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Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$68k
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$68k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Arts & Culture$275kEducation$182kReligion$179kHousing & Shelter$34kHuman Services$20kFood & Nutrition$17kCrime & Legal$15kHealth$13kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$68,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$35k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS$68,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–20, $21k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%JARC: $1k → 8%DETROIT CHESED PROJECT: $20k → 8%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$676k · 9 repeat orgs$81k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
8

Total granted

$676k
$81k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+31%

Still filing today

78%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’24
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesFood & NutritionPublic Safety & DisasterScience & TechOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
    5× · 2017–2024 · $120k · revenue +46%
  • JA
    JEAN AND SAMUEL FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT
    2× · 2018–2020 · $100k · revenue +21%
  • BB
    BEYOND BASICS
    3× · 2017–2020 · $37k · revenue +343%

Funded once

  • DC
    DETROIT CHESED PROJECTgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $20k · revenue +98%
  • CS
    CRANBROOK SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2018 · $16k
  • RP
    RUGIERO PROMISE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $12k · revenue +16%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Hillel of Metropolitan Detroit

Inspire students to be active in jewish life.

Education
2
The Jewish Fund

The jewish fund is organized and operates exclusively for charitable, educational, and religious purposes. the fund's primary activities are: supporting a jewish health care mission in the greater detroit area and michigan; promotion of…

Philanthropy
3
Michigan Jewish Center for Learning Development

Educating teenagers who have emotional and.or psychological disabilities and intstill in them jewish values and knowledge

Youth Development
4
Jewish Federation of Detroit

The jewish federation of detroit is the cornerstone of our jewish community. we are committed to taking care of the needs of the jewish people and building a strong and vibrant jewish future, in detroit, in israel and around the world.

Philanthropy
5
United Jewish Foundation

The united jewish foundation of detroit owns, manages and invests jewish communal assets, including general and endowment funds, agency endowments, supporting foundations and real property. the foundation is committed to ensuring that…

Philanthropy
6
Hillel Day School of Metro Detroit

Provide hebrew and jewish instruction and general secular studies for kindergarten through eighth grade in modern education facilities and also provide early childhood programs.

Education
7
Jsl Foundation

We nurture a sense of community and enrich the lives of older adults, while embracing jewish values and celebrating life.

Human Services
8
Keren L'torah

Keren l'torah will promote jewish education in the greater detroit jewish community through classes, lectures, and distribution of written and audio materials. all educational opportunities by the corporation will be either free or at a…

Religion
9
Aish Hatorah Detroit

To ignite jewish passion and empower every jew to embrace their heritage, thereby ensuring the vibrant continuity of the jewish epople.

Religion
10
Jamia Islamia Darul-Uloom Detroit

A religious school providing islamic education based on the quran and sunnah

Education
11
Detroit Jews for Justice

Djj advances racial and economic justice by developing metro detroit jews as community organizers who fight for transformative policy change in deep partnership with neighbors

Civil Rights
12
The Detroit Jewish News Foundation Inc

To educate and strengthen the jewish community of detroit and southeast michigan by capturing, telling, and learning from this community's story through the ongoing creation, production, preservation, and dissemination of news and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Holocaust Memorial Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hatzalah of Michigan. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

13 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 13 of the 17 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $145,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $119,500 · Arts & CultureTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTSHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureYESHIVATH BETH YEHUDAH: $179,000 · OtherYESHIVATH BETH YEHUDAHTHE HEAT AND WARMTH FUND: $34,380 · OtherTHE HEAT AND WARMTH FUNDCRANBROOK SCHOOLS: $15,525 · OtherCRANBROOK SCHOOLSWAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF YOUTH AND SENIOR EDUCATION FUND: $15,000 · OtherWAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF YOUTH AND SENIOR …DETROIT CHESSED PROJECT: $10,000 · OtherJEAN AND SAMUEL FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT: $100,000 · EducationJEAN AND SAMUEL FRANKEL …BEYOND BASICS: $36,500 · EducationBEYOND BASICSCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $30,000 · EducationCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL CO…DETROIT CHESED PROJECT: $20,000 · Human ServicesJARC: $1,000 · Human ServicesFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $16,500 · Food & NutritionRUGIERO PROMISE FOUNDATION: $12,300 · Science & TechHATZALAH OF MICHIGAN: $10,000 · Public Safety & DisasterLIFE DIRECTIONS: $2,000 · Housing & Shelter
Arts & Culture$274,500Other$253,905Education$166,500Human Services$21,000Food & Nutrition$16,500Science & Tech$12,300Public Safety & Disaster$10,000Housing & Shelter$2,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $145,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $119,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJEAN AND SAMUEL FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT: $100,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetBEYOND BASICS: $36,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetTHE HEAT AND WARMTH FUND: $34,380 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCRANBROOK EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT CHESED PROJECT: $20,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $16,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRUGIERO PROMISE FOUNDATION: $12,300 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLIFE DIRECTIONS: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJARC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Community Foundation …The Samuel and Jean F…Edward C and Linda Dr…United Jewish Foundat…DTE Energy FoundationThe Bank of America C…Network for GoodNational Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganMI15.4× affinity5 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · The Samuel and Jean Frankel Jewish Heritage Foundation · Edward C and Linda Dresner Levy Foundation · United Jewish Foundation · DTE Energy Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Aaron and Carolynn Frankel Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 17 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Aaron and Carolynn Frankel’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

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    where grant money is based, and what stays home