Local foundation gets gold seal

The McGinty Family Foundation, a University Heights-based nonprofit dedicated to helping education, has received the 2018 GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency. The seal means that the foundation has provided financial statements, goals, and other key metrics that the GuideStar website says “give potential donors and funders better insight” into their work.

GuideStar is the nation’s largest nonprofit database, with information on 2.7 million organizations. It awards four transparency levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum (https://learn.guidestar.org/seals).

Foundation Executive Director T.P. McGinty said receiving the seal “means we’ve done our due diligence,” and it “allows us to stand out among nonprofits. We’re honored to receive this award.”

McGinty said his parents started the foundation in 1989 “to help teachers with out of pocket expenses for the classroom” because his “father’s siblings were all teachers.” He said as the foundation approaches its 30th anniversary, it has given more than $8 million in grants to K–12 schools throughout Northeast Ohio.

Locally, Gesu Catholic School in University Heights received a $10,000 grant for its media center. The Friends of Heights Libraries received $5,000.

McGinty said both individual teachers and educational institutions can apply for grants at the foundation website, www.mcgintyfoundation.org.