About Edelweiss Foundation
The Edelweiss Foundation focuses its philanthropy exclusively on supporting the Cincinnati Zoo, providing unrestricted general operating support. Its gifts indicate a strong local commitment to animal welfare, zoological education, and the civic cultural institution represented by the zoo. The foundation appears to prefer funding one familiar, high-impact local organization rather than distributing small gifts broadly.
Focus Areas
Support for regional zoological institutions (Cincinnati Zoo)Animal welfare and conservation programming delivered by zoosUnrestricted/general operating support for a single local cultural nonprofit
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated giving: a small number of large, repeat unrestricted grants to a single local grantee rather than diversified or project-specific funding.
Funding Style
unrestricted supportgeneral operating supportflexible funding
Notable grantees: Cincinnati Zoo
Topics
About Edelweiss Foundation
Edelweiss Foundation’s giving is marked by repeated, unrestricted support for Cincinnati Zoo, including $265,000 in 2025 and $260,000 in 2024. That pattern makes the zoo the clearest window into the foundation’s priorities: local institutions, flexible funding, and long-term support for a familiar grantee. The foundation also extends this same general-operating approach to other Cincinnati organizations, suggesting a preference for strengthening core operations rather than financing narrow projects. Recent grants show a broad civic orientation within Greater Cincinnati. Alongside the zoo, Edelweiss Foundation has backed Cincinnati Cancer Fdtn, Boys & Girls Club, Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, and St Xavier High School at six-figure or near-six-figure levels. These awards are typically described as money given to the charity’s general fund to be used as it sees fit, which points to unrestricted support as a central feature of the foundation’s giving. Its most consistent relationships appear local and repeat-based, with multiple grantees appearing in consecutive years. The pattern suggests a funder that concentrates resources in Cincinnati-area nonprofits it already knows, rather than spreading many small gifts across a wide field.
What Edelweiss Foundation Funds
Education is one of the foundation’s stated priorities, and the grant list shows that in practice through support for schools and education-focused nonprofits. Edelweiss Foundation gave $100,000 in 2025 to Accelerate Great Schools and $100,000 in 2025 to St Xavier High School, both as general support. Healthcare is another clear theme. The foundation awarded $185,000 in 2025 to Cincinnati Cancer Fdtn and $140,000 in 2024 to Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, again with unrestricted support language. Family and community support also appears in the grant record. Edelweiss Foundation gave $120,000 in 2025 to Boys & Girls Club and $50,000 in 2025 to Ronald Mcdonald House, both Cincinnati-based organizations serving local families and children. The foundation’s priorities also align with Cincinnati development through gifts to Cincinnati Minority Business Accelerator and Cornerstone Renter Equity, each funded with general support.
How Edelweiss Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster tightly around the same size: the 25th percentile and median are both $10,000, while the 75th percentile is $25,000. The recent-grants list also shows a smaller set of much larger awards, including several $50,000 to $265,000 gifts. The pattern is recurring rather than one-off. Cincinnati Zoo appears in both 2024 and 2025, and several other recipients, including Cincinnati Cancer Fdtn, Boys & Girls Club, The Christ Hospital, St Mary's Church, and Cornerstone Renter Equity, also recur across years. The foundation is not a DAF or an individual donor vehicle; it is an institutional foundation with local, unrestricted grantmaking. It accepts unsolicited proposals in at least one of its grantmaking descriptions.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$2.7M
Total Assets
$55.6M
Total Revenue
$7.2M
Total Expenses
$3.8M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $25K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$25K
Geographic Reach
Local8 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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