| | Abstract: | The Nordson Foundation (1952-1988) was originally created by Walter G. and Virginia Nord. Walter Nord was the president of U. S. Automatic Corporation (f. 1909) of Amherst, Ohio, a company which manufactured screw machine parts for the automotive industry. Walter Nord and his sons, Evan and Eric Nord, organized the Nordson Corporation in 1954 as a subsidiary of U. S. Automatic Corporation. The Nordson Corporation, headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, is a multinational company that designs, manufactures, and markets systems that apply adhesives, sealants, and coatings to a broad range of consumer and industrial products during the manufacturing process. The Nordson Foundation was a philanthropic organization which provided financial support primarily in the areas of public service, social problems, family services, and education. The Nord family, including Walter's sons Eric and Evan Nord, and Cleveland lawyer William Ginn, guided the foundation through 1980. In 1988 the foundation was reorganized to create the Nord Family Foundation and the Nordson Corporation Foundation. Since its inception, the Nord Family Foundation has primarily served Lorain County, Ohio, and has been based in the Lorain-Elyria area. As of 1993, the foundation was headquartered in Elyria, Ohio. Its charitable activities, however, have sometimes reached into neighboring locales, particularly Cuyahoga County and Cleveland, and touched other areas of Ohio and the nation. In addition to the foundation, the Nord family is also noted for its involvement in the development of inventions, including innovations in areas as diverse as spray painters and robotics. The collection consists of articles of incorporation, minutes of the board of trustees, policies and procedures, a mission statement, resolutions, correspondence, financial reports, contract bids and specifications, newspaper clippings, memoranda, pamphlets, publications, accounting journals, budgets, tax returns, affidavits, and materials related to projects and activities of the foundation, with grant proposals (1980-1984) compromising the bulk of the materials. The files include the minutes, cases, photographs, and organizational materials of the Neighborhood Concepts Company (1984-1986), a Lorain-Elyria housing rehabilitation program initiated through the funding of the Nordson Foundation. The records of the Nord Family Foundation and the Nordson Corporation Foundation are not part of this collection. | |
