The J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation has been instrumental in providing much-needed funds to Nonprofit (501 c 3) organizations, accredited schools, and government entities, who need a financial boost to make life-enhancing projects come to fruition. From 1994 to 2019, the Straker Foundation has awarded grants totaling about $100,000 each year. Since 2020, the available funds have grown, enabling the Straker Foundation to make a greater impact on the community annually.
The Foundation recently announced a few changes to its grant processes to make it easier for grant-seeking organizations and the Straker Foundation itself.
“In January of this year, we had our usual big grant cycle, and we had $1.1 million to allot and thought that would be ample,” explained Pam Kirst, Senior Program Director of the J.W. and M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation. “But to our great surprise, we received $7.1 million in requests. And the requests ranged in size from $250 to $2.5 million. And, of course, it took us a long time to process those requests. And we know that the people who sent them in spent a lot of time on them, too. So, we thought it was time to look at our processes and make some streamlining changes.
• The Foundation will accept small grant requests, up to $15,000.00, from August 1 through August 31, 2025. A streamlined grant form will be available at www.strakerfoundation.org. The Foundation plans to notify recipients by the end of September.
• Organizations pursuing grants totaling $15,000.00 to $150,000.00 will submit Letters of Inquiry (LOI) in October 2025 to determine if they should pursue a grant in January 2026. Guidelines for writing the Letter of Inquiry will be available on the Foundation website, and requests must be submitted there. Writers will be notified by early November whether they should pursue writing a grant in the January 2026 cycle.
• Those who hope to make large requests of more than $150,000.00 must contact the Straker Foundation to discuss possible next steps.
“This will give people an opportunity to kind of pinpoint the process that’s best for them,” Kirst stated.
“We also have a small school grant cycle that’s ongoing throughout the year. Each school system has $10,000 reserved for its programs,” added Kirst. “These are grants that would cover things like books for a teacher’s library or a field trip for a science class, that kind of thing. And those funds are available until they’re gone. So people can apply anytime from January to December 15th for the small school grant program.”
Grants through the Straker Foundation should be pursued after raising funds through other means first, looking at the potential for Straker Foundation grants as a last-dollar funding option, not the first.
“We would prefer that people ask other people, other organizations, and other groups, or fundraise. We would love for people to do some fundraising on their own. And then we could fill in the gap,” Susan Holdren, President and Executive Director for the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation, explained.
“We try to follow the dictates of our founders, who wanted to enrich life in Muskingum County with a particular interest in the arts, education, character development, and children. So those realizations guide our determinations,” explained Kirst. “And also, we have only a limited pot of money to spend.”
“To go to people and help them in their greatest hour of need, or to build something new that could not be possible without us, it’s a wonderful feeling,” said Holdren.
For further information and to stay up-to-date on grant cycles, visit www.strakerfoundation.org.