The Stocker Foundation was established in 1979 by Beth K. Stocker, with the help of her three daughters. She began the Foundation as a reflection of the charitable activities she and her husband, Paul, engaged in during their life together. Beth’s leadership is greatly missed. She served on the Board until her death in 2005 at age 97.
Following a multi-year strategic planning process that began after the death of our donor, The Stocker Foundation announced a significant shift in its competitive grantmaking approach. Competitive grants awarded in 2009 (transition year) were dedicated to tie-off grants to those organizations that no longer aligned with new grantmaking goals and priorities. Between 1979 and 2009, The Stocker Foundation awarded more than $46 million to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture, community needs, education, health, social services, women’s issues, and discretionary grantmaking programs.
Since 2010, competitive grantmaking has focused on reducing the reading achievement gap for under‑resourced prekindergarten through eighth grade public school students. Focus areas include the development of foundational reading and writing skills (programs that strengthen early literacy and reading proficiency); the implementation of cross‑disciplinary and project‑based learning through STEAM (programs that integrate inquiry‑based learning, problem‑solving, and critical thinking skills through STEAM approaches); and safety-net services that remove barriers to learning and academic achievement ~ A very limited amount of funding is set aside for this category.
The Stocker Foundation remains an all‑family board and is headquartered in Lorain County, Ohio. Annual grant distributions focus first on Lorain County, the place where the money was earned. And, then on other communities where trustees reside, including Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Pima County, Arizona; King and San Juan counties, Washington; Alameda and San Francisco counties, California; and Hartford County, Connecticut. Over the years, The Stocker Foundation’s grantmaking has been chronicled in articles by Smithsonian Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and Philanthropy Ohio: The State of Philanthropy. These articles highlight how modest‑sized grants contribute to improving quality of life for individuals and systems.