Sam J Frankino Foundation

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation is a Cleveland-based legacy family foundation honoring the philanthropic vision of its founder, Sam J. Frankino (1924-2009), an Italian-American entrepreneur who built decades of community investment in Northeast Ohio. The foundation operates as an independent trust governed by a single compensated Trustee, Lorraine Dodero, who serves as Executive Director and earns $200,000 annually (fiscal 2023). This structure means all grantmaking decisions flow through one relationship-oriented decision-maker — an arrangement that makes personal connection critical and cold applications more challenging.

The foundation's geographic commitment is overwhelmingly Northeast Ohio: 335 of 377 documented grants (89%) went to Ohio-based organizations, with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County institutions dominating. Out-of-state giving is narrowly limited to national health organizations with local chapters (American Heart Association, St. Jude), Catholic international charities, and a handful of Florida and Tennessee recipients. Applicants headquartered outside Northeast Ohio face a steep uphill climb unless they can document direct, measurable community impact within the region.

The foundation systematically favors established, institutional-grade nonprofits with long track records. Its top cumulative recipients — University Hospitals of Cleveland ($1.22M), Gilmour Academy ($1.06M), American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland ($860K), Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital ($647K), and Cleveland Museum of Art ($550K) — are all major regional anchors with multi-year relationships. First-time applicants realistically enter at the $5,000-$25,000 level, with major commitments developing over 3-5 years of demonstrated partnership.

A Catholic faith and Italian-American cultural identity runs visibly through the grantee list: St. Francis of Assisi Parish ($145K), Catholic Community Foundation ($235K), Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration ($49K), Joseph's Home ($89K), and Patrons of the Arts in Vatican Museums ($92K) are all consistent multi-year recipients. Organizations with authentic connections to these communities have a genuine and documented advantage.

The formal application pathway is: submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) via the foundation website; if favorably reviewed by Lorraine Dodero, receive an invitation to submit a full proposal; the review process may include a site visit or phone call for larger requests before a final funding decision. The foundation's stated LOI requirement is to articulate the 'Reason for Request and Purpose' — keep this framing front and center.

Based on 86 documented single-grant transactions, the Sam J. Frankino Foundation's median grant is $10,000, with an average of $33,439 and a range from $500 to $516,500. The distribution is right-skewed: the majority of grants fall in the $5,000-$25,000 band, while a small cohort of anchor relationships receives grants in the $100,000-$500,000+ tier, pulling the average well above the median. Total cumulative giving across the top 50 grantees in the database reaches $11.79M across 377 grant records spanning roughly a decade.

Annual grants paid show a clear declining trend: $3.1M (fiscal 2019), $2.9M (fiscal 2020), $3.5M (fiscal 2021), $2.8M (fiscal 2022), and $2.56M (fiscal 2023). Total giving including non-grant program expenditures reached $3.5M in fiscal 2023. Asset erosion from $58.3M (2020) to $48.0M (2023) — a 17.6% decline driven by negative investment years in 2022 and 2023 — is compressing grant budgets and is expected to keep annual giving in the $2.5M-$3.0M range through 2025-2026.

Medical and health is the largest funding cluster. University Hospitals of Cleveland alone received $1.22M across 3 grants (Seidman Cancer Center research being the primary purpose), Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital $647K across 4 grants, Cleveland Clinic Foundation $350K, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital $300K, Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute $275K, and MetroHealth Foundation $80K. These health system recipients represent approximately $2.9M in documented giving — roughly 25% of the total portfolio.

Education is the second-largest cluster: Gilmour Academy leads at $1.06M across 4 grants (capital fund, endowment, building fund, and scholarship purposes), Catholic Community Foundation $235K, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School $105K, Boys & Girls Clubs of NE Ohio $105K, Cuyahoga Community College Foundation $65K, and Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School $60K.

Social services are broadly funded at the $50K-$230K level per organization: United Way of Greater Cleveland ($230K), Hands Together ($215K), Hattie Larlham Foundation ($190K), Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland ($125K), Ronald McDonald House ($100K), Shoes & Clothes for Kids ($100K).

Arts and culture grants average $50,000-$60,000 per institution annually, with the Cleveland Museum of Art as the significant outlier at $550K cumulative. First-time arts applicants should anchor initial requests in the $10,000-$25,000 range.

