Charles Wiersma

Charles Wiersma is listed by the Lorain County Community College Foundation as its Director of Finance and Operations. The Foundation’s team page places him on the LCCC Foundation staff at 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria, Ohio, alongside Executive Director Lisa Brown and other development, scholarship, events, and alumni-relations staff.

The Lorain County Community College Foundation was established in 1973 and describes itself as one of the pioneering community college foundations in the United States. Its mission is to assemble and use resources to accelerate Lorain County Community College’s mission and vision. Its public strategic priorities include strengthening the Innovation Fund, launching strategic fundraising campaigns, supporting alternative revenue sources, and building internal foundation capacity.

Public nonprofit filings and nonprofit-data providers list Wiersma as a key employee/officer of the Foundation. Cause IQ reports him as Director of Finance and Operations with $101,805 in compensation for the Foundation’s 2025 filing year; ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer also lists him in that role in recent Form 990-derived data.

I found no verified public biography, education record, personal investing thesis, or personal angel-investment track record for Wiersma. The investable profile below is therefore grounded in the LCCC Foundation’s Innovation Fund and related institutional activity, not in verified personal angel investments by Wiersma.

• The relevant investment vehicle is the Innovation Fund, founded by the Lorain County Community College Foundation, rather than a personal angel fund publicly tied to Wiersma.
• The Innovation Fund describes itself as a pre-seed fund for early-stage companies in the 21 counties of Northeast Ohio, intended to help entrepreneurs turn technology ideas into viable businesses.
• The fund’s stated role is often to be “the first investment into a company” after founders have exhausted personal assets and before outside firms invest.
• It focuses on technology companies in proof-of-concept or startup phase, especially new technology in high-growth industries.
• Award structure: “A” awards provide up to $50,000 for late-ideation opportunities to prove technology; “B” awards provide up to $150,000 for incubating companies to prove business concepts.
• Requirements include Ohio location, student/faculty educational engagement, mentoring through GLIDE or regional partners, a 1:1 dollar match, and agreement to a convertible-debt instrument.
• The Foundation’s own strategic priorities include enhancing the Innovation Fund for stability, which indicates the fund remains part of the Foundation’s economic-development strategy.