Ohio · Nonprofit
THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION (Ohio) receives grants from 124 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,379,175 to it, the largest being JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION ($12,319,000). 83 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $35M
- Funders on record
- 124
- Grants received
- $29M
- Net assets
- $305M
What The University of Akron Foundation does
Mission
The University of Akron Foundation exists to strengthen the university's future by securing and managing philanthropic gifts that fund scholarships, academic programs, and campus improvements.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
A cornerstone of The University of Akron Foundation's mission is the dedicated stewardship of donor-established endowments. By carefully honoring the philanthropic intent of our donors, the foundation plays a pivotal role in expanding student access through vital financial aid. In the fiscal year ending june 30, 2025, this commitment translated into support for approximately 1,000 scholarship accounts across the university, ensuring that donor legacies continue to empower the next generation of students.
$4,656,723 spentof which $4,656,723 as grants29% of program spendingAcademic/administrative support:: The University of Akron Foundation provides many opportunities for students and faculty to grow and excel through academic support. During the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025, the foundation helped fund approximately 100 college and department accounts, 14 academic chair accounts, 19 lectureship accounts, 30 fellowship accounts, 12 internship accounts, 10 professorship accounts, 8 center accounts, and 4 institute accounts.
$4,407,178 spentof which $4,407,178 as grants28% of program spendingPhysical improvements and operational support: The University of Akron Foundation continues to support the university of akron campus enhancements by funding or helping to fund physical improvements. In 2024-25, the spending for the three largest facility improvements were the following:1) $1,555,361 polsky building renovation2) $392,0527 hower house operations3) $147,500 athletics track renovation
$4,342,589 spentof which $4,342,589 as grants27% of program spendingAuxiliary programs: The University of Akron Foundation provided donor-designated financial assistance for a broad range of university functions and facilities. Some of these included internships, lectureships, and facility maintenance items.
$2,443,687 spentof which $2,443,687 as grants15% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $15,850,177.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $206M to $254M (+23%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
54% of THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (23% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Kimberly M Cole
Executive director
Board chair
Philip A Lloyd
Director and chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 28 funders to 55 funders, grant income rose $593k → $14M.
23 of 124 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 21% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $7.1M from 10 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The Miami Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 124 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 42% of grant income and the top three 62%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 22% · 2018 31% · 2019 35% · 2020 20% · 2021 67% · 2022 15% · 2023 88% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
53% of THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION draws 60% of its grant income from funders outside Ohio, across 19 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,794 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,794 education nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Organizations like THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
68% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- The University of Akron · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION?
- THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION (Ohio) receives grants from 124 organizations whose IRS filings report $29,379,175 to it, the largest being JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION ($12,319,000). 83 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 124 organizations giving $29,379,175 in grants to THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION, 83 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION?
- JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $12,319,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 124 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing