Burton D. Morgan Foundation has been a pioneer in the world of philanthropy. Very few foundations focus on the funding of entrepreneurship. Fewer still combine this focus with an emphasis on venture philanthropy. Join us as we take a walk through the history of Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the life of our intrepid and insightful founder, Burton D. Morgan.
Burt’s early years are spent with his parents in a variety of locales as his father pursues his vocation as a psychology professor. From Philadelphia to Honolulu, Iowa City to Seattle, John Morgan studies, teaches, and writes, eventually publishing his first book and landing a job at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He becomes very successful and eventually goes on to publish twelve books in his field. At the same time, the world in the 1920s and 1930s is undergoing tremendous changes. In 1920, Congress ratifies the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing every woman the right to vote. In October 1929, the stock market crashes, causing stock prices to plummet and banks to call in loans. Yet every year, new gadgets are being invented that change forever the way people live. 1919…the pop-up toaster…1920…the hairdryer…1922…the electric kettle. And on and on through the 1930s…the jet engine, electric razor, electric can opener and the Zippo lighter.
1916 is a momentous year…World War I is raging in Europe, the electric power drill and the light switch are invented and our founder, Burton Davis Morgan, is born on July 27, 1916 at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Rose Ann Davis Morgan and John Jacob Brooke Morgan. His father, originally planning to be a minister, changes course and goes on to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University.
The polygraph – otherwise known as a lie detector machine – is invented by John Augustus Larson, a medical student at the University of California at Berkeley and a police officer of the Berkeley Police Department.
Clarence Birdseye, an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist invents the process to preserve food by freezing it.
Burt joins the Boy Scouts at age 12 and becomes an Eagle Scout at age 16, in 1932. Later, he credits his scouting experience with helping him to win a job at Johnson & Johnson.
Richard Drew, a chemical engineer at 3M Company, invents Scotch Tape.
While at Evanston Township High School outside Chicago, Burt puts one of his inventions, an aquaplane, to work and starts his first entrepreneurial venture – giving aquaplane rides off the back of a Chris-Craft speedboat for 10 cents a ride. His second entrepreneurial idea is deep-sea diving, which according to Burt “was not a profitable venture” but inspires his entrepreneurial ambition. Burt graduates from high school in 1934 and enrolls at Northwestern University.
In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company invents canned beer and delivers 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to beer drinkers in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1936, Burt transfers to Purdue University from Northwestern, becomes vice president of the Glider Club, and majors in engineering.
In 1938, the ballpoint pen is invented. That year, Burt graduates from Purdue with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and lands his first job at B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio where he meets his future wife, Margaret (Peg) Clark. After living for a year in the Akron YMCA to save money, Burt moves with a group of friends, including Paul Vaughan, with whom he later founds Filmco, to a rented house on Turkeyfoot Lake.
In Mexico, Guillermo González Camarena invents an early color television transmission system.
Burt and Peg start their married life, a union that lasts 52 years.
With the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States entering WW II, Burt’s and Peg’s lives are about to change. Transferred to a Goodrich plant in Louisville, Kentucky that is making synthetic rubber for the war effort, Burt and Peg buy a house and have what Burt calls, “their first real shot at married life.” After the war is over, so are Burt’s days at Goodrich. Thousands of GIs are returning to the States and taking advantage of the GI Bill to finish their education. And during this time, the post-war economy starts to boom. New inventions continue to appear in the marketplace to satisfy the growing culture of consumerism in America, including the Slinky, the kidney dialysis machine, disposable diapers, and power steering for automobiles.
"You must build up something so that when the time comes you are able to do something on your own."
Microwave ovens are invented purely by accident when a Raytheon engineer, Percy Spencer, is testing a military-grade magnetron and the peanut cluster bar in his pocket melts.
After a brief stint at the Pennsylvania Rubber Company, Burt starts working for Johnson & Johnson, developing the machinery to make junior band aids. This is his introduction to the world of adhesives, or as he likes to call it, “the sticky paper” business.
Along with a business associate from Detroit, Burt tries his hand at his first true entrepreneurial venture – the self-adhesive bra. It fails miserably due to the fact that the adhesive won’t stick when wet, but it proves to be a tremendous learning experience for him. Burt’s boss at Johnson & Johnson is not happy with his moonlighting career and fires him. According to Burt, “although a big blow at the time, that move was the start of my entrepreneurial career.”
While living in Troy, New York and working for Behr-Manning to help them develop pressure-sensitive tape, Burt invents a metal disc originally meant to keep small children from accidentally opening the back door of a car. Later repurposed as a tool to cook hamburgers in the oven, Burt entices his wife, Peg, to sell the “Hamburg Sizzler” as a trade-off to take a trip to New York City. Much to his surprise, she comes back with a purchase order for 10,000 Hamburg Sizzlers!
The 50s and 60s are a time of great change and momentum in the United States and for Burt, Peg, and their growing family, the same holds true. Burt "starts at the top", founding his first company, Fasson. He and Peg move to Hudson, Ohio where they raise their family and develop deep ties to the community. Suburbs like Hudson are springing up across the country, a sign of increased economic growth. Yet fear of communism grips the country and public congressional hearings are held in both houses of Congress. Dwight Eisenhower is president and Elvis Presley becomes a star in movies such as "Jailhouse Rock". The civil rights movement begins in earnest, with the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, the march on Washington, D.C., and Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. The Frisbee and Hula Hoop are introduced and other inventions include the solar battery, the hand-held calculator, and the laser.
“If you have what we call the entrepreneurial mindset…that is the most likely characteristic to lead to success.”
In partnership with Stan Avery of Avery Labels, Burt founds Fasson, a pressure-adhesive business based in Painesville, Ohio. The company struggles in the beginning but hits it big when Contact Paper comes on the market, allowing consumers to change the color of big-ticket items, such as refrigerators and cabinets, at a whim. Customers are demanding color, in a variety of hues, to show they are modern and forward-thinking...and that the product they purchased is brand new. As a result, Fasson receives a large order from Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the makers of Kleenex®, and the company is on its way.
Originally called "mistake out," Liquid Paper is the invention of Bette Nesmith Graham, a Dallas secretary and single mother. Graham uses her own kitchen blender to mix up her first batch of liquid paper or white out, a substance used to cover up mistakes made on paper.
The Barbie doll, manufactured by American toy company Mattel, is launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
After dissolving his partnership with Stan Avery and leaving Fasson, Burt plans for his next entrepreneurial endeavor – Morgan Adhesives, another pressure-sensitive adhesive company. With a non-compete clause that requires his next business to be located at least 50 miles from Painesville, Burt starts up Morgan Adhesives in Stow, Ohio – exactly 50.2 miles away. As Burt later comments, “The three key features of the entrepreneurial way of life are freedom, fun, and an expanded lifestyle. Granted, new ventures are not for the faint-hearted. But failure never stopped anyone who was truly determined to succeed. I have found that entrepreneurs’ failures are often more interesting than their successes, and these failures helped to develop the character and intelligence that eventually led them to success.” An added bonus is that Stow is next to Hudson, the ancestral home of his wife, Peg, a great-great-granddaughter of Owen Brown, father of John Brown, the abolitionist. Burt, Peg, and their family settle down in Hudson and buy a new home.
The standard audio cassette, invented in 1962 by the Philips Company, is also named the "Compact Cassette."
Along with Paul Vaughan, his old friend who now works at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Morgan invests $50,000 of his own money in a company to make packaging film. But the film doesn’t work as planned, so they try again…and again. The resulting film is porous, different from the cellophane packaging used at the time. The grocery store on the corner uses some and the meat – which remains fresh-looking – sells faster than the meat in the old-fashioned wrap. Soon Kroger and other stores pick up the product.
The original AstroTurf brand product is co-invented in 1965 by Donald L. Elbert, James M. Faria, and Robert T. Wright. Patented in 1965, it originally sells under the name "ChemGrass."
In 1966, Morgan Adhesives expands its building and Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes is invited to cut the ribbon and speak to the employees. This leads to a long-standing friendship between the two men; later, Burt is invited to join the Ohio Commodores, a group of business owners Governor Rhodes asks to travel the world to entice businesses to locate in Ohio.
Four years later – in 1967 – Filmco is sold to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for $22 million in stock. Every dollar invested yields $100 back. For Morgan, his initial investment of $50,000 has turned into $5 million. According to Burt, “Filmco to me was a true entrepreneurial venture. It is the thing that makes this country great over all others. People who will take a chance like this deserve to make out the way we did.” As a result of the lucrative Filmco sale, he decides it is time to assess his worth. The answer, according to his accountant, is $6.8 million. And so, later that year, Morgan takes a small sum of that money – 500 shares in stock from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, worth about $20,000 – and starts a foundation to promote understanding and communication among various peoples of the world. Burton D. Morgan Foundation is officially founded on November 16, 1967.
The late 60s and early-to-mid-70s are a time of change in this country. Burton D. Morgan Foundation operates out of the law offices of Arter & Hadden in Cleveland and small grants are awarded to organizations close to the interests of Burt and his family, including Stephens College in Missouri where daughter Mary is in school. Social values are liberalizing, and students across the nation continue to protest the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon resigns as President in 1974 while facing impeachment charges for the Watergate scandal; Augusto Pinochet rises to power as ruler of Chile after overthrowing the country's Socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973 with the assistance of the CIA. In 1969, the ATM and artificial heart are both invented, leading to further advances in technology and medicine.
“It is better to be shot out of water than to rot at the dock.”
Initially, Burt plans for the Foundation to be small. It is his intention to put about $80,000 annually into the Foundation for five years – or a total of $400,000. The earnings are to be used for prizes or awards for significant improvement of world understanding.
The Foundation donates $5,500 to Hudson as seed money for the Hudson community bandstand. (Another $2,000 is donated in 1975 to help finish the project.) The bandstand is completed in 1977 and the Hudson Summer Music Festival begins Sunday night concerts the same year. Early grants are awarded to Blossom Music Center, Purdue University, Burt’s alma mater, and the First Congregational Church of Hudson, the Morgan Family church. This same year, Morgan starts advocating for the development of a Global Trade Center to be located in Mansfield, Ohio which will include a large international airport and a Free Trade Enterprise Zone.
The Post-it® note is conceived by 3M employee Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal at church. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow employee Spencer Silver but no application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry's idea.
John V. Frank, a vice-president and trust officer at First National Bank of Akron, now Huntington Bank, is hired as the first president of Burton D. Morgan Foundation. For the next ten years or so, he operates the small foundation from his home office. The assets of the Foundation, thanks to regular contributions of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company stock from Burt, stand at approximately $414,000.
Weldon W. Case, a successful Hudson businessman who was instrumental in helping his good friend, Burton D. Morgan, start the Foundation in 1967, becomes a Trustee.
The early years of John Frank’s presidency focus on formalizing the Foundation’s procedures, including establishing regular meetings of the Trustees, taking minutes, and overseeing the Foundation’s investments. And these years are a time of tremendous growth for the Foundation. In 1981, the assets of the Foundation are $934,200. Seven years later they total $5,195,700. By December 31, 1992, the assets of the Foundation stand at $23,455,400; from 1990 to 1992 alone Burt gives $2,500,000 in gifts to the Foundation. Later, in 1997, Burt Morgan gifts another $3,332,800 to the Foundation. He also starts writing a series of books – about entrepreneurship, the importance of international trade and most of all, his life. The country continues to advance. Madonna and Michael Jackson rule the airwaves. It is also a time of socioeconomic growth with growth in technology and the beginning of globalization. Multinational corporations start moving manufacturing plants overseas and emerging markets such as Thailand, Mexico, South Korea, and China start booming.
“An entrepreneur who fails is not stopped. He or she can always try again. And successful entrepreneurs always do.”
Richard A. Chenoweth, an attorney at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, becomes a Trustee.
The first IBM PC, formally known as the IBM Model 5150, is introduced; it revolutionizes business computing by becoming the first PC to gain widespread adoption by industry.
The currently familiar disposable camera is developed by Fujifilm in 1986. Their Utsurun-Desu ("It takes pictures") or QuickSnap line uses 35 mm film, while Eastman Kodak's 1987 Fling is based on 110 film.
The Foundation's assets are up to $3 million, most of which is in RJR Nabisco stock. After RJR Nabisco is taken over by a private equity firm, stock prices soar and the Foundation’s endowment rises to $5.1 million. Also that year, the Foundation establishes the Margaret Clark Morgan Endowed Scholarship at the Kent State University School of Fashion Design and Merchandising.
Ashland University awards Burt an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Purdue University grants Burt an honorary degree of Doctor of Management in 1992, and The College of Wooster awards him an honorary Doctor of Science in January 2003. Burt contacts Foundation President John V. Frank and informs him that he is donating 95,000 additional shares of RJR Nabisco stock that will take the Foundation up to approximately $15 million in value. In fact, the Foundation’s assets have grown large enough to require relocation to offices in downtown Akron.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee invents what is commonly known as the World Wide Web. A British computer scientist, he was born in London, and his parents were early computer scientists, working on one of the earliest computers.
The mission of the Foundation evolves. The annual report states, “The fundamental purpose of Burton D. Morgan Foundation is to aid and encourage the talented. This aid and encouragement, as an example, is presented in the form of scholarships especially to graduate and exceptional students. Of even greater importance, it encourages inventors, entrepreneurs, and wherever possible, attempts to preserve the United States’ greatest asset – the private enterprise system. Although it cannot invest in small or startup enterprises, it encourages them.”
Hale Farm and Village and the Women’s Entrepreneurial Growth Organization (WEGO) are among two of the grant recipient organizations.
J. Martin Erbaugh, a Hudson entrepreneur involved with numerous startups and investments, is elected a Trustee.
Burton D. Morgan is awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® award. As Deborah D. Hoover comments upon her receipt of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® award (Educational Services & Nonprofit category) in 2014, "Knowing Burt Morgan received the same award in 1991, also made us think about how happy he would be to see that the Foundation is continuing his legacy in support of entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio."
Funding of $25,000 is given to Purdue University for the Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition. The Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary. Grants are awarded to a variety of organizations, including those focusing on arts, education, the Hudson community, and mental health, an important cause for the Morgan Family. The Battered Women’s Shelter in Akron is a grant recipient and the Foundation awards Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson $25,000 to purchase an organ for its new sanctuary. Support is also given to Concept Development Institute, an organization Burt helps found that works with up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
The Foundation holds its first donor intent meeting with its Trustees. The formal mission of the Foundation turns to a renewed focus on supporting entrepreneurship and the preservation of the free enterprise system. As Burt comments, “the Foundation’s original policy states that the fund’s aim is to encourage and preserve the free enterprise system in the United States, which is America’s number one advantage over the rest of the world.” Grants are awarded to the Hanna Perkins School, Blossom Music Center, and the University of Akron for its Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program.
The Board elects noted corporate executive Stanley C. Gault – Chairman and CEO of Rubbermaid and later of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company – as a Trustee.
A grant to support economics education for students and teachers at the College of Wooster is awarded to the Foundation for Teaching Economics, an organization with which the Foundation will have a long relationship. The Foundation awards $750,000 to Purdue University to increase the Burton D. Morgan Endowment Venture Fund to $1,750,000. These grants enable Purdue to broaden its entrepreneurship program and research. Old Trail School receives funding for a Writing Lab. In November, Burt is featured on the cover of Mutual Funds magazine for his “FunShares” fund, a mutual fund that holds stocks in alcohol, tobacco, and entertainment companies.
Keith A. Brown, a fellow alumnus of Purdue University and founder of numerous companies, is elected a Trustee. As the annual report in that year states, “the Trustees are selected, among other attributes, as having been successful participants in an entrepreneurial activity that has shown success.”
The Foundation awards a grant to Mt. Union College (now, University of Mt. Union) for a new course, "Decision Making Strategies." Open to undergraduate students, professors at Mt. Union, and other area colleges, as well as local business people, the course is designed to spur new thinking around free enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Nintendo 64, a revolutionary gaming system, is released to popular acclaim.
That year, grants are awarded to Leadership Akron to support a philanthropy education program and to WVIZ to support Nightly Business Report, a grant initiative the Foundation still supports.
A grant is awarded to Junior Achievement of the Akron Area, another long-time partnership that is fundamental to the Foundation’s youth entrepreneurship grant priorities today. Kent State University’s Fashion School receives funding for technology and facility upgrades, including a ten-station CAD laboratory to teach design and product development. And Our Lady of the Elms, Lake Ridge Academy, and Lake Erie College all receive support for computers and technology enhancement. In the mental health arena, support continues for Hopewell Inn, the Kevin Coleman Foundation, and the Visiting Nurse Service.
The first MP3 player is launched by Saehan Information Systems, which sells its “MPMan” player in Asia that spring. Also that year, the South Korean company licenses the players for North American distribution to Eiger Labs, which rebrands them as the EigerMan F10 and F20.
Burt directs Foundation President John Frank and Trustees to “lay a lot of brick.” Thus begins the Foundation’s grant program to build entrepreneurial centers and administrative buildings at Old Trail School, The College of Wooster, Ashland University, Denison University, Purdue University, and Western Reserve Academy. According to Burt, “All of these [collegiate] buildings will serve as private enterprise buildings; the classes taught in them are to focus on entrepreneurial skills, a subject which has not been taught in universities up to this time but to me is the secret of America’s success over the rest of the world. It is the entrepreneur who can start new businesses, employ people, and create wealth.” Deborah D. Hoover begins to work part-time for the Foundation, assisting with the RFP process for building projects.
The early part of the new decade is dedicated to completing the building projects that are currently underway and providing small grants to existing grantees, such as Foundation for Teaching Economics and WVIZ for Nightly Business Report. Dedications for the new buildings are held with great celebrations honoring Burt and his entrepreneurial spirit. To fund the building projects and preserve funds for future grantmaking, the Foundation places a moratorium on new grants, stating, “The Foundation continues to have a moratorium on accepting all new grant requests until January 1, 2005, except for organizations and institutions that are invited to submit a proposal.” Our beloved founder, Burt Morgan, dies in 2003. And change continues for the nation, too. Inventions focus more on technology, including in 2001, Apple’s iPod. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and PayPal, starts SpaceX, which develops and manufactures space launch vehicles. And Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student, starts Facebook, which quickly becomes the world’s largest and most successful online social networking company. And, of course, the United States is rocked by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
“Burt is an example of the financial rewards a person can achieve in a free enterprise system, but the real measure of a person is not how much money they have made, but what they do with their rewards.”- John V. Frank
The President and CEO of Seaman Corporation and a community leader in Wooster, Ohio, Richard N. Seaman becomes a Trustee of Burton D. Morgan Foundation.
In 2000, Toyota Motor Corporation invents a hybrid car, the Prius.
An $8 million grant is awarded to Denison University for a building that includes career services, development, and the Organizational Studies Program. Existing grants continue to organizations such as Blossom Music Center.
On April 6, The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, named in honor of Burt’s wife, is founded and Burt asks Deborah D. Hoover to lead this Foundation. At this point, Burton D. Morgan Foundation starts winding down its grants in the mental health field, which is the primary purpose of The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, along with secondary interests in education and the arts.
Dean Kamen invents the Segway while Apple introduces its newest technological device, the iPod.
The dedication of a new $1.060 million administrative building for Old Trail School takes place on September 14.
Mark D. Robeson, Burt’s grandson and financial executive in California, joins the Foundation Board.
Camera phones hit the scene, forever changing the way people typically think of telephones.
The dedication of Burton D. Morgan Hall at The College of Wooster is celebrated on October 18, 2002.
A grant of $7,000,000 is awarded at the winter Trustees meeting to Purdue University to build the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. According to Purdue officials, “Mr. Morgan showed amazing insight into the fundamental truth that the application of individual intellect and talent to business pursuits is not only a high calling, but is the heart of American enterprise and often, contributes to a noble cause – the advancement of human welfare.”
After a brief illness, Burt Morgan dies March 6, 2003 at age 86. Toward the end of his life he comments, “I enjoy knowing that Burton D. Morgan Foundation is assisting organizations that need help. I like the idea that entrepreneurship, which is how I got to this point in my life, is to be treated as a genuine career at the universities and colleges in the United States.”
Deborah D. Hoover is elected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer of Burton D. Morgan Foundation, after long-time Trustee Richard A. Chenoweth retires from that role. (He continues to serve as a Trustee until 2009.)
The Burton D. Morgan Center at Denison University is dedicated on October 17, 2003. Trustee Marty Erbaugh, a graduate of Denison, states at the dedication, “The Morgan Foundation has and will continue to do its work mindful of the fundamental truth that the application of intellect and talent to business pursuits is a high calling, which in the final analysis is a primary contributor to the advancement of human welfare.”
Ashland University dedicates its $3.25 million Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies building on November 21.
The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue University dedication event is held on October 21. A new grant is awarded to the Akron Community Foundation for the Fund for Our Economic Future (FFEF), an initiative to support economic development and entrepreneurship throughout Northeast Ohio.
An updated Strategic Planning session is held that re-commits the Foundation to funding entrepreneurship programs. Richard N. Seaman claims, "This session helped to hone the image and vision of what we want this foundation to do.” The Foundation’s mission is revised to read, “To strengthen the free enterprise system by investing in organizations and institutions that foster the entrepreneurial spirit.” Distinct categories of funding are determined at the youth, collegiate, and adult levels of entrepreneurship.
The dedication of Burton D. Morgan Hall, a $3.5 million administrative building at Western Reserve Academy, is held on September 16. At the dedication event, John V. Frank comments, “This building and other new structures on campus provide the Academy with the physical facilities it must have to compete and provide the best educational environment for young people to succeed and remain one of the top secondary schools in the country.”
Following Burt Morgan’s longtime wish to have the Foundation located in Hudson, Foundation Trustees negotiate the purchase of the Hudson Library and Historical Society building located on the Village Green near the center of town. After a year-long renovation process, the white frame home known as Baldwin House and the 1950s-era brick structure are separated. The Foundation’s new headquarters (the larger brick building) is dedicated in September 2006 and the Foundation completes its move from Akron to Hudson.
The explosion of technological advances continues with YouTube, a video-sharing website created by three former PayPal employees in February and purchased by Google for $1.65 billion in November 2006.
Hudson Montessori School receives funding for its micro-economy program while a chair in entrepreneurship is given to Baldwin-Wallace College (now Baldwin Wallace University). At the adult level, JumpStart receives support for its Evergeen Investment Fund to allow JumpStart to invest in emerging companies as well as provide advice to the leaders of the enterprises.
After a long and successful career, John V. Frank retires as president of the Foundation on December 31 but remains a Trustee. Deborah D. Hoover succeeds him as President and CEO on January 1, 2007. On the occasion of the Foundation’s 40th anniversary, Mark D. Robeson states that the Foundation’s biggest challenge is “how to apply the mission on a greater scale not just in terms of the geographic area but where can our grants do the most good….. how many quality people or individuals have become greater or been able to be more successful because of what touched them that was delivered by Burton D. Morgan Foundation.” Richard A. Chenoweth concurs, “We’re running as a mature organization that knows how to evaluate grant requests.”
At the dedication of Spirit of Innovation, a sculpture by David L. Deming, president of the Cleveland Institute of Art, for Ashland University’s Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Deborah D. Hoover states, “For Ashland, we believed from the outset, that this wonderful building needed a colorful and dramatic sculpture to grace the end of the entrance hall to the Morgan Center. We developed high expectations for this artwork – we wanted the sculpture to be visually stunning but also to capture the entrepreneurial vision of Burt Morgan and the Foundation…. We also hope that students from all disciplines on campus – from business to science, to art to music, will explore what the Center has to offer and discover how entrepreneurship can enhance their lives and careers.” Denison, Wooster, Purdue, Ashland, and Western Reserve Academy each receive funding for art upon completion of their buildings.
A grant is awarded to E City, an after-school entrepreneurship program eventually incorporated into Youth Opportunities Unlimited. At the collegiate level, Kenyon College receives $80,000 to support a speaker series designed to bring top business leaders to campus to provide students with insights into entrepreneurial thinking. The Foundation also renews its commitment to the Fund for Our Economic Future by joining with more than 80 philanthropic organizations to support regional economic development.
The Foundation, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri, launches NEOCEP, the Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program, a five-year, $6.6 million effort to create a culture of entrepreneurship at five liberal arts college campuses in the region. NEOCEP, the Foundation’s first signature collegiate entrepreneurship program, is on the campuses of The College of Wooster, Baldwin Wallace University, Lake Erie College, Hiram College, and Oberlin College.
