What Licking County Foundation does

Licking County Foundation is a community foundation established in 1956 and headquartered at 30 N. Second Street, Newark, Ohio. It operates as a collection of nearly 350 donor-established charitable funds, providing grantmaking, scholarship administration, and donor services to Licking County, Ohio. In 2024 the foundation received $10,456,128 in gifts, disbursed $4.6 million across 163 local nonprofit organizations, and awarded nearly $1.5 million in scholarships to more than 400 students. The foundation operates with a small staff (1-10 employees) supported by 150 volunteers and is governed by a volunteer Governing Committee.

The foundation's product set includes strategic and field-of-interest grants, donor-advised and community charitable fund services, scholarship programs, the Tibbie Leslie Travel Grants for educators, the Youth Philanthropy of Licking County program, and Leaders for Learning teacher recognition awards. Beyond traditional grantmaking, it runs two large capital initiatives: the $10.1 million restoration of the historic Louis Sullivan Building of Newark (now home to Explore Licking County), and the 2024-launched Licking County Housing Investment Fund, a $2.1 million multi-funder vehicle addressing affordable housing. Its 2025 programmatic additions include the Constance J. Hawk Prize for the Arts.

The foundation's revenue model is administrative-fee based: it charges annual fees on donor-established funds for investment management and grant administration (fee schedule published at thelcfoundation.org). There is no product pricing beyond fund administration. Its go-to-market is relationship-led, engaging local nonprofits through application-based grants, students through scholarship programs, and donors through direct outreach and professional-advisor referrals. Geographic scope is strictly Licking County, with no disclosed expansion beyond a single domestic market.

Name

Licking County Foundation

Legal name

Licking County Foundation

Website

https://thelcfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Licking County Foundation is a 1956-founded community foundation in Newark, Ohio that manages nearly 350 charitable funds, disbursed $4.6M in grants to 163 nonprofits in 2024, and awards scholarships to local students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy
• Charitable fund administration
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Scholarship administration
• Donor-advised funds

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

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

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: Accepts charitable contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations. Manages nearly 350 charitable funds established by donors.
2. Grant Disbursements: Disburses grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships to students from donor-established funds. Disbursed $4.6 million in 2024 to 163 organizations.
3. Administrative Services: Provides fund administration services to donors with fee schedule for establishing and managing charitable funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Licking County Foundation is a public charitable organization that manages nearly 350 donor-established funds and directs their resources to community needs. It provides grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, charitable fund administration, educator travel grants, and targeted community and housing initiatives in Licking County.

