Youngstown State University Foundation

What Youngstown State University Foundation does

Youngstown State University Foundation is an independent, autonomous, private nonprofit corporation established in 1966 (with another source citing 1970) and headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio. It is chartered to pursue, manage, and distribute resources in support of scholarships, student initiatives, and the broader growth and development of Youngstown State University. The foundation's core functional role is twofold: (1) operating as a fundraising and asset-management vehicle that accepts charitable gifts, endowment contributions, and planned gifts from alumni, community members, and organizations; and (2) administering scholarship distribution to YSU students through a streamlined digital application process.

The foundation's product surface is built on third-party SaaS infrastructure rather than proprietary technology. The student-facing layer runs on Submittable, delivering a centralized Scholarship Application System that requires Penguin Portal authentication and pulls student profile data via desktop screenshot. Donor-facing tools include a DonorPerfect-powered online giving platform (form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io), a dedicated Scholarship Search Portal at scholarships.ysufoundation.org, and a charitable Gift Calculator for planned-giving scenarios. Programmatic offerings include named Scholarship Endowments, Endowed Chairs and Professorships, and multi-year capital campaigns branded "Centered on the Future" and "We See Tomorrow." Distribution is entirely digital and regional, with no mobile apps or API-based integrations disclosed.

Revenue mechanics are donation-driven and non-commercial. The foundation does not charge for services; it receives voluntary one-time and recurring charitable contributions from individuals, alumni, and institutional donors, manages endowment assets, and redistributes funds as scholarships and program support to YSU. Marketing and donor acquisition occur primarily through the foundation's website and an organic social presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. Customer segmentation is horizontal, with primary beneficiaries being YSU students (scholarship recipients) and a secondary segment comprising alumni and community donors (funding contributors). No explicit revenue figures, donor counts, or annual giving totals are disclosed; the website indicates "Millions" distributed in scholarship aid, "Millions" in program support, and "Millions" in total assets under management.

Name

Youngstown State University Foundation

Legal name

The Youngstown State University Foundation

Website

https://ysufoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Youngstown State University Foundation is an independent nonprofit corporation that raises, manages, and distributes charitable donations to fund scholarships, student initiatives, and endowed academic positions for Youngstown State University students in Ohio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Foundation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Scholarship administration
• University fundraising
• Donor management
• Educational philanthropy
• Endowment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Youngstown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Gifts: The foundation receives charitable donations from individuals, organizations, and alumni to support scholarships and student initiatives at Youngstown State University. Donors can give through various methods including online giving forms, and the foundation offers ways to give including one-time gifts and potentially recurring donations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Youngstown State University Foundation is an independent, autonomous, private nonprofit corporation that pursues, manages, and distributes resources to support scholarships and student initiatives at Youngstown State University. It administers a scholarship application system, operates an online giving platform, manages scholarship endowments and endowed chairs, and runs fundraising campaigns to provide educational opportunity to YSU students.

Product overview

The Youngstown State University Foundation operates as a unified scholarship and fundraising management platform. The core offerings include a streamlined Scholarship Application System integrated with Submittable, an Online Giving Platform powered by DonorPerfect, and a Scholarship Search Portal. Supporting tools include a Gift Calculator for planned giving and programs for Campaign Management, Scholarship Endowments, and Endowed Chairs and Professorships. The platform connects donors with students through various giving mechanisms and scholarship distribution services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scholarship Application System
• Online Giving Platform
• Scholarship Search Portal
• Fundraising Campaign Management
• Scholarship Endowments
• Endowed Chairs and Professorships

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The University of Akron Foundation: Independent nonprofit foundation supporting another northeast Ohio public regional university, with a nearly identical mandate of scholarship administration, endowment management, and alumni fundraising — making it the closest structural peer to YSU Foundation.
• Ohio State University Foundation: The 501(c)(3) fundraising and endowment-management entity for Ohio's flagship public university; same legal structure, scholarship and endowment programs, and alumni-donor GTM, but at materially larger scale — a useful size-up benchmark for YSU Foundation.
• Scholarship America: National nonprofit that administers scholarship programs for students, competing for the same donor dollars and providing an alternative channel for scholarship-funded students — directly comparable in mission of connecting donors with student scholarships.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): National education-grantmaking nonprofit that raises charitable funds and distributes scholarships to students, sharing the YSU Foundation's core model of donor-funded scholarship distribution to postsecondary students.
• Case Western Reserve University Foundation: Independent nonprofit foundation supporting a private Ohio university; operates the same endowment, scholarship, and chair/professorship programs as YSU Foundation and shares the northeast Ohio donor ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Cleveland Foundation: A much larger community foundation serving northeast Ohio with significant scholarship, education grantmaking, and endowment programs. Comparable mission and donor base geography but with a broader civic focus beyond a single university.

Regional players

• Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley: Community foundation serving the same Youngstown/Mahoning Valley geography as YSU Foundation; competes for local charitable dollars while also offering education-focused grantmaking that overlaps with the foundation's donor base.
• Pittsburgh Foundation: Regional community foundation with substantial scholarship and education-grantmaking programs serving western Pennsylvania; comparable operating model to a university-affiliated foundation but at multi-county community scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YSUFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/YSUFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youngstown-state-university-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ysu_foundation/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youngstown State University Foundation