Forever raising the bar for smartphones, Apple releases its first iPhone, continuing the technological improvements for the age.
On the dedication of the Fashion Design Wing at KSU, Deborah D. Hoover states, “The Burton D. Morgan Foundation began making grants to the Fashion School in 1972. In 1998, the Foundation made its first large grant to the technology needed to advance the study of design. This support has continued through 2006 and included completion of a $1 million endowment to provide technical support for the specialized equipment required to operate a top-ranked fashion school. In 2007, the Foundation approved a grant to assist design students to explore linkages between fashion and technology, a grant closely related to the Foundation’s mission of supporting entrepreneurship.”
At the youth level, Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Green Corps program introduces entrepreneurship to inner-city young people. The Foundation is awarded the Foundation Leadership Award by the North Central Ohio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and a $3 million challenge grant is awarded to JumpStart.
Toward the middle of the year, the Great Recession, a period of general economic decline that is felt across the world, hits in full force. Determining it to be the worst global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other financial institutions conclude the Great Recession is related to the global financial crisis and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis that strike at the same time.
Amazon introduces its reading tablet, the Kindle, which is amazingly popular and sells out within minutes.
Hiram College receives funding for the Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurship Center, a new space on campus designed to enhance and expand Hiram students’ entrepreneurial mindsets.
Richard A. Chenoweth retires from the Board and is honored at a September dinner becoming Trustee Emeritus. The economic downturn which began in 2008 continues well into 2009, and the resulting blow to the Foundation’s assets and income significantly affects the estimated distribution requirement for the next two years. Trustees and staff work together on ways to keep up the momentum of the grant-making and the Foundation's mission-related work.
Baldwin House reopens in May and, for a nominal annual lease from the Foundation, becomes home to the Hudson Community Foundation and Hudson area nonprofit organizations, including Hudson Job Search, Hudson Community First, and the Hudson Heritage Association. University School receives a grant for its Young Entrepreneur Institute which supports a variety of entrepreneurial activities; Entrepreneurship Immersion Week, under the auspices of the regional Entrepreneurship Education Consortium, is held at Kent State University and allows teams of students from area colleges and universities to brainstorm, put together a business plan, and come up with a winning product.
The Hudson Library & Historical Society unveils the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship Research which combines workshops, speakers, and research materials for aspiring entrepreneurs.
These years are ones of extreme growth and productivity for the Foundation. Important and significant programs for youth and collegiate entrepreneurship are started, while adult entrepreneur organizations such as JumpStart and BioEnterprise continue to thrive with Foundation support. The Foundation receives multiple awards honoring its achievements from organizations such as EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year® and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Networks of organizations supporting entrepreneurs and offering entrepreneurship programs in the region continue to expand and Cleveland becomes one of four Forward Cities chosen in the country. The global economy and housing market in the United States are still recovering from the Great Recession. But this doesn’t stop inventors. Apple continues to innovate with its tech products, introducing the iPad in 2010. MSN lists Case Western Reserve University’s bionic hand as one of the top inventions of 2014. And who can forget the cronut, a wildly popular hybrid of a croissant and donut?
“The Morgan Foundation supports opportunities for students to fully explore their ideas, try, fail and start again, often jettisoning the initial idea for a new one, but always learning along the way from missteps and false starts.”- Deborah D. Hoover
With funding from the Foundation, Invent Now rewrites the I Can Invent curriculum for its flagship program, Camp Invention. Approximately 80,000 young people across the country are impacted by the updated curriculum. The Hudson City School District receives $15,000 in funding for a pilot program that offers mini-grants for teachers proposing entrepreneurship lessons or activities. E CITY, with funding from the Foundation, runs a business plan competition for young people. The Foundation celebrates National Entrepreneurship Week and the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE), with a grant from the Foundation, supports entrepreneurial internships at startup businesses across the region.
With The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, Burton D. Morgan Foundation helps fund a nature preserve in Portage County for the public to enjoy. NEOCEP students continue to explore entrepreneurship at the collegiate level in and out of the classroom. And BioEnterprise, a grantee of the Foundation since 2007, receives a grant to help support and grow bioscience companies in the area.
One of the Foundation’s signature youth entrepreneurship programs, Lemonade Day, is launched. According to Greg Malkin, director of University School’s Young Entrepreneur Institute, “If you think about it, a lemonade stand has all the pieces of a business, scaled to the micro-/nano-level. They’ve got pricing, inventory, product development, manufacturing, advertising. You’ve got everything in it, so it really turns out to be a wonderful vehicle for teaching entrepreneurship to elementary school kids.”
Microsoft releases the Kinect2, further revolutionizing the video gaming industry.
JumpStart sponsors an Entrepreneurship Expo, bringing adult and collegiate entrepreneurs together to showcase their ventures. In the City of Hudson, funding is provided for the Hudson Farmers Market and Destination Hudson, a tool for visitors to the city. And with support from the Foundation, Austen BioInnovation Institute runs a science fair for middle- and high-school students.
