Deaconess Foundation

The Deaconess Foundation is a Cleveland-based private foundation managing approximately $56 million in assets and deploying $2.2–$3.4 million annually in grants to Cuyahoga County nonprofit organizations. Its giving philosophy is deeply relationship-driven — authoritative databases flag it as 'preselected_only,' meaning the vast majority of grants flow to organizations already embedded in the Greater Cleveland workforce development ecosystem rather than through open competitive solicitation.

The foundation operates as a systems-level workforce funder, prioritizing organizations that connect Cleveland residents — particularly youth, low-income adults, and communities of color — to living-wage employment, post-secondary credentials, and career pathways. Top grantees such as Youth Opportunities Unlimited ($1.12M cumulative across 4 grants), Towards Employment ($984K, 4 grants), College Now Greater Cleveland ($811K, 4 grants), and Open Doors Academy ($567K, 4 grants) represent multi-year anchor relationships. The pattern of 3–4 grants per organization over the documented period reflects a long-term partnership model rather than one-time awards.

First-time applicants face a high bar for relationship-building before any formal inquiry. The clearest path is active participation in collaborative infrastructure: the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium, the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group (fiscal-sponsored by Fund For Our Economic Future), or Workforce Connect sector partnerships in manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality. These collaboratives receive foundation support and serve as visible proof of ecosystem alignment. Several smaller grantees received initial grants explicitly 'to make connections with the workforce development ecosystem,' suggesting the foundation uses small grants to draw promising organizations into its network.

A secondary entry point exists for United Church of Christ (UCC)-affiliated congregations. The 'Deaconess' name reflects the foundation's UCC heritage, and recurring small grants ($1,500–$19,200) go to UCC-affiliated churches for community outreach, food distribution, and faith-based job readiness. General operating support is the dominant structure for all grant types — the foundation appears to favor trust-based, unrestricted funding over program-restricted awards, often pairing operating grants with small professional development stipends ($500–$1,000).

Across 166 documented grants totaling $9,048,498, the average grant is $54,509 — reflecting a portfolio that blends anchor investments with smaller ecosystem-building awards. Per the foundation's own typical grant size data, the median single grant is approximately $50,500, with a documented range from $1,500 to $500,000.

The top ten grantees account for $4,663,992 — approximately 52% of total documented giving — demonstrating significant concentration in a trusted core. The largest single grant was $500,000 to MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network) for the Workforce Connect Manufacturing Sector Partnership. The next tier includes multi-year cumulative totals of $260,000–$665,000 for the Fund For Our Economic Future, Legal Aid Society, Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, and the Salvation Army.

Annual giving has ranged between $2.18M and $3.77M over the documented period, tracking closely with net investment income from the endowment. The foundation achieved peak giving in FY2020 ($3.77M total, $2.54M in grants paid), elevated by $100,000 COVID-19 emergency supplements added to most major grantees. FY2021 dipped to $2.76M ($1.77M paid) before recovering in FY2022 ($3.39M, $2.44M paid) and FY2023 ($3.16M, $2.18M paid).

By program area, workforce development accounts for an estimated 80–85% of grant dollars: career readiness (College Now Greater Cleveland, Open Doors Academy), direct employment services (Towards Employment, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Center for Employment Opportunities), sector partnerships (MAGNET, Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology/Newbridge), and legal/financial barrier removal (Legal Aid Society, LISC Financial Opportunity Centers). Faith-based community outreach and basic needs grants represent a small but consistent 3–5% of annual giving.

Geographically, 159 of 166 grants went to Ohio-based organizations, concentrated in Cuyahoga County. Five grants went to New York entities and two to Massachusetts — almost certainly national intermediaries such as LISC or Funders Together to End Homelessness rather than regional nonprofits. The asset base grew from $45.7M (2015) to $66.2M (2021 peak), declined to $52.6M (2022), and partially recovered to $56.3M (2023).

