Deaconess Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Deaconess Foundation's stated geographic focus is Cuyahoga County, and it targets workforce development, especially career advancement for people in entry-level or low-wage work, particularly Black and Latinx people living in poverty, so a small nonprofit should read What We Fund before deciding whether its work fits.
- Most of its grants are modest: about 8 in 10 of its 131 grants to organisations fall between $3,000 and $115,000, and half are $22,000 or less, so a request near the lower end of that range matches its record best.
- Its applications are rolling, and the foundation asks organisations to contact it first to discuss fit, with a Letter of Inquiry possibly requested afterwards.
- Repeat giving is substantial, as 95% of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had also funded in earlier filings, which suggests that relationships count for a great deal.
- For-profit institutions, endowments and political campaigns are not funded, and congregations applying to the Mission Outreach Fund should avoid pass-throughs, capital work and benefits limited to their own members.
Overview
Deaconess Foundation is a US private foundation based in Cleveland, OH.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2025, TY2024, TY2023) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Deaconess Foundation makes grants to eligible organisations in Cuyahoga County to help people impacted by poverty build careers that sustain themselves and their families. Its grantmaking is targeted to workforce development, including programming and initiatives that fill gaps in the local ecosystem and address workforce systems change. It focuses on career advancement services for people in entry-level or low-wage work, particularly Black and Latinx people living in poverty, supporting skill-building and career navigation towards stable careers and family-sustaining wages. It also values partnerships that address workforce-system gaps and respond to employer needs. A distinct Mission Outreach Fund supports outreach by local United Church of Christ churches, including projects outside the church that help vulnerable, underserved and disadvantaged people.
Themes
- Workforce development
- Workforce systems change
- Career pathways
- Church mission outreach
Geographic Focus
Cuyahoga County.
What They Don't Fund
- For-profit institutions
- Endowments
- Political campaigns
- Mission Outreach Fund only: Pass-throughs, in which a congregation provides only funds or goods to a nonprofit organization without the involvement of Church members; Capital investments or improvements for the Church; Designed to benefit only the members of the congregation
How to apply
For programmatic and general operating grants, organisations should first read What We Fund and contact Cathy Belk to discuss fit. If the foundation requests a Letter of Inquiry, it provides an access code for submission through the grants dashboard; after reviewing the LOI, the team may invite further information via a proposal.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2025 filing, 95% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2023 or TY2024 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2023, TY2024 and TY2025 filings, half of its 131 grants to organisations were $22,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Grantseekers are asked to read What We Fund before reaching out, as the foundation says this helps them assess whether an idea fits its approach.
- Requests should advance people towards family-sustaining wages through career pathways in an in-demand sector.
- Projects should address race equity by improving employment and wage outcomes for Black and Latinx people.
- Partnerships should fill gaps, maximise efficiencies and leverage strengths, and be driven by or responsive to employer need.
- Job-seeker services should be comprehensive and coordinated.
- Staff may schedule an organisational visit or a conversation with agency leadership, including finance and relevant programme directors.
- Grantees are asked for a written progress report at six months and a final report after 13 months or with their next request, whichever comes first.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2023–2025.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 12% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2025, 95% of grant dollars went to organisations Deaconess Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 14% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 41 grants in tax year 2025 by size
Median $30,000 (tax year 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Towards Employment · Workforce programs, deb vesy systems change champion award$245,0002025 tax year
- Youth Opportunities Unlimited · Workforce programs$222,0002025 tax year
- Fund for Our Economic Future · Workforce programs$220,0002025 tax year
- Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology · Healthcare training programs and healthcare sector partnership$100,0002025 tax year
- Legal Aid Society of Cleveland · Workforce programs$100,0002025 tax year
- Open Doors Academy · Workforce programs$90,0002025 tax year
- Ohio Guidestone · Operating support for workforce 360$80,0002025 tax year
- Centers for Families and Children · Workforce programs$80,0002025 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Shakorie Davis — Trustee 6/1-12/31
- James Hardiman — Trustee 6/1-12/31
- Ann Zoller — Trustee
- Meltrice Sharp — Treasurer 1/1-5/31
- Laurie Pogel — Secretary
- Miguel Perez — Trustee
- Ann O'Brien — Trustee
- Andrea Lyons — Chair 6/1-12/31 Vice Chair 1/1-5/31
- Tom Littman — Vice Chair 6/1-12/31 Trustee 1/1-5/31
- Kenneth Liang — Treasurer 6/1-12/31 Trustee 1/1-5/31
- Justin R Horton CFP — Trustee
- Carrie Clark — Trustee 6/1-12/31 Chair 1/1-5/31
- Cathy Belk — President & CEO
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 tax year | $3,156,011 | $2,258,798 | $56,294,921 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $3,129,662 | $1,999,351 | $59,925,646 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
| 2025 tax year | $2,923,460 | $1,952,750 | $65,417,952 | Filing for 2025 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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Applying to Deaconess Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required