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation holds approximately $48.0M in assets as of fiscal 2023, placing it among mid-tier family foundations in the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE category. The table below compares it against four asset-equivalent peers identified in the same database tier:

Sam J. Frankino stands out among comparably-sized family foundations for two reasons. First, it maintains a publicly accessible website with stated giving priorities, program area descriptions, and an open LOI process — a level of transparency unusual at this asset tier, where invitation-only or purely relationship-driven grantmaking is the norm. Second, its published August 7, 2026 deadline on third-party platforms (Instrumentl) confirms active, structured solicitation of unsolicited applications. Grant seekers who would have no entry point into peer foundations of comparable size have a genuine documented pathway here. The tradeoff is that Frankino's geographic concentration in Northeast Ohio (89% of grants) significantly narrows the eligible universe of applicants compared to peers whose geographic footprints are not publicly constrained.

No major leadership changes or program restructurings were announced for 2025-2026. Lorraine Dodero continues as sole Trustee and Executive Director, a role she has held for over a decade. Her compensation history reflects the consolidation of decision-making authority: $75,000 (fiscal 2011), $100,000 (fiscal 2012-2015), $150,000 (fiscal 2019-2020), and $200,000 (fiscal 2021-2023) — a 167% increase over twelve years.

For the 2025 cycle, confirmed recipients include Access Inc. ($5,000), Achievement Centers for Children ($8,000-$10,000), Adoption Network Cleveland ($15,000), Arthritis Foundation ($60,000), A Kid Again Northern Ohio, and Boys Hope Girls Hope ($5,000). The foundation's website featured a notable grant announcement: $26,000 to Harmony Foundation's Power of Harmony program, consistent with the foundation's arts and youth development priorities.

Financially, the foundation navigated two consecutive years of negative or near-zero investment returns: total revenue was -$2.2M in fiscal 2022 and -$342K in fiscal 2023, versus +$3.5M in 2021 and +$9.0M in 2020. Net investment income fell sharply from $2.68M (2021) to $523K (2023). These headwinds reduced the asset base by approximately $10M over three years and drove grants paid down from $3.5M (2021) to $2.56M (2023). The foundation has received zero external contributions since at least fiscal 2014 (with one anomalous $310K in 2013), relying entirely on investment returns for sustainability. Applicants should expect continued selectivity through 2026.

The most important strategic insight for applicants is that Lorraine Dodero personally drives all grantmaking decisions, and she proactively identifies organizations making meaningful impacts on Northeast Ohio children and families. Cold LOIs from organizations she does not recognize face a higher bar. Invest in visibility: attend Cleveland-area nonprofit convenings, ensure your organization appears in regional community foundation publications and media, and seek warm introductions wherever possible.

Timing: August 7, 2026 is the confirmed current-cycle deadline per Instrumentl. The foundation appears to run a single annual solicitation cycle. Missing August likely means a twelve-month wait.

LOI content and structure: The foundation explicitly requires the LOI to state the 'Reason for Request and Purpose.' Open with a crisp one-to-two paragraph statement that answers: What specific program are you funding? Whom does it serve (prioritize children, families in need, NE Ohio residents)? What measurable outcome will the grant enable? Avoid leading with organizational history — get to the program immediately.

What resonates: Cancer and medical research at major Cleveland health systems, education at Catholic and private K-12 schools, children's health and hospital care, arts institutions with cultural preservation missions (especially Italian heritage), domestic violence and foster care services, environmental sustainability, and faith-based community service providers.

What disqualifies: Endowment requests (in most cases), political campaigns, advocacy organizations, loans or grants to named individuals, individual scholarships, event ticket purchases, and fundraising advertising. Never frame your request as endowment-building.

Alignment language: Mirror the foundation's own phrasing — 'creating opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for children and families in need' and 'carrying forward Sam J. Frankino's philanthropic legacy.' Reference Northeast Ohio explicitly. If your organization has authentic Italian-American cultural ties or serves the Italian-American community, include this detail — it is materially relevant to this funder.

Ask size: Request $5,000-$25,000 for a first-time relationship. The median grant is $10,000. Anchor institutions receiving $100,000+ grants have typically received 3-4 prior grants. Build the relationship before scaling the ask.

Contact: Phone (440) 248-1400; registered agent is Archer & Greiner PC, PO Box 241487, Cleveland, OH 44124.