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Million Dollar Match Met: Nuxhall Foundation Reaches Hope Center Fundraising Milestone

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FAIRFIELD, OH (January 1, 2026)— An ambitious dream rooted in Joe Nuxhall’s legacy is becoming more real by the minute thanks to The Hatton Foundation and donors who stepped up to the plate to meet their challenge. And now, a groundbreaking is on the horizon in the year ahead.

 

The Nuxhall Foundation is proud to announce a million-dollar match offered by The Hatton Foundation for construction of The Hope Center has been met—and exceeded. Donors supporting the project contributed more than $1.25 million towards a match to build The Hope Center—a year-round, indoor recreational facility built just for athletes with physical and developmental disabilities.

 

“I haven’t been able to pick my jaw up off the floor for two months,” says Kim Nuxhall, President and Board Chairman of The Nuxhall Foundation. “This overwhelming total was a team effort from a community of givers who get why our mission matters—and more importantly, they realize that The Hope Center is a dream worth believing in. As gift after gift after gift came in, it was a reminder that The Hope Center is a need for our all-stars. And we can’t wait to build it for them.”


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Hatton Foundation Executive Director Walt Lunsford announced their record setting matching gift—the largest single donation ever given to The Nuxhall Foundation—at the Miracle Ball in late October 2025. The deadline to meet the million-dollar matching challenge was December 31, leaving The Nuxhall Foundation and its donors a little more than two months to reach the goal.

 

“Our donors never doubted for a minute that they could bring home the win,” says Nuxhall. “Now, we stand well positioned to break ground on The Hope Center in 2026 thanks to Walt Lunsford, The Hatton Foundation, and all of our supporters who believe that our special needs all-stars deserve a permanent home-field advantage.”

 

The Nuxhall Foundation’s Heading for Hope capital campaign now stands at more than $6.6 million raised, with a goal of eventually raising $12 million. Roughly $10 million from the campaign will be used to fund construction of The Hope Center, with an additional $2 million supporting a maintenance and operational endowment to provide for the facility’s long-term sustainability.

 

A major gift from the Welsh family played a significant role in helping The Nuxhall Foundation meet the matching challenge. Through their family charitable fund, Dave and Vicki Welsh and their family contributed $500,000 to name “The Welsh Family Court” inside the arena at The Hope Center, representing the third time The Nuxhall Foundation has received a half-million-dollar gift in its history.


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“We are so thankful to Dave and Vicki Welsh and their family for believing in the need for this project,” says Nuxhall. “Their generosity is pushing this project forward in a major way. We can’t wait to see our all-stars draining 3’s, dancing, and more on The Welsh Family Court at The Hope Center.”

 

What inspired donors like the Welsh family and so many others to give? The Nuxhall Foundation credits the incredible leap forward in campaign fundraising to the transformational matching gift offered by Walt Lunsford and The Hatton Foundation.


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“Walt and the board of The Hatton Foundation believe in this project, and they lit a fire throughout our entire donor base and our community with this gift,” says Tyler Bradshaw, Executive Director for The Nuxhall Foundation. “They motivated givers in Greater Cincinnati and beyond to learn more about the project, to give, and to share it with others who could move the project forward. When we are finally standing inside a finished Hope Center, we will remember this chapter and this inspired gift from The Hatton Foundation as a tide-shifting moment in our history.”

 

This isn’t the first time that The Hatton Foundation has helped The Nuxhall Foundation bring their dreams to life. In 2011, The Hatton Foundation offered a lead gift of $500,000 to support construction of The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an accessible, inclusive baseball facility for individuals with special needs.


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“That first gift from Walt and The Hatton Foundation is the primary reason we were able to build this dream,” says Nuxhall. “Since then, we’ve seen thousands of lives made more full and more complete because he shared the vision for what we could create.”


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In 2026, The Nuxhall Foundation plans to break ground on The Hope Center: a 31,000 square foot indoor facility that will expand the organization’s mission, opening up opportunities for athletes with disabilities to play every sport during every season. The facility will feature:

  • An arena for new sports and events that will provide a permanent home for the Butler County Special Olympics,

  • A multipurpose recreation room with accessible fitness equipment and play opportunities, including a wheelchair zipline and accessible ball pit,

  • A community room with seating for more than 150 guests to host health and wellness programming,

  • A fully-equipped concession stand with workforce development opportunities for the special needs community,

  • The Nuxhall Archives: a permanent display of Joe Nuxhall’s life and career as Cincinnati’s most beloved sports icon, and

  • Permanent headquarters for The Nuxhall Foundation.


 

“We are experiencing unparalleled momentum for this project, and I’m already polishing my shovel,” says Nuxhall. “In the coming year, when we are all standing in that field together, I know that my dad will be looking down with so much pride in his community for what they’ve accomplished.”

 

Donors who wish to give and support the project can:


 

 

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About The Nuxhall Foundation

The Nuxhall Foundation is the legacy foundation for former Major League Baseball pitcher and longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, the late Joe Nuxhall. The Nuxhall Foundation carries forward three important legacy projects. A central project of The Nuxhall Foundation is The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an entirely accessible baseball and recreational facility where every player with every challenge gets every chance to play. Historically, nearly 300 athletes with physical and developmental disabilities aged 4 to 80 participate in programs at the Miracle League Fields. The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship (in conjunction with the Fairfield Community Foundation) provides more than $40,000 per year in scholarship money to student athletes at all 14 Butler County high schools. Very soon, the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship will cross the million-dollar mark in scholarship money awarded. The Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund pitches good character to young leaders throughout Greater Cincinnati by delivering and supporting programs that stress the importance of integrity, humility, respect, and kindness. In 2024, The Nuxhall Foundation launched a $12 million capital campaign to construct The Hope Center, a year-round recreational facility for athletes with special needs that will help to create the world's most comprehensive athletic campus for individuals with disabilities. 

 

For more information, visit http://www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org.

 

For all media inquiries or to schedule an appearance, please contact:

 

Tyler Bradshaw

(513) 839-6164

 

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