The Andrews Foundation

The Andrews Foundation is a small, closely held family foundation — direct descendants of founder Mabel Shields Andrews (1951) still govern it, with President Laura Baxter-Heuer drawing modest officer compensation (~$115,000/year, unchanged since 2019) that signals a lean, low-overhead operation rather than a large program staff. With $8.0 million in assets and total giving that has ranged from $379,524 (FY2023) to $1,086,353 (FY2021), this is a funder built for steady, modest-dollar relationships, not transformational gifts. Grant seekers should approach it as a general-operating-support funder first: of the 121 grants in the database's top-50 grantee history, the overwhelming majority are tagged "GENERAL SUPPORT" rather than restricted project funding, and 120 of 121 recorded grants (99%) went to Ohio organizations — this is not a funder to approach without a genuine Northeast Ohio presence. First-time applicants should expect a single-stage process (there is no separate LOI screen) built around a 3-page proposal submitted through the foundation's online portal, evaluated twice a year by the family board against mission alignment and "potential impact." Because the review body is small and informal (no dedicated program officers are named publicly), fit and clarity matter more than polish — proposals should mirror the foundation's own six-sector framing (Arts & Culture, Community Services, Eldercare, Healthcare, Social Services, Youth Services) rather than inventing new language. The grantee list shows the foundation rewards continuity: University Settlement ($103,100 across 4 grants), Hunger Network ($75,000 across 3), and Greater Cleveland Food Bank ($60,000 across 2) all appear as repeat, multi-grant recipients, and the foundation explicitly offers multi-year grants (2-5 years) for organizations it already trusts. New applicants should therefore treat a first award as the opening of a relationship to cultivate over several cycles rather than a one-time transaction, and lean on established Cleveland-area intermediaries (food banks, hospital systems, museums) as reference points for how the foundation talks about impact.

Grant sizes cluster tightly: the foundation's own typical-grant data shows a median of $10,000, an average of $11,689, and a range of $1,000-$25,000 across 27 recently tracked awards, while its website states a standard range of $5,000-$15,000 for most sectors — the database's broader historical top-50 grantee list (121 grants, $1,474,900 total, $12,189 average) confirms the same order of magnitude, with occasional larger cumulative relationships (University Settlement's $103,100 across four gifts is the outlier). Annual total giving has been volatile because it tracks investment income rather than a fixed payout policy: $537,831 (2019) → $563,096 (2020) → $1,086,353 (2021, boosted by $757,645 in net investment income that year) → $659,941 (2022) → $379,524 (2023, the lowest year in the dataset, despite $7.78 million in assets). Web research shows a rebound to roughly $280,000 across 31 awards in 2024 and approximately $276,600-$296,600 across roughly 40 organizations in 2025, suggesting the foundation is currently in a growth phase after the 2022-2023 dip. By sector, 2025 giving broke down as Social Services $80,000 (the largest single category), Community Services $66,100-$76,100, Youth Services $62,500-$72,500, Arts & Culture $35,000, Healthcare $25,000, and Eldercare $7,500 — social-safety-net and community-service organizations now receive roughly half of all giving, a heavier tilt than the more evenly distributed historical top-50 list, which includes larger arts and hospital-system gifts (Cleveland Museum of Art $25,000, University Hospitals Radiology $50,000, University Hospitals Shadow Warriors Chair $25,000). Geographically the foundation is almost exclusively Ohio-focused: 120 of 121 tracked grants (99.2%) went to Ohio recipients, with a single Connecticut grant as the only out-of-state exception, reinforcing that this is a hyper-local Northeast Ohio funder rather than a regional or national one.

The Andrews Foundation sits at the small end of Northeast Ohio's family-foundation landscape — well below regional giants like GAR Foundation, comparable in asset size to the now-sunset Fowler Family Foundation, and far smaller than legacy music/arts funders like Kulas.

Andrews is roughly 1/20th the asset size of GAR and 1/3 the size of the now-closed Fowler foundation, which makes its $5,000-$25,000 grant range and twice-yearly open cycle a realistic target for small and mid-sized nonprofits that would be outmatched competing for GAR's larger, more competitive awards. With Fowler's December 2025 sunset removing a comparably-sized arts- and justice-focused funder from the local ecosystem, Andrews' Arts & Culture ($35,000 in 2025) and Community Services lines may see increased application volume from displaced Fowler grantees.

The most concrete recent activity is procedural rather than programmatic: the foundation's website confirms two active 2026 grant cycles, with the first-cycle deadline of May 31, 2026 already past (decisions were due by July 1, 2026) and the second-cycle deadline of November 30, 2026 (decisions by December 15, 2026) still open as of this report's August 2026 preparation date — that November 30 window is the next concrete opportunity for new applicants. The foundation's 2025 grant summary, its most recent full-year disclosure, shows roughly 40 organizations funded across the six standard sectors, led by Social Services ($80,000) and Community Services (~$66,100-$76,100), with notable named recipients including MedWish Medworks ($15,000), Ideastream ($10,000), Goodwill/Goods Bank NEO, Cleveland Zoological Society, Child and Family Advocates of Cuyahoga County, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland ($10,000 each). No leadership changes surfaced in web research — Laura Baxter-Heuer has remained President since at least 2019 (per compensation records) and continues to sign the foundation's public communications, while Michael A. Heuer serves as unpaid Vice President & Trustee across all recorded years. The only formal press release on record dates to June 9, 2021 (the website redesign marking the foundation's 70th anniversary), and no newer news releases, program launches, or major single-grant announcements were found for 2025-2026 — this appears to be a foundation that operates quietly through its portal and annual grants summary rather than through active media outreach, so applicants should not expect (or need) press coverage to gauge current priorities; the published sector dollar figures are the most current signal available.

Apply through the online portal only — the foundation explicitly does not accept mailed proposals, and there is no separate letter-of-inquiry stage, so the 3-page proposal submitted at first contact needs to do the full job of establishing mission fit, need, and impact. Because the review board is small and family-led, avoid generic boilerplate: frame the request explicitly within one of the foundation's six named sectors (Arts & Culture, Community Services, Eldercare, Healthcare, Social Services, Youth Services) using their own language, since the board evaluates against "alignment with our overall mission, funding priorities, and potential impact" rather than a scored rubric. Bundle every required document as PDFs at submission — grant proposal, board member list with affiliations, IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, most recent Form 990, current organizational budget, and a specific dollar ask — incomplete packets are the most avoidable rejection reason for a foundation this procedurally strict. Target the $5,000-$15,000 sweet spot; the data shows a $10,000 median and $11,689 average award, and requests above $25,000 fall outside the foundation's typical-grant ceiling entirely (only a handful of historical grants, like University Hospitals Radiology's one-time $50,000 gift, exceed that). Time submissions to the twice-yearly cycle: proposals due May 31 (decisions by July 1) or November 30 (decisions by December 15) — missing November 30 pushes a proposal into the following year's first cycle, so late submissions cost six months, not a few weeks. Do not call for status updates; the foundation explicitly states it does not take phone inquiries about application status and communicates entirely by email — respect that channel to avoid appearing out of step with their process. For strongest odds, target the Northeast Ohio geographic restriction precisely (a Cleveland-Akron-adjacent service area, not statewide Ohio) and lead with general operating support rather than a narrow restricted project, since the overwhelming majority of historical grants are tagged general/program support. Organizations already receiving support (University Settlement, Hunger Network, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Malachi House) show the foundation renews relationships readily — ask directly about multi-year funding (2-5 years available) once a first grant is secured rather than reapplying annually from zero.