NORD FAMILY FOUNDATION

What NORD FAMILY FOUNDATION does

The Nord Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation headquartered in Amherst, Ohio, that provides grants to qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Established in 1988 as a successor to the Nordson Foundation (itself rooted in a 1952 charitable trust by industrialist W.G. Nord), the foundation is governed by 70+ adult descendants of Walter and Virginia Nord who meet annually to set policy and elect the Board of Trustees. It operates with a small staff of 6-7 employees out of its 747 Milan Avenue headquarters.

The foundation's core offering is its grantmaking program, which disburses funds across four focus areas: Arts & Culture, Civic Affairs, Education, and Health & Social Services. Grants support general operations, program-related activities, and capital projects, with particular interest in projects that incorporate root cause analysis. The foundation operates a Grant Interface-based online portal for eligibility quizzes, application submission, and reporting, with three annual deadlines (April 1, August 1, December 1) aligning with quarterly Board of Trustees meetings. Additional offerings include event space rental at the historic Oberlin Railroad Depot for local nonprofit use.

The foundation generates revenue primarily through investment income from its endowment portfolio, which includes common and preferred stock and government and corporate bonds. It reported $22.8 million in investment income for 2025 and total assets of $188.7 million as of 12/31/2024. Grantmaking is concentrated in Lorain County, Ohio with selective funding in Boston, Columbia SC, Cuyahoga County OH, Denver CO, and Penn Yan NY. Since 1988, the foundation has contributed over $145 million to philanthropic endeavors, with $10.2 million awarded in 2025 alone.

Name

NORD FAMILY FOUNDATION

Legal name

The Nord Family Foundation

Website

https://nordff.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Nord Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation in Amherst, Ohio that awards grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in Arts & Culture, Civic Affairs, Education, and Health & Social Services, primarily in Lorain County with selective funding in five additional family-interest regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Private foundation grants
• Community development funding
• Nonprofit grant programs
• Arts and education grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Amherst

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Investment Income: The foundation generates revenue primarily through investment income from its endowment portfolio, which includes common and preferred stock, government and corporate bonds. As of 12/31/2024, the foundation reported investment income of $22,766,680.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Nord Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Grants support general operations, program-related activities, and capital projects in Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Education, and Health and Social Services, with a primary geographic focus on Lorain County, Ohio. The foundation also operates an online grant portal and rents out the historic Oberlin Railroad Depot for nonprofit events.

Product overview

The Nord Family Foundation operates as a private philanthropic foundation providing grantmaking services to qualified nonprofit organizations. The Foundation's primary offering is its grantmaking program supporting organizations in Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Education, and Health & Social Services. Additionally, the Foundation offers event space rental at the historic Oberlin Railroad Depot and provides an online grant portal for application submission and reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $145 million+ contributed to philanthropic endeavors since 1988
• +2 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

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S., headquartered in Cleveland with a far larger asset base. Overlapping focus areas (Arts, Education, Health) and shared Northeast Ohio geography make it a broad incumbent in the same philanthropic ecosystem.
• Mott Foundation: Large private foundation supporting education, economic opportunity, and civil society in Michigan and select international locations. Significantly larger scale but comparable in multi-issue private-foundation model and longevity.
• The Kresge Foundation: Metro Detroit-based private foundation with substantially larger assets but comparable multi-sector (Arts, Education, Health, Community Development) grantmaking and place-based focus. Comparable mission scope at larger scale.

Direct peers

• Burton D. Morgan Foundation: Hudson, Ohio-based private foundation supporting entrepreneurship, education, and community vitality in Northeast Ohio. Similar asset scale and Northeast Ohio place-based grantmaking.
• The Raymond John Wean Foundation: Private foundation serving Northeast Ohio with comparable size and grantmaking in education, economic opportunity, and community transformation. Directly comparable in regional focus and foundation type.
• The Stocker Foundation: Lorain County, Ohio-based private foundation with a comparable family-origin endowment and similar Lorain County community-development focus. Highly comparable as a place-based family foundation operating in the same geography.
• The William Penn Foundation: Philadelphia-based private foundation with comparable asset size and a focus on children, communities, and place-based grantmaking. Comparable as a similarly-sized private foundation with a multi-issue place-based strategy.
• The George Gund Foundation: Cleveland-based private foundation with overlapping Arts & Culture, Education, and Human Services portfolios and similar Ohio geographic focus. Comparable in mission, focus areas, and Ohio place-based grantmaking.

Emerging players

• de Beaumont Foundation: Private foundation focused on public health and community health with similar asset scale and field-building approach. Comparable as a focused-issue private foundation pursuing systemic change through grantmaking.

Regional players

• Liz's Legacy Fund (Oberlin-related Lorain County foundation): Note: not a confident real-world entity match; omitted. Replaced below with a confident regional peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nord-family-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 NORD FAMILY FOUNDATION