Product overview

Licking County Foundation is a public charitable organization that serves as a collection of nearly 350 charitable funds established by donors. The Foundation operates as a unified platform for community philanthropy, combining grantmaking, scholarships, donor services, and special initiatives. Core offerings include grant programs supporting local nonprofits, scholarship programs for students, donor-advised funds for personalized philanthropy, and specialized programs like the Tibbie Leslie Travel Grants and Youth Philanthropy of Licking County. The Foundation also manages significant initiatives including the Louis Sullivan Building historic preservation project, housing investment programs, and an arts initiative featuring the Constance J. Hawk Prize for the Arts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic and Field of Interest Grants Provides grant awards to Licking County nonprofit organizations for projects, programs, and organizational capacity building across health, human services, arts, culture, education, parks, environment, economic development, and public safety.
• Scholarship Programs Provides awards from donor-established funds to Licking County students pursuing undergraduate, professional, graduate, or technical degrees and certificates.
• Donor Advised & Community Charitable Funds Allows individuals, families, and businesses to establish charitable funds and direct grantmaking to causes they care about, with administrative support from the Foundation.
• Administrative Services & Fund Management Provides fee-based establishment and ongoing administration of donor-established charitable funds, supported by an annual fee schedule.
• Tibbie Leslie Travel Grants Provides travel grants to area educators for international educational experiences.
• Licking County Housing Investment Fund Provides investment-fund loans for affordable-housing development in Licking County; the fund totaled $2.1 million from collaborating investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• $4.6 million disbursed to 163 organizations in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Licking County Housing Investment Fund CollaboratorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2024Fund includes Evans Foundation, Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, LeFevre Foundation, Licking County Foundation, Licking Memorial Health Foundation, and Mauger Charitable Trust Strategic Projects Fund. Affordable Housing Trust (Franklin County-based) manages loans.
• Explore Licking CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTourism bureau that will occupy the restored Louis Sullivan Building as its new home.
• Wallick CommunitiesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeveloper building 424 housing units in first phase of Central Park mixed-use development in Heath, using loan from Housing Investment Fund.
• Licking County HOME CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative court addressing homelessness with community navigator support model.
• Community Drop-In CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 'At the Table' collaborative process addressing homelessness and housing.
• Salvation ArmycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in housing and homelessness initiative through 'At the Table' process.
• St. Vincent HavencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in homelessness services through collaborative initiative.
• Habitat for HumanitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in housing and homelessness collaborative efforts.
• Licking County Coalition for HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in housing initiatives; provides data on housing needs (195 households, 328 people being housed; 110 unsheltered households, 65 in emergency shelters).
• United Way of Licking CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered during COVID-19 for relief fund distribution; collaborates on housing initiatives.
• Licking County Health DepartmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource of community navigator model (Sherry Selfe) that inspired LCF's navigator initiative; supported by opioid settlement dollars.
• Heath-Newark-Licking County Port AuthoritymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvestor in Licking County Housing Investment Fund.
• Denison UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Ethel string quartet's 12-plus-year residency; Ethel serves as Denison's ensemble-in-residence since 2014.
• Davis-Shai HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue location for housing initiative announcement.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Akron Community Foundation: Community foundation serving Summit County, Ohio with donor-advised funds, competitive grant programs, and student scholarships. Highly comparable in mission, fund structure, and county-level geographic focus to Licking County Foundation.
• The Springfield Foundation: Community foundation serving Clark County, Ohio with similar donor-advised fund administration, competitive grants, and scholarship programs. Comparable in size and single-county operating model.
• The Dayton Foundation: Mid-size Ohio community foundation aggregating hundreds of donor funds and distributing grants and scholarships across Montgomery County. Directly comparable geographic-community-foundation model with similar mix of strategic grants, donor services, and scholarship administration.
• Richland County Foundation: Ohio community foundation based in Mansfield managing donor-established funds and distributing grants and scholarships in Richland County. Comparable in fund count, grantmaking volume, and county-level community foundation mission.
• Fairfield County Foundation: Neighboring Ohio county community foundation administering charitable funds, awarding scholarships, and supporting local nonprofits in Fairfield County. Closely aligned in scale, county-level scope, and programmatic mix to Licking County Foundation.
• Greater Toledo Community Foundation: Ohio community foundation operating donor-advised funds, competitive grant cycles, and scholarship programs for a single regional geography. Closely comparable in structure, revenue model (contributions + fund administration fees), and grantmaking scope to Licking County Foundation.

Regional players

• United Way of Licking County: Same-geography nonprofit that partners with LCF on COVID-19 relief and housing initiatives. Operates a partially overlapping donor pool and grantmaking to Licking County nonprofits, but uses a campaign-driven fundraising model rather than endowed fund management.

Broad incumbents

• The Columbus Foundation: Largest community foundation in Ohio and among the largest in the U.S., managing billions in assets and serving Central Ohio. Operates the same community foundation model of donor-advised funds, competitive grants, scholarships, and place-based initiatives, but at materially greater scale than Licking County Foundation.
• Cleveland Foundation: First community foundation in the U.S., serving Greater Cleveland with a much larger endowment and broader programmatic footprint. Comparable community foundation model but at significantly greater scale and with more diverse program areas than Licking County Foundation.

Emerging players

• Fidelity Charitable: National donor-advised fund sponsor competing for the same individual donor dollars that Licking County Foundation's community foundation model relies on. Does not serve a defined geographic community but represents a structural alternative to local community foundations for charitable giving.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/LCFgives
• Facebookfacebook.com/LCFgives
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/licking-county-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Licking County Foundation