The Case Alumni Foundation ranked among the leading foundations in Northeast Ohio based upon value of the grants it awarded last year, according to Crain’s Cleveland Business.

The newspaper ranked the CAF  5^th among 39 foundations surveyed, behind the KeyBank Foundation and ahead of the Akron Community Foundation.

It’s the highest ranking attained by the CAF and results primarily from a single gift from the estate of L. David Baldwin ’49. Baldwin’s gift of $10,991,284 was designated for the College of Arts and Sciences to support its science programs.

According to Crain’s analysis, the gift was the second largest grant distributed in Northeast Ohio last year.

Baldwin, a physicist who pioneered microwave technologies, was for many years a generous donor to the Case Alumni Foundation, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Case School of Engineering. He died in March of 2021 at age 96.

Each year, Crain’s ranks the region’s foundations based upon the amount of money they distribute. While a No. 5 ranking is an anomaly for the CAF, it indicates the level of donor that the foundation is able to attract, according to Steve Zinram, executive director of the Case Alumni Association and the Case Alumni Foundation.

Even without a gift of Baldwin’s magnitude, Zinram notes, the foundation typically ranks among the Top 20 foundations in the region.

“Our strong ranking is evidence that our consistent donors do make a difference and allow us to give Case the support it needs to be a world-class school of science and engineering,” he said. “We continue to operate in the spirit of our motto ‘Imagine, Invest, Impact.’”

Contributions to the Case Alumni Foundation are used exclusively to support the Case School of Engineering and the science and math programs at Case Western Reserve University.

Read more about L. David Baldwin at www.thedaily.case.edu/alumnus-and-philanthropist-l-david-baldwin-passes-away/