Bernard McDonough Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder supports social welfare and health/medical causes throughout the state of West Virginia and in Washington County, Ohio. Unsolicited applications are accepted online throughout the year.
IP TAKE: This funder prioritizes children and youth, adult substance abuse, and homelessness. Grant seekers should consider trying to tap into these local issues in your application.
PROFILE: The Bernard McDonough Foundation was established over 50 years ago to support local nonprofits addressing basic human needs. It seeks to “financial support to non-profits whose mission is to assist with basic human needs including those that address basic health and social welfare.” The founder, Bernard P. McDonough, lived most of his life in the Mid-Ohio Valley Region and built an industrial empire. He founded, bought, and transformed companies ranging from concrete and cement plants to shoe manufacturing and construction companies. His McDonough Company became a Fortune 500 NYSE company, and he even made the cover stories of Fortune and Sports Illustrated magazines.
Bernard’s early philanthropy prioritized higher education, health, and arts and culture. His wife, Alma, funded the foundation after his death to expand grantmaking initiatives. This funder has two geographic regions in focus: the state of West Virginia and Washington County in Ohio; the only exceptions are organizations based just outside these regions but that serve these two areas specifically.
Most grants support social welfare causes and financial and social aid for area residents. The secondary priority is for health and medical causes, and specifically to support hospitals, clinics and health-related charities.
The application process is pretty simple: there are no deadlines, and eligible nonprofits can apply for one grant each year. Just create an account on the funder’s website to apply online. Grant seekers can watch videos on how to set up an account or how to apply for a grant on the Application Process page as well.
The foundation awards about 140 grants per year, totaling around $1.5 million. Past supported causes include children and youth, adult substance abuse, homelessness, diabetes care, and disaster response. McDonough has also collaborated with the West Virginia Office of Child Nutrition and Bureau of Public Health, as well as other private and public funders on health initiatives that build playgrounds, community gardens, and other healthy lifestyle projects.
The foundation’s website is pretty spare and does not offer too many insights into what the funder looks for in new grantees or stories of what its past grantees have been doing.
PEOPLE:
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