What Don Wood Foundation does

The Don Wood Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation established in 2018 by Don Wood, founder of 80/20 Inc., to develop the Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce across 12 counties in northeast Indiana. Following Don Wood's death in March 2019, the Foundation continues under President and CEO Laura Macknick (appointed November 2022), operating from Fort Wayne, Indiana with a staff of 12. The Foundation organizes its work around three programmatic pillars: Engaging Youth (funding STEAM experiences, camps, robotics clubs for K-12 students), Developing Talent (supporting CTE programs, career readiness, and postsecondary attainment), and Empowering Manufacturing (helping manufacturers adopt advanced technology and build workforce capacity).

The Foundation does not develop or sell commercial technology products. Its core activities consist of grantmaking, research and white paper production (including the Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce white paper developed with Purdue University Fort Wayne's Community Research Institute), regional convening (notably the Learn More Earn More coalition, formerly CAPET, with 400+ regional partners), and communications/storytelling to amplify grantee impact. In May 2026, the Foundation announced a $50 million investment commitment over five years, supported by a new 2026-2030 strategic plan, and restructured its grant portfolio into the three pillar designations.

Revenue is generated through the founder's endowment and investment returns rather than commercial sales; capital is deployed as grants to schools, nonprofits, manufacturers, and workforce development organizations across the 12-county service area. The Foundation has received a Silver Level designation from the Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne's Compass Survey for workplace gender equity.

Name

Don Wood Foundation

Legal name

Don Wood Foundation

Website

https://donwoodfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Don Wood Foundation is a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based private nonprofit foundation (founded 2018) that funds workforce development programs across 12 northeast Indiana counties, organized around three pillars: Engaging Youth (STEAM), Developing Talent (CTE and postsecondary), and Empowering Manufacturing (manufacturer workforce support).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation / Workforce Development Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• Manufacturing workforce development
• Philanthropic grantmaking foundation
• Youth STEAM education grants
• Career and technical education
• Regional workforce convening

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Foundation Model: The Don Wood Foundation is a private foundation established in 2018 by Don Wood, founder of 80/20 Inc. The Foundation receives its capital from the founder's endowment and investment returns, which are then distributed as grants to support workforce development initiatives in northeast Indiana's manufacturing sector. In May 2026, the Foundation announced a $50 million investment commitment over five years toward Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Don Wood Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation that invests in northeast Indiana's manufacturing workforce through three grant pillars — Engaging Youth (STEAM camps, clubs, classroom programs), Developing Talent (CTE Career Ready Grant, postsecondary attainment initiatives such as Learn More Earn More), and Empowering Manufacturing (support for manufacturers' technology adoption and leadership training, including the Ignite Your Future grant). Beyond grantmaking, it conducts regional workforce research with Purdue University Fort Wayne, convenes educators, employers, and community partners, and amplifies grantee impact through communications and storytelling.

