Gelco Charitable Foundation

About Gelco Charitable Foundation

The Gelco Charitable Foundation’s largest recorded award is a $6.1 million in-kind transfer to Schwab Charitable Fund, which makes clear that the foundation routes most of its philanthropy through donor-advised giving vehicles rather than through direct operating grants. That same pattern is reinforced by a second 2024 grant to Schwab Charitable Fund for $110,751, both coded as general and unrestricted support. Outside that intermediary channel, the foundation’s recent grants show a steady stream of modest awards to Catholic institutions, education programs, and charitable service groups. In the direct-grant record, the foundation has backed ministries and schools alongside service organizations, with recurring support for groups such as Mary Tv Inc, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, and Queen of Peace Catholic Church. It has also funded named purposes, including an MS Center Fund, a financial aid fund, a gymnasium fund, a low-income senior housing project, and a DSP shoe reimbursement fund. The overall picture is of a funder that combines large intermediary transfers with smaller, purpose-specific grants across religious, educational, and human-services settings.

What Gelco Charitable Foundation Funds

Catholic and faith-based work is a major thread in the grant record. The foundation gave $14,500 to Our Lady of the Lake Church for general and unrestricted support, $10,000 to Aid to the Church in Need Inc. for general and unrestricted support, and $5,000 to Newman Center at Oregon State University for general and unrestricted support. It also funded religious education and ministry groups, including $11,500 to Franciscan University of Steubenville and $10,000 to Encounter Ministries for a Portland, Oregon campus at Ascension Catholic Church. Education support appears in both school and campus settings. The foundation awarded $10,000 to Jesuit High School for financial aid and $10,000 to Regis Catholic High School for general and unrestricted support. On the service side, it gave $12,000 to Catholic Community Services of the Mid Willamette for a DSP shoe reimbursement fund and $10,000 to United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley for a low-income senior housing project on Market Street. Health-related giving also shows up in a $20,000 grant to Providence St Vincent Medical Foundation for an MS Center Fund.

How Gelco Charitable Foundation Gives