When Mike Dunn stepped into the CEO role at Meals on Wheels last year, the organization faced a pivotal moment. The nonprofit serves 10,000 seniors across 13 counties across Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, producing 1.2 million meals annually—far beyond its facility’s intended capacity.
With U.S. Census data projecting that older adults will outnumber children under 18 for the first time in history by 2034, he sees both an unprecedented challenge and a rare opportunity to transform how the community cares for its aging population. “We know this population wave is coming, and we’re doing our best to get out ahead of it,” he says.
To meet the aging demographic head-on, Meals on Wheels launched a $30 million capital campaign to build a new headquarters to consolidate all services under one roof in a 51,500-square-foot facility on Highland Avenue in Columbia Township. The project aims to position the nonprofit to serve three times more seniors than today and is also reimagining how Meals on Wheels operates.
The organization plans to go from 1.2 million meals to at least 3 million meals annually while introducing a private pay option that will open services to seniors who don’t qualify for traditional assistance programs. “There are plenty of folks that need and/or want our services,” says Dunn. “This option will allow us to serve a larger population and be able to generate social enterprise to further diversify our funding. The capacity expansion will allow us to reach 30,000 seniors in the future.”
The organization is also exploring opportunities to provide meals to other nonprofits that support seniors, he says. While the name suggests otherwise, Meals on Wheels goes far beyond food delivery. “Meals are a conduit to a relationship with a senior,” says Dunn. “It allows our driver to go into the home of a senior, to have a relationship with them, and to understand how they’re doing. It’s a welfare check in addition to providing those meals.”
The organization’s approach includes transportation services, caregiver support, digital connection programs, and even pet assistance. By bringing all staff under one roof, Meals on Wheels expects to gain efficiencies and create a new community space for classes, workshops, and other senior programming like fraud prevention or pet adoption classes. “We’re doing a lot of things to help seniors stay independent,” says Dunn. “We’re all about essential services that ultimately help seniors stay in their homes as long as appropriate and reasonable.”
The capital campaign is one of the largest fundraising efforts in organization history. More than $22 million is already secured through gifts and pledges from individuals, grants, foundations, and corporate partners.
Dunn sees the campaign as an invitation for the entire region to participate—whether through donations, volunteer involvement, or advocacy—and to emphasize that caring for seniors is a shared responsibility. The goal, he says, is help more seniors remain independent, healthy, and socially connected.