August 9, 2023 Recap: Opioid Settlement Fund BOARD Holds Public Meeting
COLUMBUS, OH – The OneOhio Recovery Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization charged with distributing more than $800 million for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery efforts, held its August Board meeting at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce offices in Columbus.
“I thank all those who are contributing to our grant making process and I’m encouraged that we will soon have the system in place to begin to get grants out the door in the coming year,” said Board Chair Larry Kidd. “On behalf of the Board of Directors I also want to commend Kathryn Whittington for the time and energy she devoted as our interim executive director and welcome her back to her original seat on the board.”
Settlement Payment Update
As the Foundation receives opioid settlement payments over the next several years, the OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allows the Board 90 days from receipt of each payment to allocate those funds for future use in the form of region initiative grants, statewide initiative grants, investments, and operating funds. Settlement funds recently received by the Foundation include:
• $10,556,674.14 from the J&J settlement (Year 3 payment), received on June 16, 2023.
• $17,234,914.98 from the Distributor settlement (Year 3 payment), received on August 2, 2023.
In accordance with the OneOhio MOU’s 90-day deadline, the Board took action to invest for future use the full $27,791,589.12 received from the Year 3 J&J settlement payment and the Year 3 Distributor settlement payment.
Other Actions
During the August meeting, Board members also:
• Honored an Ohioan who has been impacted by the opioid epidemic.
• Welcomed three new board directors: Kevin Stanek (appointed by Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens), Dawn Tyler Lee (appointed to represent the Foundation’s Region 1), and Kathryn Whittington (reappointed to represent Region 13 following her service as interim executive director).
• Ratified several previous Board actions to clarify any parliamentary concerns regarding those earlier votes and ensure the Foundation is able to continue operating without potential unnecessary delays in the future.
• Received important updates from the Grant Oversight and the Audit and Finance Committees as members work to move the organization forward in its mission to help end the opioid epidemic in Ohio.
• Received a financial update and a communication update from Foundation staff.
• Determined that the board will not meet in November 2023.
The board’s next public meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at offices of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, 34 S. 3rd Street, Columbus.