The Foundation’s second signature collegiate program, Blackstone LaunchPad, is started with a partnership between the Foundation and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation of New York City. The program is on the campuses of Lorain County Community College, Baldwin Wallace University, Kent State University, and Case Western Reserve University.
The Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (EEC) hosts its annual business plan competition for college students. Grants are awarded to the Akron Urban League for its Partnership for the Minority Business Accelerator, Emmanuel Christian Academy for its summer entrepreneurship camp, and to EDGE for its Summer Fellows Internship Program. John Carroll University receives funding to develop and embed entrepreneurship and creativity in liberal arts courses. NorTech is awarded $50,000 to develop and implement the FlexMatters Prototyping Network for entrepreneurs in the flexible electronics industry. Gilmour Academy encourages young entrepreneurs to explore their passions through its Market Day program. Nearly 1,200 kids across the region participate in Lemonade Day.
Patrick T. Finley and Michael J. Hochschwender are elected Trustees of Burton D. Morgan Foundation in 2012, after John V. Frank retires from the Board in 2011.
A home HiV test is perfected, allowing individuals across the world to test for the autoimmune disease in the privacy of their own home.
Bad Girl Ventures hosts its entrepreneurial classes and business competition for aspiring women entrepreneurs. Grants are awarded to the University of Mt. Union for an entrepreneurship elevator pitch competition and to JumpStart for the Burton D. Morgan Mentoring Program for early-stage entrepreneurs.
Peg Morgan dies on September 22, 2013. In honor of her memory, a grant is awarded to the Margaret Clark Morgan Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Fashion School at Kent State University.
The artificial pancreas debuts, helping diabetics receive their insulin faster and safer.
At the youth level, a three-year grant is awarded to the Western Reserve Historical Society for a district-wide program of entrepreneurship for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The program serves thousands of students. Scholarship for Entrepreneurial Engagement receives a grant to support the SEE Economics & Entrepreneurship classroom program, the annual SEE Science & Technology Forum in Northeast Ohio, and the online course Introduction to the Innovation Economy of Northeast Ohio for high school students.
Blackstone LaunchPad spaces open at their respective colleges and universities, expanding entrepreneurial experiences to thousands more college-age students in Northeast Ohio. Other area institutions, such as the College of Wooster, continue to hold collegiate business plan competitions. Deborah D. Hoover is elected chair of the Fund for Our Economic Future, a position she holds until 2015.
Small grants are awarded to Hudson Community Service Association, Hudson Bandstand, and the Hudson Library. Hattie Larlham and Elves & More are among the nonprofits that receive the Foundation’s annual community grants.
The Foundation starts work on updating its strategic plan with a continued focus on its mission of supporting entrepreneurship. The Economic and Community Development Institute receives significant support to initiate microlending in Summit County. The Akron Development Corporation receives a grant to build out space at the Akron Global Business Accelerator for the new Bit Factory accelerator program for high-potential IT startups.
The Skully debuts, the world's first augmented-reality motorcycle helmet.
At the youth level, funds are awarded to support University School’s Young Entrepreneur Institute with the Foundation proactively granting $250,000 toward an endowment that supports the Institute in the future while the Young Entrepreneur Market allows students to sell their products at area farmers markets. The Foundation celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week with a series of events co-sponsored by the City of Hudson and the Hudson Library & Historical Society, including a pitch competition at the Library. The Northeast Ohio Student Venture Fund is awarded $125,000 for a student-run investment fund that offers advanced students at Northeast Ohio universities experiential learning about the startup investment process while simultaneously providing pre-seed capital for high-potential ventures in the region. Venture for America receives funding to support five Venture for America Fellows in Northeast Ohio for two years.
Blackstone LaunchPad schools such as Kent State University host business plan competitions for students. MAGNET supports adult entrepreneurs with its Beta Space while the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland receives a three-year grant to establish a Youth Market Garden and entrepreneurship program at two club sites in collaboration with the Cleveland Botanical Garden. And the Foundation and President Deborah D. Hoover are honored with the 2014 EY Entrepreneur of The Year® Award in Northeast Ohio in its Educational Services and Non-Profit category.
In collaboration with the Veale Foundation, the Foundation supports the Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum Business Plan Competition for high school students. Approximately 21,000 college- and adult- students participate in the Foundation-sponsored Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies through a grant awarded to Case Western Reserve University.
At the opening reception of the Foundation's new Innovation Space, guests are asked to write their answers to questions posted on whiteboards such as, “How do you help foster innovation?” The Economic Growth Foundation receives a grant to serve minority business enterprises and minority entrepreneurs. The Trustees approve grants totaling more than $2 million at their February meeting, including a grant of $1,000,000 to establish the Burton D. Morgan Suite for Entrepreneurship within Case Western Reserve University’s new think[box] facility, to foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation activities throughout Northeast Ohio.
The Sproutling Baby Monitor comes to market, a Fitbit-like device that can track an infant’s heart rate, body temperature, position, and more, and notify parents, via mobile app, if there’s cause for alarm.