Product overview

The Don Wood Foundation is a private foundation established in 2018 by Don Wood (founder of 80/20, Inc.) that invests in workforce development across northeast Indiana's manufacturing sector. The Foundation operates a multi-pronged grant program architecture organized around three core pillars: Engaging Youth (funding STEAM experiences for K-12 students through camps, clubs, and competitions), Developing Talent (supporting CTE programs, career readiness, and postsecondary attainment through initiatives like the CTE Career Ready Grant and Learn More Earn More coalition), and Empowering Manufacturing (helping manufacturers adopt technology and build talent capacity). Key products include specific grant programs (Engaging Youth, Developing Talent, Empowering Manufacturing, Ignite Your Future Grant, Camps Clubs & Competitions), strategic research initiatives (CTE studies, white papers, dashboards), and convening/communications services. The Foundation does not sell a commercial product but rather provides funding, research, and regional coordination services to build the Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Engaging Youth Grant Program Grant program funding hands-on STEAM experiences for K-12 youth in northeast Indiana, including camps, robotics clubs, and classroom programs, and supporting the mentors and educators who bring learning to life.
• Developing Talent Grant Program Grant program supporting student-centered partnerships that bridge education and workforce readiness, including the CTE Career Ready Grant, helping students graduate with skills, credentials, and confidence aligned with manufacturing employers.
• Empowering Manufacturing Grant Program Grant program supporting community collaborations that broaden opportunity for innovation and shared learning, helping manufacturers adopt advanced technologies and build capacity for talent development.
• Ignite Your Future Grant $250,000 grant fully funding two cohorts (50 adults) of Ivy Tech Community College Kosciusko County's Applied Organizational Leadership Studies program, addressing employer demand for upskilled supervisors and emerging leaders in northeast Indiana.
• Learn More Earn More Coalition Regional coalition (formerly CAPET) focused on increasing postsecondary attainment and strengthening alignment between education and employment, providing student navigators, a regional resource directory, and a data dashboard for northeast Indiana.
• Workforce Research and CTE Studies Data-driven research publications including the Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce white paper, regional CTE ecosystem analyses, postsecondary attainment studies, and interactive dashboards conducted in partnership with Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23.9% of regional jobs in manufacturing compared to 16.5% statewide and 8.2% nationally (2024 data)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• OrthoWorx / Orthopedics Capital FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2025The Don Wood Foundation awarded a $250,000 Ignite Your Future grant to OrthoWorx through the Orthopedics Capital Foundation to fully fund two cohorts of Ivy Tech Community College Kosciusko County's Applied Organizational Leadership Studies program. This partnership provides 50 adults with high-impact leadership training addressing employer demand for upskilled supervisors and emerging leaders in Kosciusko County. The initiative expands a successful 2025 pilot program and is co-sponsored by OrthoWorx and the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp.
• Questa Education FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Partner in producing the Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training Study (2025), which examined certifications, apprenticeships, short-term training, degrees, and employer-supported learning pathways. Questa also developed the Compass Fund Finder tool to help Northeast Indiana students discover financial aid resources.
• TPMAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting partner that collaborated with Questa Education Foundation and the Don Wood Foundation on the Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training Study (2025), which was positioned as a catalyst for action guided by an advisory council.
• Purdue University Fort Wayne - Community Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation partnered with Purdue University Fort Wayne's Community Research Institute and the Department's Organizational Leadership department to support development of the Next-Gen Manufacturing Workforce white paper. The research combined survey data, focus groups, interviews, and county-level economic analysis to examine manufacturing's historical benchmarks, current reality, and future direction.
• Kedco (Kosciusko Economic Development Corp)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting partner in the $250,000 Ignite Your Future grant initiative, working alongside OrthoWorx and the Foundation to address employer demand for upskilled workforce in Kosciusko County.
• Learn More Earn More Coalition (formerly CAPET)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA regional coalition formed to advance postsecondary education and training, now rebranded as Learn More Earn More. The coalition includes practitioners and decision-makers from local, county, and regional communities who are working to increase educational attainment and strengthen alignment between education and employment. The Foundation serves as a key catalyst and funder for this initiative.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Indiana Manufacturers Association: Indiana's statewide trade association representing manufacturers and advocating for workforce, policy, and economic competitiveness; comparable as an adjacent industry-ecosystem organization whose membership base overlaps directly with Don Wood Foundation's employer-constituency.

Direct peers

• Questa Education Foundation: NE Indiana-based foundation focused on postsecondary education access, financial aid navigation, and aligning education to regional workforce needs; directly comparable because it shares the same 12-county geography and works the same postsecondary/CTE talent-pipeline lane as the Don Wood Foundation's Developing Talent pillar.
• OrthoWorx: NE Indiana industry-led nonprofit focused on workforce development in the orthopedic manufacturing cluster; directly comparable because it operates in the same geography, same manufacturing workforce-development mission, and is an active Don Wood Foundation grant partner.

Broad incumbents

• Strada Education Foundation: Indianapolis-based national foundation focused on connecting education to employment through research, grants, and state-level talent initiatives; comparable because it shares Don Wood Foundation's data-driven approach to linking postsecondary pathways to employer demand.
• Lumina Foundation: Indianapolis-headquartered national foundation focused on postsecondary education attainment and workforce alignment; broader geographic scope but operates in the same postsecondary-talent-pipeline space and has funded similar Indiana workforce/credentialing initiatives.
• ECMC Foundation: National education-and-workforce-focused foundation funding initiatives in postsecondary attainment and career-connected learning; comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same education-to-career pipeline space with research-and-grantmaking model.
• Lilly Endowment: Indianapolis-based private foundation and one of the largest in the U.S., with substantial Indiana-focused grantmaking in education and community development; far larger and more diversified than Don Wood Foundation, but a structural peer in Indiana education/workforce philanthropy.
• Joyce Foundation: Chicago-based regional foundation funding workforce development, education, and economic mobility across the Great Lakes region; comparable as a Midwestern private foundation with overlapping workforce-and-education grantmaking priorities and a similar convening role.
• Ball Brothers Foundation: Indiana-based private family foundation funding education, workforce, and community initiatives statewide; broader and more diversified than Don Wood Foundation, but operates with a similar regional grantmaking-and-convening model in overlapping issue areas.

Emerging players

• Ascend Indiana: Indiana statewide talent intermediary and Connexus-supported nonprofit focused on connecting Hoosiers to education and employment opportunities; comparable as an emerging player in Indiana workforce talent matching with partial geographic overlap to Don Wood Foundation's territory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@DonWoodFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/donwoodfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/don-wood-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments10 records

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Frequently asked questions about Don Wood Foundation