A Northeast Ohio 501(c)(3) Organization
Skilled Labor Foundation
The Why
We understand that a traditional four-year college or university is not for everyone. The initiatives first component is hosting annual community advocacy events targeted towards middle school students to advocate & raise awareness for the benefits of a career in the skilled labor industry.
The second component provides the long-term financial foundation for educational institution support and growth through annual development grants including but not limited to new training equipment, increasing class room capability, and additional hands-on courses.
The Now
Facilitate recurring fundraising events as well as a goal based advisor board seats from generous donors across the skilled labor industry. We then put that money into income earning equities managed by Farmers Trust Co, to provide funds to facilitate annual community advocacy events across Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula & Cuyahoga county.
The Next
The 2028 goal is to establish a minimum foundation endowment of $250,000. This is when the local early education institutions focused on skilled labor work force development are able to apply for grants provided by the foundations second component as listed above.
.png)
2024 Industry Advocacy Event
This skilled trade and manufacturing networking event brought together individuals from all sectors of these industries, as well as education and recruitment. The event took place from 4 to 7 PM in Cleveland, Ohio. It included two hours of structured networking and a one-hour live panel discussion. The topics centered around workforce development, best practices in each industry, and how we can advance the OSAO mission to advocate for earlier career exploration opportunities for middle school students.