Living the Golden Rule

WHAT WE DO

Supporting Worthwhile
Community Causes

The Worthington Companies Foundation, formerly known as the Worthington Industries Foundation, exists to support worthwhile community causes in the areas where we live and work. In fiscal year 2026, the Foundation contributed $3.8M to 74 organizations in our focus areas of Health, Human Services, Youth & Education and Civic Causes.

Funded by Worthington Enterprises and Worthington Steel, the two public companies formed by the December 2023 split of the former Worthington Industries, the Foundation’s community efforts now have the power of two companies behind it. The Worthington Companies Foundation is a donor advised fund of The Columbus Foundation.

Learn More

We Proudly Support

3rd & Goal Foundation
A Kid Again
Alvis
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
BESA Community Inc.
Birdies for Buddies
Blue Star Mothers
Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus
Canine Companions for Independence
Catholic Social Services
Celebrate One
Children’s Hunger Alliance
LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence
College Mentors for Kids
Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA)
Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation
Columbus Chapter of the National Football Foundation
Columbus Council on World Affairs
Columbus Early Learning Centers
Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation
Columbus Speech and Hearing Center
Columbus State Community College
Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
Community Shelter Board
Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio
Families Flourish, Inc.
Femergy
First Lady’s Foundation
Flying Horse Farms
Franklin Park Conservatory
Furniture Bank of Central Ohio
Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland
Gladden Community House
I Am Boundless
Junior Achievement of Central Ohio
Kaleidoscope Youth Center

Law Enforcement Foundation
Lettuce Work Foundation
LifeCare Alliance
Maryhaven
Mid-Ohio Food Collective
Momentum Excellence
National Church Residences
National Groundwater Foundation
National Veterans Memorial and Museum
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation
New Albany Community Foundation
Northwest State Community College Foundation
Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
Ohio State University Foundation
One Columbus Foundation
Otterbein University
Overwatch Partnership
Peggy R McConnell Worthington Center for the Arts
Pelotonia
Recreation Unlimited
Rev1 Ventures
Scouting America, Simon Kenton Council
Seeds of Caring
SmartColumbus
Spark Force – Manufacturers & Fabricators Foundation
Star House
St. Vincent Family Center
Stowe Mission of Central Ohio Community Kitchen
The Salvation Army of Central Ohio
United Way of Central Ohio
United Way of Delaware County
Women’s Initiative for Sustainable Environment (WACCF)
Worthington Educational Foundation
Worthington Resource Pantry
YMCA of Central Ohio
YWCA Columbus

Corporate
Citizenship & Sustainability Reports

View Report

Organization Spotlight

Children’s Hunger Alliance

Human Services

When children visit the doctor, access to nutritious food should be one less thing for families to worry about. When clinicians at Nationwide Children’s Hospital noticed more children arriving for appointments with symptoms of hunger, Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) launched its Ready-to-Eat Meals program in 2020. The Worthington Companies Foundation was an early supporter and has contributed more than $250,000 as of 2026.

To make it easy for children experiencing food insecurity to access nutritious food, the program provides five-item meals that require no refrigeration or adult preparation and can be eaten at the clinic or taken home when needed. What began at five Nationwide Children’s resident clinics now reaches 14 primary care locations, providing approximately 48,000 meals each year. Through this program and its broader work across 74 Ohio counties, CHA helps children reach their full potential by providing nutritious meals and food education where they live, learn and play.

The Columbus Zoo

Civic Causes

We have supported the Columbus Zoo, a treasured community asset, through educational programs and wildlife conservation efforts, for nearly 50 years. Announced in 2026, The Worthington Companies Foundation and The McConnell Foundation are making a transformational gift of $10 million. As the Zoo prepares for its 100th anniversary, the gift will support the new, world-class John F. Wolfe Aquarium, conservation programs and signature projects at The Wilds.

Our relationship with the Zoo began in 1979, when John H. McConnell helped create a new outdoor gorilla habitat, an important milestone in the Zoo’s development. Over three generations, our contributions have supported the Zoo’s growth through investments in education, conservation and guest experiences, from the Water’s Edge event space and the first yurts at The Wilds to the Zoo’s Connecting People & Wildlife campaign.

Having been part of nearly half the Zoo’s history, we look forward to continuing that relationship into its next century.

Junior Achievement of Central Ohio

Youth & Education

Preparing our youth for the future means making education relevant, engaging and connected to the real world. To help expand opportunities for students, The Worthington Companies Foundation invested $500,000 in Junior Achievement (JA) of Central Ohio’s Achieve More campaign. The investment helped JA modernize its Columbus Learning Center, launch its Newark Learning Center and increase student engagement opportunities.

During the 2025-26 school year, more than 43,000 students participated in at least one JA learning experience, including more than 20,000 who took part in immersive programs at a JA Learning Center. The campaign broadens access to these transformative experiences, helping students build the skills and confidence needed for future success while strengthening talent pipelines and advancing economic mobility across Ohio.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Health

Our relationship with Nationwide Children’s Hospital dates back more than 60 years, when company founder John H. McConnell made his first gift. Building on this history, The Worthington Companies Foundation and The McConnell Foundation made a $7.5 million multi-year gift to create the Worthington Companies Pediatric Research Fund.

The Fund helps researchers fill critical funding gaps, enabling promising research to continue moving toward better outcomes for children. In 2026, $1 million of our total donation is supporting five research projects focused on diseases and conditions including cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, infectious disease, liver disease and recurrent childhood ear infections. With Nationwide Children’s serving children and families in more than 50 countries, the impact of research supported in Columbus has the potential to reach around the world.

Your Mission, Our Support

We review grant requests twice a year: those received by May 1 will be notified in July, and grant requests received by October 1 will be notified in December.

The Worthington Companies Foundation accepts requests from nonprofit organizations with an IRS tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) and organizations in the local communities where we operate, with the majority of our financial support targeted in central Ohio.

We are unable to support individuals, religious organizations, ethnic organizations, labor groups, fraternal organizations or any request seeking financial support for debt retirement. We receive a very high volume of requests and, therefore, only a small percentage of requests are funded.

Submit request