The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence

What The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence does

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence is a non-profit educational foundation headquartered in Medina, Ohio, that acquires and distributes resources to supplement learning opportunities within the Highland Local Schools District. Its service area covers five schools — Highland High School, Highland Middle School, Granger Elementary, Hinckley Elementary, and Sharon Elementary — and it operates a grant-making and scholarship-distribution model funded entirely by community donations, planned giving, and annual fundraising events such as the Great Gifts Dinner Benefit (in its 22nd year), the Highland Car Show, and the Hornet Dash. The foundation has no revenue from product sales; its income is donation-based, and its outputs are grants and scholarships rather than commercial goods.

The foundation runs five core program lines: (1) annual scholarships to graduating seniors, including named awards such as the Baker Family Leadership Scholarship, George R. Ayres Memorial Scholarships, and Mike Kudla Memorial Scholarship, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000; (2) a teacher grant program funding creative classroom projects across Literacy, Fine Arts, Community Enrichment, STEM, Special Education, and Intercultural Studies, with applications accepted twice yearly; (3) College Now Services, an on-site college-access advising partnership with College Now Greater Cleveland that has served over 1,700 Highland students across 10 years; (4) an Intercultural Program operating international exchanges with sister schools in France and Spain, plus hosted visitors from China, engaging over 328 students and staff over its history; and (5) community events including the Star Awards recognition program, Great Gifts Dinner, Car Show, and Hornet Dash. The foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees of community volunteers, co-chaired by Kevin Denee and Dave DeSimone, with Theresa Wright serving as Executive Director; it employs 1-10 staff.

There are no commercial revenue mechanics, no AI/ML capabilities, no proprietary technology products, no acquisitions or funding rounds, and no geographic expansion beyond the Highland Local Schools district. Distribution is direct to schools, scholarships are awarded through the high school guidance office, and grants are administered via an online application process. Scholarship award values have grown from $67,481 (2021-2022) to $106,000 (2025-2026), and recipient counts from 39 to 60 over the same period, indicating steady programmatic growth within the foundation's defined geographic and institutional scope.

Name

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence

Legal name

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence

Website

https://highlandfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence is a Medina, Ohio non-profit that funds scholarships, teacher grants, college-access advising, and cultural exchange programs for students across the five schools of the Highland Local Schools District, supported by community donations and annual fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Educational Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC)

Keywords

• Educational foundation services
• K-12 scholarship programs
• Teacher grant funding
• Community education fundraising
• Nonprofit school support

Headquarters

HQ city

Medina, OH

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation acquires resources through community donations, fundraising events, and planned giving programs to support Highland Local Schools.
2. Annual Events: Revenue generated from annual events including the Great Gifts Dinner Benefit and Highland Car Show, which support the foundation's grant-making activities.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence acquires and distributes resources to Highland Local Schools in Medina, Ohio, to supplement learning opportunities for students, staff, and community. It awards annual scholarships to graduating seniors, funds teacher grants across Literacy, Fine Arts, STEM, Community Enrichment, Special Education, and Intercultural Studies, and facilitates programs such as College Now advising and international student exchanges. All activities are funded through community donations, planned giving, and annual fundraising events.

Product overview

The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence is a non-profit educational foundation serving Highland Local Schools in Medina, Ohio. It operates a unified grant-making and scholarship model centered around five core service areas: (1) Scholarship Programs awarding annual scholarships to graduating seniors; (2) Teacher Grants supporting creative curriculum and classroom innovation; (3) College Now Services providing college access advising; (4) Intercultural Program facilitating international exchanges; and (5) Community Events including the Hornet Dash, Star Awards, Great Gifts Dinner, and Highland Car Show. The foundation funds initiatives across Literacy, Fine Arts, STEM, Community Enrichment, Special Education, and Intercultural Studies through a grant proposal process with applications accepted twice yearly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scholarship Programs
• Teacher Grants Program
• College Now Services
• Intercultural Program
• Hornet Dash Event
• Great Gifts Annual Dinner Benefit
• Highland Car Show

Quantifiable outcome

• 60 scholarships worth $98,966 awarded in 2024-2025 academic year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 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, major and minor.

• College Now Greater ClevelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege Now provides on-site college access and success advising, financial aid counseling, and scholarship services at Highland High School. During the 2023-2024 school year, advisors served 274 students through 55 individual sessions and 247 students through group presentations.
• Baker FamilymajorOthersMajor donors who fund multiple initiatives including Baker Family Leadership Fund supporting the Intercultural Program, Baker Family Leadership Scholarship, and College Field Trip Initiative covering lunch costs for college visits.
• Magical Theatre CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides touring theater performances for elementary students, including productions like Squirrelock Holmes, The Emperor's New Clothes, and Aesop's Fables.
• Great Lakes Theater FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides Artist in Residence programs bringing actor-teachers for interactive theater education experiences.
• University of Akron Steel Drum Alumni EnsembleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Highland music program to provide Island Sounds cultural music education workshops at Granger Elementary.
• Hands of GratitudeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Hands of Gratitude for STEM & SEL project where students design and assemble functional prosthetic hands for individuals around the world.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• National PTA Foundation: National nonprofit that supports K-12 education through parent-led fundraising, advocacy, and program grants at the school and district level. Comparable in the school-community fundraising model but operates nationally across thousands of PTAs.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S., based in Cleveland, Ohio, with broad grantmaking across education, social services, and arts. Comparable as an Ohio-based grantmaking foundation but operates at regional/multi-county scale with a far larger corpus.
• DonorsChoose: National crowdfunding nonprofit that channels donor contributions directly to K-12 teachers and classrooms for supplemental resources. Comparable in mission (community-funded K-12 educational enrichment) but operates at much larger national scale versus Highland's single-district focus.
• KIPP Foundation: National K-12 education nonprofit that supports a network of charter schools through fundraising, programmatic funding, and operational support. Comparable as a K-12-focused educational foundation, but KIPP directly operates schools rather than granting to a public district.
• Education Foundation of America: Private foundation providing grants to education-focused nonprofits across the U.S. Comparable as an education-focused grantmaking entity, but with a national programmatic reach rather than a single-district geographic scope.

Direct peers

• Mentor Public Schools Education Foundation: Northeast Ohio district-affiliated foundation supporting Mentor Public Schools through scholarships, teacher grants, and enrichment programs. Directly comparable as a single-district K-12 educational foundation of similar scale and operating model.
• Brunswick Schools Foundation: Nearby Medina County-area K-12 educational foundation supporting Brunswick City Schools through teacher grants, scholarships, and community fundraising. Closest direct peer in terms of mission, scale, and district-affiliated fundraising model.

Regional players

• Nord Family Foundation: Ohio-based family foundation funding education, civic engagement, and social services in Northeast Ohio. Comparable as a regional Ohio grantmaking foundation, but with a multi-county scope and broader thematic mandate than Highland.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/highlandfdation
• Facebookfacebook.com/thehighlandfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlandfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 The Highland Foundation for Educational Excellence