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Ads Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ads Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$430k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Human Services$3.0MEnvironment$493kPhilanthropy$400kRecreation & Sports$250kEducation$250kFood & Nutrition$40kYouth Development$40kPublic Safety & Disaster$30kOther$0
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $80k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$40,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH$250,000
Individual grant recipient$100,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF CENTRAL OHIO$40,000
FLORIDA DISASTER RELIEF FUND$15,000
NORTH CAROLINA DISASTER RELIEF FUND$15,000
KEEP OHIO BEAUTIFUL$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH: $250k → 15%VOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $25k → 19%NORTH CAROLINA DISASTER RELIEF FUND: $15k → 8%HENRY COUNTY AG IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION: $40k → 9%MIRACLE LEAGUE OF NEW ALBANY: $200k → 15%THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP: $50k → 4%FLORIDA DISASTER RELIEF FUND: $15k → 19%MIRACLE LEAGUE OF NEW ALBANY: $50k → 15%THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP: $50k → 4%PELOTONIA RIDE WEEKEND: $100k → 15%THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP: $50k → 4%PELOTONIA RIDE WEEKEND: $50k → 15%UNITED WAY: $50k → 15%UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO: $25k → 15%PELOTONIA: $10k → 15%NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S: $3.0M → 15%THE COLUMBUS FOUNDATION (RAPID 5): $250k → 15%THE COLUMBUS FOUNDATION (RAPID 5): $50k → 15%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $167k → 15%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $167k → 15%JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF CENTRAL OHIO: $40k → 15%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.

20%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$850k · 4 repeat orgs$3.5M to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 3 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
6

Total granted

$850k
$3.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
+217%

Still filing today

50%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 23% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $330k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24
PhilanthropyAnimalsEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentEducationInternationalOther
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

  • TC
    THE COLUMBUS FOUNDATION (RAPID 5)
    2× · 2021–2023 · $300k
  • ML
    MIRACLE LEAGUE OF NEW ALBANY INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $250k · revenue -72% · 89% of their budget
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    2× · 2023–2024 · $150k

Funded once

  • NC
    NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S
    one grant, 2022 · $3.0M
  • UW
    UNITED WAY
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
  • HC
    HENRY COUNTY AG IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2022 · $40k · revenue -41%
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
Ohio United Way

To strengthen the capacity of United Ways across Ohio and to advance the common good for Ohioans.

Philanthropy
2
Jobsohio

To promote economic development, job creation, job retention, job training, workforce development, and the retention of current and recruitment of new business to ohio.

Employment
3
Ohio Business Roundtable

To harness the collective expertise of ohio's ceos to advocate for policies that improve ohio's economic competitiveness.

—
4
Philanthropy Ohio

To lead and equip ohio philanthropy to be effective partners for change in our communities.

Philanthropy
5
United Way of East Central Iowa

Unite the caring power of communities to invest in effective solutions to improve people's lives.

Philanthropy
6
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
7
American Flood Coalition Inc

To drive transformational adaptation to protect communities across the country from higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding.

Environment
8
National Association of Clean Water Agencies

Nacwa is the national voice of public clean water utilities, shaping water policy, convening a vibrant peer network, and empowering water leaders.

—
9
New York League of Conservation Voters

See schedule onylcv is a non-partisan policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and…

—
10
Ohio Chamber of Commerce

As the state's leading business advocate and resource, the ohio chamber of commerce aggressively champions free enterprise, economic competitiveness and growth for the benefit of all ohioans.

—
11
University of Iowa Facilities Corporation

The university of iowa facilities corporation acquires and holds property for the benefit and use of the university of iowa.

—
12
Ohio State Bar Association

The ohio state bar association (the "association") is an unincorporated voluntary non-profit organization. the association was formed to promote justice and advance the interests of the legal profession.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Central Ohio Inc; the most unlike its peers is Henry County Ag Improvement Association. 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

10 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. 10 of the 16 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
4/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S: $3,000,000 · OtherNATIONWIDE CHILDREN'STHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $333,334 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYTHE COLUMBUS FOUNDATION (RAPID 5): $300,000 · OtherTHE COLUMBUS FOUNDATION (RAPID 5)UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTH: $250,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-DULUTHIndividual grant recipient: $150,000 · Other+2 more: $65,000 · OtherMIRACLE LEAGUE OF NEW ALBANY INC: $250,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP INC: $150,000 · EnvironmentVOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF NORTH CAROLINA: $15,000 · PhilanthropyJunior Achievement of Central Ohio Inc: $40,000 · InternationalHENRY COUNTY AG IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION: $40,000 · AnimalsPELOTONIA: $10,000 · EducationKEEP OHIO BEAUTIFUL INC: $10,000 · Community Improvement
Other$4,098,334Youth Development$250,000Environment$150,000Philanthropy$65,000International$40,000Animals$40,000Education$10,000Community Improvement$10,000

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 budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $333,334 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMIRACLE LEAGUE OF NEW ALBANY INC: $250,000 over 2y, 89% of budgetTHE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP INC: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJunior Achievement of Central Ohio Inc: $40,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHENRY COUNTY AG IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION: $40,000 over 1y, 9.4% of budgetVOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL OHIO INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF NORTH CAROLINA: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPELOTONIA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKEEP OHIO BEAUTIFUL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.6% 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Volunteer Florida Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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.

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 16 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.

Source object · view filing

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More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home