The Burton D. Morgan Foundation of Hudson said Wednesday it has awarded $1 million for a new program that will allow nonprofit JumpStart Inc. to help thousands of entrepreneurs in the region.
JumpStart plans to use the money to provide mentoring and related services to 1,500 early stage entrepreneurs over the next three years.
Burton Morgan “was in many informal ways a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs,” Deborah D. Hoover, CEO and president of the foundation, said of its founder.
The mentoring program, which involves volunteers who have business expertise, is about a year old. With the $1 million gift, it will be named for Burton Morgan, said Samantha Fryberger, spokeswoman for JumpStart, a regional group that provides a variety of services to early stage companies and even invests in select startups.
The foundation has given several sizable gifts to JumpStart since 2005, including a $3 million gift for operations in 2008. That grant was paid over three years.
Morgan, who died in 2003 at the age of 86, founded Morgan Adhesives, now known as MACtac in Stow. He began his philanthropic organization in 1967; the foundation’s mission is to support the free-enterprise system — a passion for the energetic and opinionated Morgan.
The $1 million to JumpStart, with offices in Cleveland, was among about $1.5 million in gifts granted in February to support programs for youths, college students and adults “to develop skills and gain experience in starting business ventures,” the foundation said.
Trustees also approved the following grants for these entrepreneurship initiatives:
• Akron SCORE, $25,000 for administrative and marketing expenses.
• Ashland University, $36,000 for the annual Morgan Lecture and other activities.
• Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, $15,000 for scholarships for teachers to attend a national conference.
• Emmanuel Christian Academy, $16,295 for summer 2013 entrepreneurship camp.
• The Entrepreneurs EDGE, $50,000 for the Edge Fellows Program.
• Entrepreneurship Education Consortium, $85,000 for the 2013 Entrepreneurship Immersion Week and other activities.
• Fund for Our Economic Future, $150,000 for the fund’s regional economic development and entrepreneurship support programs.
• Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, up to $50,000 for summer 2013 Entrepreneurial Internship Program.
Other grants awarded:
• Akron Marathon Fund of the Akron Community Foundation, $5,000 for sustainability campaign.
• Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, $8,000 for operating support and for an industrial floor scale.
• All Star Training Club, $7,500 for the REACH program.
• Alzheimer’s Association, Greater East Ohio Chapter, $8,500 to furnish and equip a training and conference room named for Burton D. Morgan.
• American Red Cross of Summit and Portage Counties, $10,000 for local disaster relief.
• Child Guidance and Family Solutions, $5,000 for therapy equipment and supplies.
• First Congregational Church of Hudson, $20,000 for operating support.
• Hattie Larlham Community Living, $5,500 to construct and install a hoop house for an urban garden.
• Humane Society of Greater Akron, $5,500 for three dog runs and a fence.
• International Soap Box Derby, $10,000 for Gravity Racing Challenge STEM program.
• Project LEARN of Summit County, $7,000 to train staff to administer the new 2014 GED test.
• Seton Catholic Schools, $25,000 for the new Family Center.
• Summit Education Initiative, $9,000 for a data system.
• Tuesday Musical Association, $5,000 to assist with the transition to a new director.
• Weathervane Community Playhouse, $9,000 for restroom renovations.
• Women’s Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation, $5,000 for its endowment campaign.
For more information about the foundation, go to www.bdmorganfdn.org.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.