Skip to content
Akers Gerber Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Akers Gerber 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.

$75k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$3.6MArts & Culture$2.8MHuman Services$1.1MYouth Development$300kRecreation & Sports$145kEnvironment$125kCommunity Improvement$120kSocial Science$100kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$50,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$50,000
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGH$25,000
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 (FY17–24, $934k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $155k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES: $87k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES: $75k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $70k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES: $70k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES: $43k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES: $35k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $35k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $35k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $25k → 11%JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $15k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $15k → 11%URBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION: $25k → 11%URBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION: $25k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDRENS SERVICES: $10k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES: $30k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES: $30k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $25k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $25k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $25k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES: $25k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES: $25k → 11%URBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION: $20k → 11%PAULINE AUBERLE FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
NV
PA
VA
AL
FL
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.5M · 20 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 19 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
23

Total granted

$7.5M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+24%

Still filing today

80%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsInternationalFood & NutritionOther
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

  • AC
    AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
    3× · 2017–2020 · $2.5M · revenue +27%
  • PC
    PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST
    5× · 2017–2022 · $1.2M · revenue +41%
  • CI
    CARNEGIE INSTITUTE
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.1M · revenue +57%

Funded once

  • AC
    AUGUSTANA COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT
    one grant, 2021 · $250k
  • CI
    CARNEGIE INSTITUTE
    one grant, 2021 · $100k
  • HH
    HILL HOUSE ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
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
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
2
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

The western pennsylvania conservancy protects and restores exceptional places to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, wildlife and natural areas for the benefit of present and future generations. the conservancy…

Environment
3
Zoological Society of Pittsburgh

The zoological society of pittsburgh is dedicated to being a leader in, and significant contributor to, the conservation of endangered and threatened species. the society provides an enjoyable family experience that fosters understanding,…

Animals
4
Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation

To create and distribute trusted content, build connections and strengthen our community through public media.

Arts & Culture
5
Pittsburgh Council On Higher Education

To provide a means for sharing resources and information among members, engage in joint projects, and offer a common voice on educational matters.

Education
6
University of Pittsburgh

The university of pittsburgh, founded in 1787, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the united states and one of the nation's top public research universities. for more than two centuries, the university of pittsburgh…

Education
7
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Inc

See schedule o for the description of pittsburgh ballet theatre inc.'s primary mission.the ballet is pittsburgh's source and ambassador for extraordinary ballet experiences that give life to the classical tradition, nurture new ideas and,…

Arts & Culture
8
Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc

To support education and research at college, university, and research libraries.

Education
9
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh

The world affairs council of pittsburgh's mission is to convene and connect people around global issues to build a competitive, thriving, and inclusive pittsburgh.

International
10
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Inc

The mission of pittsburgh arts & lectures is to connect celebrated authors with the community, elevate civic discourse, and inspire creativity and a passion for the literary arts. our commitment to knowledge, learning, integrity, and…

Arts & Culture
11
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

By sharing resources and fostering meaningful relationships that strengthen the region's creative community, the greater pittsburgh arts council builds a more resourced, connected, and informed arts sector, empowering artists and arts…

Arts & Culture
12
Pittsburgh Entertainment Project

To create a vibrant, responsible, and sustainable film and digital media sector in southwestern pennsylvania.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Pittsburgh Foundation; the most unlike its peers is St Croix Animal Welfare Centerinc. 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

34 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. 34 of the 45 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
33/34
Grantees still filing
26/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE: $2,500,000 · EducationAUGUSTANA COLLEGECARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH: $755,592 · EducationCARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH+3 more: $200,000 · Education+3 morePITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST: $1,175,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUSTCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $1,116,667 · Arts & CultureCARNEGIE INSTITUTEPITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC: $125,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $80,000 · Arts & CultureAUGUSTANA COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT: $250,000 · OtherAUGUSTANA COLLEGE A…LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS INC: $136,000 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SER…Individual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant re…BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS: $100,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB…CARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $100,000 · OtherCARNEGIE INSTITUTEHILL HOUSE ASSOCIATION: $100,000 · OtherHILL HOUSE ASSOCIAT…CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART: $100,000 · OtherCARNEGIE MUSEUM OF …CARNEGIE MUSEUM: $75,000 · OtherST GEORGE VILLAGE BOTANICAL GARDENS: $50,000 · OtherCARIBBEAN MUSEUM CENTER OF ST CROIX LTD: $50,000 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE BLIND: $50,000 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF PENNSYLVANIA INC: $50,000 · OtherJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA INC: $50,000 · Other+13 more: $256,750 · Other+13 moreJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $653,709 · Human ServicesJEWISH FAMIL…EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $185,000 · Human ServicesEAST END COO…URBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION: $70,000 · Human ServicesURBAN IMPACT…+2 more: $25,000 · Human ServicesPITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY: $145,000 · Recreation & SportsPHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS INC: $100,000 · Environment412 FOOD RESCUE INC: $50,000 · Food & Nutrition
Education$3,455,592Arts & Culture$2,496,667Other$1,467,750Human Services$933,709Recreation & Sports$145,000Environment$100,000Food & Nutrition$50,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST: $1,175,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $1,116,667 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetCARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH: $755,592 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $653,709 over 8y, 2.1% of budgetEAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $185,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetPITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY: $145,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS INC: $136,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC: $125,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetHILL HOUSE ASSOCIATION: $100,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetMY BROTHERS WORKSHOP INC: $100,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetURBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNEW WORLD SYMPHONY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budget412 FOOD RESCUE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF PENNSYLVANIA INC: $50,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetAssemble Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetLITERACY PITTSBURGH: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetWINCHESTER THURSTON SCHOOL: $37,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSARAH HEINZ HOUSE ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetWQED MULTIMEDIA: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG MEN AND WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION AND IRENE KAUFMANN CENT: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPAULINE AUBERLE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPITTSBURGH OPERA INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetST CROIX ANIMAL WELFARE CENTERINC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $5,850 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

  • Who funds AUGUSTANA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST ↗
  • Who funds CARNEGIE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS INC ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC ↗
  • Who funds PHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS INC ↗
  • Who funds HILL HOUSE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds MY BROTHERS WORKSHOP INC ↗
  • Who funds URBAN IMPACT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NEW WORLD SYMPHONY INC ↗
  • Who funds 412 FOOD RESCUE INC ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF PENNSYLVANIA INC ↗
  • Who funds Assemble Inc ↗
  • Who funds LITERACY PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds WINCHESTER THURSTON SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds SARAH HEINZ HOUSE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds WQED MULTIMEDIA ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION AND IRENE KAUFMANN CENT ↗
  • Who funds PAULINE AUBERLE FOUNDATION ↗

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.

The Grable FoundationThe United Way of Sou…Eqt FoundationThe Pittsburgh Founda…Richard King Mellon F…The Heinz EndowmentsHillman Family Founda…Upmc GroupThe Burke Family Foun…The Burke FoundationThe Fine FoundationEden Hall Foundation
The Grable FoundationPA30.1× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Grable Foundation · The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania · Eqt Foundation · The Pittsburgh Foundation · Richard King Mellon Foundation · The Heinz Endowments · Hillman Family Foundations · Upmc Group · The Burke Family Foundation · The Burke Foundation · The Fine Foundation · Eden Hall 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 Akers Gerber Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Akers Gerber Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • New World Symphony Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 Akers Gerber Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Akers Gerber 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 45 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Akers Gerber’s filings →

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