The Foundation sponsors the first ENSPIRE conference for youth entrepreneurship at University School featuring entrepreneur and Shark Tank personality Daymond John. The Foundation also awards $175,000 to Team NEO, a regional organization that markets Northeast Ohio and aims to attract new businesses, grow existing businesses, and accelerate the pace and impact of innovation in the region. William Koehler, CEO of Team NEO comments, “We are grateful to have the Burton D. Morgan Foundation as a trusted partner in our collective efforts to foster innovation and help nurture growth companies in our region. This funding will allow us to bring our valuable services to a larger number of companies within our advanced energy and flexible electronics clusters. This in turn will enable us to help spur business retention and expansion in Northeast Ohio."
Commencement speaker Deborah D. Hoover at Baldwin Wallace University tells its graduates, “A liberal arts education allows students to take charge of their own lives. Through the breadth of your education and your exposure to entrepreneurship, you have the keys to the castle! Woven into your Baldwin Wallace education are skills that will help you actualize your dreams – you have been exposed to the entrepreneurial mindset! Some of you have had an introduction, and some have taken a deeper dive. But all of you now have the secret ingredient that can transform your dreams into reality.”
The first Pitch U competition takes place at the Kent State University Student Center on September 19. Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation receives $40,000 to support and expand training and microloan programs for entrepreneurs.
As the Foundation prepares to celebrate its first 50 years, it embarks on a journey to evaluate its brand and ensure that it reflects the identity of the Foundation as a forward-thinking organization. As a result, the Foundation introduces its colorful new brand which better captures its mission through the redesigned logo, graphics, and palette. The new brand perfectly symbolizes the Foundation’s rich history while simultaneously preparing it for an exciting future growing Northeast Ohio’s burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem. Its new mission is “To Champion the Entrepreneurial Spirit.”
Stanley C. Gault, a long-time friend of the Foundation, retires as a Trustee and later dies in June 2016. The Foundation honors Stan and his dedication to the Morgan Foundation with a grant to Wayne County Community Foundation to establish a legacy fund that will continue Stan's thoughtful and strategic approach to philanthropic giving. Burton D. Morgan Foundation serves as a Silver Level Sponsor for the 4th Annual Deshpande Symposium, which several staff attend and at which President Deborah D. Hoover presents. The Association of Fundraising Professionals – Cleveland Chapter awards Burton D. Morgan Foundation the Foundation Leadership Award. Stan Hywet receives one of the Foundation’s community grants. Triad Communications and the Foundation receive the 2015 Communicator Award – judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts – for the Foundation’s 2013 annual report, Inspired.
The four Blackstone LaunchPad Northeast Ohio campuses decide to form their own network in conjunction with the Foundation called NEOLaunchNET.
On April 29, the Foundation announces the establishment of a new research center, the Entrepreneurship Education Experiment. Under the umbrella of the Center, the Burton D. Morgan Fellowship Program is started, with Dr. Scott Shane of Case Western Reserve University becoming the Foundation’s first Burton D. Morgan Research Fellow.
The Foundation expands its support of area liberal arts colleges, in this case Notre Dame College, by providing funds for entrepreneurship programming and to secure and improve program space on campus. A scaleup initiative in Northeast Ohio to help companies with the potential and desire to expand is supported by Burton D. Morgan Foundation. As part of Scalerator NEO, Foundation staff participate in the Fund for Our Economic Future due diligence on Northeast Ohio scaleups and explore the successful Scale Up Milwaukee model. Burton D. Morgan Foundation serves as EY Entrepreneur of the Year® program sponsor in 2016.
The Foundation ventures into supporting medical entrepreneurship by awarding funding to University Hospitals-Cleveland Medical Center to cover the costs related to mentorship and consulting support for physician-scientists participating in the Harrington Project for Discovery and Development, a pioneering, Cleveland-based national initiative to accelerate medical breakthroughs into life-enhancing and lifesaving new drugs.
The Foundation also continues its work in the region, with several grant programs having a particular impact on innovation in the Akron area. The Fund for Our Economic Future, which is working to strengthen the entrepreneurial community in Akron, is awarded a significant multi-year grant to bolster its strategic direction around growth and opportunity. Akron Development Corporation receives a grant to construct a multi-purpose space at the entrance to the Akron Global Business Accelerator. The new space, which is anticipated to include a reception area, a small restaurant/coffee shop, and multiple collaboration spaces, will serve to better connect a variety of community groups to the business incubator. “Innovative leaders, entrepreneurs, and businesses seek places where they can gather for conversation, have meetings, and get a great cup of coffee,” said Anthony Margida, CEO of Akron Global Business Accelerator. “This generous grant from Burton D. Morgan Foundation will create a space that not only encourages collaboration for our client companies, but meets the needs of neighboring businesses and organizations in our part of the city.”
Akron SCORE, which provides guidance and assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners through seasoned business executives, receives funding to support operations over the coming year.
With over $100 million in grants awarded since its founding in 1967, Burton D. Morgan Foundation begins the celebration of its 50th anniversary. A special Hudson fireworks display is planned and funded by the Foundation to celebrate its anniversary.
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