Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation

What Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation does

The Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation (NO•AD) is a Canadian non-profit foundation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, established in 2024 to honor the legacy of the late Nike Onile — a Canadian interior designer and artist of Nigerian descent and founder of Studio Ode (formerly 800 SQ FT), who passed away from breast cancer in summer 2023. The foundation's mission is to support underserved diverse Canadian artists, creatives, and designers as they embark on careers, advancing arts and design education through scholarships, bursaries, awards, and financial assistance, and building a community for growth, collaboration, and innovation grounded in Nike Onile's design principles of joy, wellness, and beauty.

The organization does not develop or sell technology products or commercial services. Its core activities consist of distributing financial assistance to emerging diverse artists, facilitating mentorship connections, and convening community events. Donations are processed through the Toronto Foundation platform at torontofoundation.ca/nike-onile-art-design-fund, providing administrative infrastructure and donor credibility. There are no disclosed funding rounds, no headcount figures, and no financial statements — the foundation is operated by Nike Onile's family and friends, including siblings Doyin Onile (author and musician) and Olu Onile (product designer).

The foundation officially launched on January 18, 2024 at the Interior Design Show (IDS) Toronto, where celebrity designers Tommy Smythe, Danielle Nicholas Bryk, and Samantha Pynn created booths for the foundation. Go-to-market activity centers on event-driven awareness (IDS Toronto), organic social media (Facebook, Instagram), and newsletter communications. Strategic partners include IDS Toronto, Toronto Foundation, HGTV Canada, Cityline, and the Black Architects and Interior Designers Association. Operating geography is Canada-only.

Name

Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation

Legal name

Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation

Website

https://noadfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation is a Toronto-based Canadian non-profit, founded in 2024, that provides scholarships, bursaries, mentorship, and community-building support to underserved diverse emerging Canadian artists, creatives, and designers, honoring the legacy of designer Nike Onile.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and design philanthropy

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athletic, Arts & Talent-Based Scholarships (EDAIAOAM)

Keywords

• Arts education grants
• Artist scholarships
• Creative mentorship programs
• Diversity in design
• Philanthropic foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation operates primarily through donations from individuals and organizations. Donations are processed through the Toronto Foundation platform. No commercial products or services are offered.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation provides scholarships, bursaries, awards, and financial assistance to underserved diverse Canadian artists, creatives, and designers. It complements this financial support with mentorship, networking opportunities, and community-building events to help beneficiaries transform artistic talents into sustainable careers.

Product overview

The Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation (NO•AD) is a philanthropic initiative, not a technology product company. It is a charitable organization established to honor the legacy of interior designer Nike Onile. The foundation supports diverse Canadian artists, creatives, and designers through scholarships, financial assistance, and community building. It does not offer technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scholarships for Diverse Canadian Artists Financial scholarships awarded to underserved diverse Canadian artists, creatives, and designers to support their education and career development in art and design.
• Bursaries and Financial Assistance Direct financial assistance and bursaries provided to underrepresented Canadian artists to help cover costs associated with pursuing creative careers.
• Awards Program Recognition awards granted to emerging diverse artists and creatives in Canada to support their artistic and economic empowerment.
• Mentorship and Community Programs Programs connecting underserved diverse artists with mentors, industry professionals, and established designers (including HGTV personalities) to provide networking opportunities and career guidance.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Interior Design Show (IDS) TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2024IDS Toronto hosted the official launch of the NOAD Foundation on January 18-21, 2024. The foundation had a prominent booth at the show where attendees learned about Nike's legacy and the foundation's mission. The partnership exemplifies a collective commitment to celebrating Nike Onile's enduring influence on design.
• Tommy SmythecoreOthers · 18 January 2024Designer and HGTV personality who created a booth for the NOAD Foundation at IDS Toronto 2024, inspired by Nike's design ethos of joy, wellness and beauty.
• Danielle Nicholas BrykcoreOthers · 18 January 2024Designer and HGTV personality who created a booth for the NOAD Foundation at IDS Toronto 2024.
• Samantha PynncoreOthers · 18 January 2024Designer who created a booth for the NOAD Foundation at IDS Toronto 2024.
• Black Architects and Interior Designers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2024Camille Mitchell, Chair of Black Architects and Interior Designers Association, attended the NOAD Foundation booth at IDS Toronto 2024.
• CitylineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2024Arren Williams of Cityline and Style at Home attended the NOAD Foundation booth at IDS Toronto 2024.
• HGTV CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2024Sebastian Clovis and Ayanna Augustine of HGTV attended the NOAD Foundation booth at IDS Toronto 2024.
• Studio OdecoreOthersThe foundation honors the legacy of Nike Onile, founder of Studio Ode (previously 800 SQ FT), carrying forward her vision in spatial design, art, and holistic design principles.
• Toronto FoundationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe foundation is operated through the Toronto Foundation platform, which handles donation processing and administrative support for the Nike Onile Art and Design Fund.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Toronto Foundation: Community foundation through which NOAD processes donations and operates. Comparable as a Toronto-rooted philanthropic platform and ecosystem peer, but it is an infrastructure partner rather than a direct arts grantmaking competitor.
• Vancouver Foundation: One of Canada's largest community foundations, administering donor funds and granting across multiple causes including the arts. Comparable to NOAD as a Canadian community foundation model, though at much greater scale and with a broader thematic mandate.

Emerging players

• Studio Museum in Harlem: New York-based cultural institution dedicated to supporting Black artists through residencies, exhibitions, and programming. Comparable to NOAD in its focus on nurturing artists of colour and providing career-launching support, though operating in a museum context rather than pure grantmaking.
• Sundance Institute: US-based nonprofit supporting independent artists in film and storytelling through grants, labs, and fellowships. Comparable to NOAD in using a foundation structure to launch artist careers through financial support and mentorship, though at much larger scale and in a different creative discipline.
• Awesome Foundation: Global volunteer-driven network of chapters that provide $1,000 micro-grants to projects across arts, education, and social causes. Comparable to NOAD as a small-grant, community-led arts funder, though its grant size and geographic footprint are far more distributed.

Regional players

• Ontario Arts Council: Provincial arts funder supporting Ontario-based artists and organizations. Comparable to NOAD's grantmaking role for Canadian artists, but operates at the provincial level with government funding rather than a donation-driven foundation model.
• Calgary Arts Development: Calgary-based arts development organization that funds and supports local artists and arts organizations. Comparable as a Canadian arts funder with grantmaking programming, but tied to a specific municipality rather than operating as a community-led foundation.
• Winnipeg Arts Council: Municipal arts funder for Winnipeg-based artists and organizations. Comparable to NOAD as a city-level arts grantmaker, but operating in a different region and primarily through public funding rather than individual donations.

Direct peers

• Toronto Arts Council: Toronto-based municipal arts funder that provides grants to individual artists and arts organizations. Highly comparable to NOAD as a Toronto-rooted grantmaker supporting local artists, though with a broader mandate and a public funding base rather than donations.

Broad incumbents

• Canada Council for the Arts: Canada's national arts funding body, supporting artists and arts organizations across all disciplines. Comparable as a Canadian arts grantmaker, but with vastly greater scale, federal government backing, and a much broader mandate than NOAD's niche focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/noadfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/noadfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Nike Onile Art and Design Foundation