The table below compares Deaconess Foundation to four asset-size peers in the Human Services NTEE category identified in the foundation's database peer group:

Deaconess Foundation's annual giving rate of 4–6% of assets is relatively high for a foundation of its size, reflecting active deployment from investment income rather than asset accumulation. What most distinguishes Deaconess from its asset-size peers is extraordinary geographic and thematic concentration: while peer foundations typically serve broad Human Services categories or regional housing needs, Deaconess directs nearly all grant dollars to workforce development within a single metropolitan county. This specialization makes it an exceptionally high-value target for Cleveland-area workforce nonprofits — but functionally inaccessible to organizations outside Cuyahoga County or working outside the employment-to-livelihood continuum. Peer foundations at comparable asset levels generally offer broader program mandates and more accessible application pathways.

Leadership has been stable under President & CEO Cathy Belk, whose compensation of $232,003 in the most recent filing reflects a long-tenured executive relationship with the foundation. Belk succeeded Deborah Vesy (former President & CEO, $195,723 compensation) and led the foundation through both the COVID-19 emergency response period and subsequent portfolio recalibration. The current board includes Carrie Clark (Board Chair), David Reines (Vice Chair), Laurie Pogel (Secretary), Joe Nanni (Treasurer/Asst Secretary), and trustees Scott Hamilton, Meltrice Sharp, Maggie Jackson, Justin Horton, Lawrence Yunaska, Colette Jones, John Nestor, Thomas Littman, Andrea Lyons, and Ann O'Brien.

The most notable recent strategic initiative is Workforce Connect — a sector partnership model in manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, co-funded through the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group. The $500,000 grant to MAGNET for the manufacturing sector partnership and multi-year investments in Cuyahoga Community College Foundation's healthcare workforce pipeline represent the largest individual strategic commitments in the documented dataset.

In 2020–2021, the foundation added $100,000 in emergency COVID-19 grants to most of its major grantees on top of regular operating support, and contributed $100,000 to the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund through the Cleveland Foundation. This demonstrated willingness to mobilize through intermediaries and to supplement existing relationships during acute community need.

Important caveat: The Cleveland Deaconess Foundation has a minimal public digital footprint. Web research did not surface any press releases, news coverage, or dedicated website for the Cleveland organization. The database URL (https://deaconess.org/) belongs to a distinct Deaconess Foundation based in St. Louis, MO. Grant seekers should rely primarily on direct phone outreach and 990 data for current intelligence.

Because the Deaconess Foundation operates as a closed, relationship-driven funder with a 'preselected_only' designation, the application process begins well before any formal submission. The following tips are derived directly from this foundation's documented grantee patterns:

Build ecosystem credentials first. Every major grantee in this foundation's portfolio has prior visible presence in Greater Cleveland's workforce development collaborative infrastructure — the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium, Workforce Connect sector partnerships, the Cuyahoga County Workforce Funders Group, or Generation Work Cleveland. Attend convenings, serve on collaborative committees, and establish working relationships with peer grantees before approaching the foundation directly. Several smaller grantees received initial grants explicitly 'to make connections with the workforce development ecosystem,' confirming that ecosystem participation is itself a funded activity for promising newcomers.

Use Workforce Connect language. Grant purpose statements from anchor grantees consistently reference 'sector partnerships,' 'career pathways,' 'wraparound supportive services,' 'post-secondary credentials,' and 'career advising.' Align your proposal language with this shared vocabulary — it signals strategic coherence with existing investments.

Lead with race equity practice. Multiple grants explicitly fund Racial Equity Institute training, Generation Work Cleveland's race equity curriculum delivery, and DEI organizational development. Document your organization's race equity practice — staff training, community accountability structures, demographic data — as a core element of any proposal, not an add-on.

Request general operating support. The dominant grant structure is unrestricted or general operating support, frequently paired with $500–$1,000 professional development stipends. If requesting program-restricted funding, frame it within broader organizational capacity-building.

For first-time applicants: start small. Request $15,000–$25,000 to 'connect with the workforce development ecosystem' rather than seeking major operating grants immediately. Demonstrate organizational reliability and ecosystem alignment before requesting anchor-level funding ($75,000–$300,000 annually).

Contact directly. Reach President & CEO Cathy Belk at (216) 741-4077 or PO Box 5787, Cleveland OH 44101-0787. No public RFP portal or grant application website has been identified for this foundation. Relationship cultivation with Cathy Belk is the most direct path to an invitation to apply.