impact.
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