From a young age, Titonian Wallace Sr. refused to subscribe to the mentality of being stuck. Titonian’s hometown, Benton Harbor, MI, was likened to a Flint or a Detroit with similar issues of high crime rates and drugs in a smaller town. His mother was a hard worker who balanced multiple jobs while raising two children and pushed Titonian to excel in his education as a means of not getting stuck. She didn’t have to do much to convince him; he was a quiet kid who excelled in school all the way through. But as a child, he understood the distinction between his financial situation and that of those around him, and it had a profound impact on him. “That solidified the fact that school was my way out,” he says.
In 2023, Titonian created the Black Advisory Business Council Scholarship Fund. This scholarship began for myriad reasons: his upbringing and his love for education, his hope for kids like him to have the same opportunities he did, and a desire to make an impact in his community. The idea of starting a scholarship came to him in his 20s while he was in college, and while he always thought he would go home to begin this endeavor, Hillsboro had turned into his home and the perfect place for the BABC fund to start. Hillsboro, Titonian notes, is a place that is open and supportive of diversity and where you can make an impact no matter who you are or where you come from. “Since I’ve been here, I have,” he says, “and that is what I love about Hillsboro.” As the first chair and a founding member of the Washington County Black Advisory Business Council, Titonian felt called to tie the scholarship to the business community and the chamber to remind the community of the good that local businesses provide to their community.
After attempts with corporate sponsors, Titonian felt that they lacked the personal connection and urgency to bring the fund to life. He was then directed to the Hillsboro Community Foundation, where he realized he could start the fund with his own money. He began raising money immediately, and donations started raking in. “When that happens, then you know you’re doing something the community supports and wants to get behind,” he says. In the fund’s first year, Titonian awarded two $2,000 scholarships. During this time, the fund was not fully funded or endowed, but Titonian wanted to ensure that the scholarship money would immediately benefit young adults in the community.
In September 2025, the Black Advisory Business Council Scholarship fund reached endowment status through Titonian’s hard work and grassroots efforts, allowing scholarships to be awarded for 2026.
The Black Advisory Business Council Scholarship Fund fills the need in Hillsboro for a Black-youth-specific scholarship, which was previously missing. “I felt it was important for kids to see that someone who looks like them thinks enough of them to create something specifically for them,” he says, with the long-term hope that they feel supported enough by their community to one day come back home and do something similar.
To learn more about the Black Advisory Business Council Scholarship Fund, click here.
To make a tax-deductible contribution to the BABC Fund, click here.
Full Fund Info Packet , Donor Info , Major Donor Info
In existence since 1986, the Hillsboro Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Hillsboro by supporting local programs, services, and initiatives. Through community giving, grantmaking, and donor partnerships, the Foundation strengthens the social, cultural, educational, and civic fabric of the region.
To learn more about the Hillsboro Community Foundation, visit www.hcf-or.org.
