Scripps Family Impact Fund

What Scripps Family Impact Fund does

The Scripps Family Impact Fund (SFIF) is a private, multigenerational philanthropic organization established in 2019 by descendants of Edward W. Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the fund operates a collective giving model in which fourth, fifth, and sixth generation Scripps family members pool personal contributions annually and select a single cause area each year. The board—composed exclusively of fifth and sixth generation family members—researches prospective nonprofits, invites selected organizations to apply, and finalizes grant allocations through voting at an annual family reunion. Notable board members named in source material include Wes Scripps, Jaime Scripps, Jonathan Scripps, Austin Heidt (a West Point graduate and Afghanistan veteran), and board secretary Ray Granado.

The fund's only operational output is its annual grantmaking cycle. There is no technology product, no software platform, and no proprietary AI or data infrastructure. SFIF uses an internal grants management software for administration and a website (scrippsimpact.org) as its primary communications channel, supplemented by media coverage and partner organization promotion. Annual focus areas through 2025 have included children's services (2019), COVID-19 relief (2020), healthcare (2021), animal welfare (2022), journalism (2023), women's initiatives (2024), and veterans' services (2025), with teen suicide prevention announced for 2026. The fund disburses grants to three to six vetted U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charities per year, with grant agreements executed in late summer to early fall.

SFIF has no commercial revenue model, no customer pricing structure, and no externally sourced investment capital. The fund is funded entirely by personal gifts from Scripps family members, augmented in 2023 by contributions from the related-but-separate Adam R. Scripps Foundation. Its "customer" base in a conventional sense comprises the vetted grantee nonprofits, with eligibility restricted to U.S. domestic 501(c)(3) public charities and international organizations explicitly excluded. By 2025, the fund had distributed more than $12.6 million across seven grant cycles to organizations including Gary Sinise Foundation, Hire Heroes USA, Operation Second Chance, Women Helping Women, Joyful Heart Foundation, Sundari Foundation/Lotus House, Indigenous Youth Media Workshop, Journalistic Learning Initiative, My Hero Project, Cincinnati Zoo's Rhino Reserve, Dog Is My Copilot, Pollinator Partnership, Puppies Behind Bars, CARES Northwest, Children's Organ Transplant Association, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Children's Oncology Group, Scripps Research Institute, Love146, Alliance for Children, and Reach Out & Read.

Name

Scripps Family Impact Fund

Legal name

Scripps Family Impact Fund

Website

https://scrippsimpact.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Scripps Family Impact Fund is a private multigenerational philanthropic organization founded in 2019 by descendants of Edward W. Scripps and Ellen Browning Scripps. It pools personal family gifts and distributes annual grants to vetted U.S. nonprofits in rotating cause areas such as veterans' services, women's initiatives, and journalism education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAB

Community Foundations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYBPAGAKAD

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

Keywords

• Family philanthropy
• Collective giving
• Grantmaking services
• Nonprofit funding
• Charitable foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Scripps Family Impact Fund is a private family philanthropic organization that pools personal gifts from Scripps family members and distributes grants to selected nonprofit organizations. Each year, the board selects a single focus area (such as veterans' services, women's initiatives, journalism education, animal welfare, healthcare, COVID-19 relief, children's services, or teen suicide prevention), researches nonprofits, and invites high-impact organizations to apply. Family members review submissions and vote at annual reunions before pledges are disbursed to three finalists.

Product overview

Scripps Family Impact Fund is a philanthropic organization that operates a collective giving model, not a technology product company. Each year, the fund selects a focus area (such as veterans' services, women's initiatives, journalism, animals, healthcare, coronavirus relief, children's services, and teen suicide prevention), identifies nonprofit organizations working in that space, and distributes grants to selected recipients. The organization's offering consists of its grantmaking program and annual giving cycles, rather than a software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Focus Area Grant Program Yearly grantmaking cycle in which U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits working in the selected focus area are invited to apply, with family members voting on finalists at annual reunions. More than $12.6 million has been distributed across the first seven cycles (2019-2025).

Quantifiable outcome

• More than $12.6 million distributed to outstanding organizations in first seven years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gary Sinise FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2025Partnership to support the R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) program which builds custom, mortgage-free smart homes for wounded veterans. SFIF funding helps advance construction of 13 R.I.S.E. homes currently under construction, including the landmark 100th home milestone.
• Joyful Heart FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Founded by Mariska Hargitay of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the foundation receives SFIF funding to support innovative approaches to treating trauma and reforming policies related to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse.
• Women Helping WomencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Founded in 1973, this organization provides evidence-based prevention and crisis intervention services for survivors of dating violence, sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking. SFIF awarded $513,000 dedicated to the Francis Garber Pepper Survivor Equity Fund.
• Impact Genome ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022All finalists undergo Impact Genome verification—a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that certifies the annual outcomes of social programs across various sectors, helping ensure grant dollars are directed toward organizations that can deliver on their promises.
• Scripps Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020SFIF provided $478,678 grant to support drug repurposing research using the ReFRAME library to identify existing drugs effective against COVID-19. The funding enabled screening of compounds for potential treatment of healthcare workers and first responders.
• Scripps Howard FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Working in conjunction with the Scripps Howard Foundation to establish an initiative supporting targeted food pantries in the 40+ markets where SSP operates its local television stations and national media businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The E.W. Scripps CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020SFIF joined leadership of The E.W. Scripps Company in supporting the Scripps Employee Relief Fund to help company employees adversely affected by the pandemic economic crisis.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Schmidt Futures: Multi-generational family philanthropy vehicle with structured grant cycles and outcomes focus. Comparable to SFIF's model of family-coordinated giving through pooled annual cycles.

Broad incumbents

• Lilly Endowment: Major private family foundation with a strong focus on religion, education, and community development. Comparable to SFIF as a private, family-controlled grantmaking institution, though operating at substantially greater scale.
• Ford Foundation: Major global philanthropy addressing inequality. Comparable as a structured grantmaking institution with rigorous evaluation, though far larger in scale and dedicated to fewer cause areas.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Multi-program family foundation supporting arts, environment, health, and child well-being. Comparable as a private family-led philanthropic institution with diverse focus areas and multi-generational governance.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large-scale health-focused philanthropy with rigorous outcomes measurement. Comparable to SFIF in its use of structured evaluation (Impact Genome) and its support for nonprofit capacity-building, though dedicated primarily to health.
• Walton Family Foundation: Multi-generational family foundation with a focused mission area (education reform, ocean conservation). Comparable to SFIF as a private family-led philanthropic vehicle with structured grantmaking cycles, though at vastly larger scale.

Others

• Impact Genome Project: Outcomes verification partner used by SFIF to certify nonprofit impact. Comparable as an enabling infrastructure provider in the philanthropic ecosystem, though not a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Large community foundation managing donor-advised funds and direct grantmaking. Comparable to SFIF in aggregating charitable capital from multiple donors and distributing through vetted cycles.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Donor-advised fund sponsor and philanthropic infrastructure provider. Comparable to SFIF as an intermediary that pools and directs charitable capital to vetted nonprofit recipients through structured processes.
• Community Foundation of Greater Cincinnati: Regional community foundation headquartered in the same Cincinnati geography as SFIF. Directly comparable as a grantmaking entity serving nonprofits across multiple cause areas, including arts, education, and health.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Scripps Family Impact Fund