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Plinth

· Private foundation

American Greetings Foundation Inc

Its FY2018 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$767k
Granted FY2018
16
Grants FY2018
3
States reached
$350k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20172018.

Health$870kArts & Culture$533kCommunity Improvement$301kEducation$278kPhilanthropy$211kHuman Services$13kYouth Development$11kFood & Nutrition$10kOther$0
02FY2018 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k9 grants · $37k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $30k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $350k
  • $250k+1 grant · $350k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION$350,000
SESAME WORKSHOP$150,000
CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA$115,000
THE NEW SCHOOL$85,000
MEDWORDS$10,000
SAINT MARTIN DEPORRES SCHOOL$10,000
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART$10,000
ST ANTHONY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$5,000
NORTHEAST CHAPTER OF LLS$5,000
NEPHCURE KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL$5,000
WESTLAKE WORLD PARTNERS$5,000
RUFFING MONTESSORI SCHOOL$5,000
THE DIVERSITY CENTER OF NORTHEAST OHIO$5,000
MANDEL JCC$5,000
VALUES-IN-ACTION FOUNDATION$1,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

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

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–17, $3k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%THE GATHERING PLACE: $3k → 17%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

IL
NY
OH
PA
MO
KY
TN
GA

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

59%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.3M · 8 repeat orgs$922k to everyone else

8 repeat relationships — 8 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

8
33

Total granted

$1.3M
$741k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+62%

Still filing today

63%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $182k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
EducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyAnimalsHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • TM
    The Musical Arts Association
    2× · 2017–2018 · $245k · revenue +45%
  • TN
    The New School
    2× · 2017–2018 · $100k · revenue +24%
  • CM
    CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART
    2× · 2017–2018 · $87k · revenue +71%

Funded once

  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF CLEVELAND
    one grant, 2017 · $191k
  • NI
    NEXTUP INC (F/K/A NETWORK OF EXECUTIVE WOMEN INC)
    one grant, 2017 · $175k · revenue +21%
  • CC
    CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue +24%

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

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University is an independent, research-oriented university with broadly based strengths in health, including medicine, nursing and dentistry; in engineering; in the arts and sciences; and in law, management and social…

Education
2
Cleveland Institute of Music

The cleveland institute of music's mission is to empower the world's most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential.

Education
3
John Carroll University

As a jesuit catholic university committed to academic rigor, inclusive excellence, and care for the whole person, john carroll university inspires individuals of intellect and character to learn, lead and serve in the community and…

Education
4
Center for Arts-Inspired Learning

Cal champions creative learning, drives educational innovation, and transforms lives through collaborative efforts involving teaching artists, students, educators, and communities.

Education
5
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
6
Cleveland Arts Prize

The cleveland arts prize identifies, rewards, publicly honors and promotes those creative artists whose original work and accomplishments have set a standard of excellence to which other artists can aspire. additionally, the cleveland arts…

Arts & Culture
7
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…

8
The Cleveland Modern Dance Association

To be a national model for how a presenting organization serves its community, leveraging the worlds best modern and contemporary dance to inspire and educate audiences, local dancers, and community members.

9
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
10
Trustees of Clark University

Clark university's mission is to educate undergraduate and graduate students to be imaginative and contributing citizens of the world, and to advance the frontiers of knowledge and understanding through rigorous scholarship and creative…

Education
11
Cleveland Leadership Center

The mission of cleveland leadership center (the organization) is to build a continuum of civic leaders committed to our community's excellence by serving as a catalyst for civic engagement. the organization achieves its mission by…

Education
12
The City Club of Cleveland

The city club of cleveland's mission is to create conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive. we do this in pursuit of our vision of strong, informed individuals and communities that prize freedom of speech and civil, civic…

Education

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Cleveland Institute of Art and the most unlike its peers is Sesame Workshop. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 53 years old; the field is 19. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number18%0%<5yr13%0%5–10yr19%13%10–20yr20%19%20–35yr15%23%35–55yr14%45%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value18%0%<5yr13%0%5–10yr19%2%10–20yr20%18%20–35yr15%31%35–55yr14%50%55yr+

The field is 18% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 11% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/33
the rest of the field
11%
3,418/29,968

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

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

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 29 of the 49 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
25/29
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION — $850,000 · OtherCLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATIONUNITED WAY OF CLEVELAND — $191,205 · OtherUNITED WAY OF CLEVELANDENACTUS — $100,000 · OtherENACTUS+26 more — $181,745 · Other+26 moreThe Musical Arts Association — $245,000 · Arts & CultureThe Musical Arts Associa…SESAME WORKSHOP — $150,000 · Arts & CultureSESAME WORKSHOPCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART — $86,667 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART+1 more — $5,000 · Arts & CultureNEXTUP INC (F/K/A NETWORK OF EXECUTIVE WOMEN INC) — $175,000 · EducationNEXTUP INC (F/K/A NET…CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION — $100,000 · EducationCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY CO…The New School — $100,000 · EducationThe New SchoolTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART — $25,000 · EducationTHE CLEVELAND INSTITU…+6 more — $24,500 · Education+6 moreNEPHCURE KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL — $5,000 · PhilanthropyBELIEVE IN DREAMS — $1,000 · PhilanthropyCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $3,500 · AnimalsTHE GATHERING PLACE — $2,500 · Human ServicesEngage Cleveland Inc — $2,500 · Community ImprovementTHE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION — $1,450 · Health
Other$1,322,950Arts & Culture$486,667Education$424,500Philanthropy$6,000Animals$3,500Human Services$2,500Community Improvement$2,500Health$1,450

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetThe Musical Arts Association — $245,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNEXTUP INC (F/K/A NETWORK OF EXECUTIVE WOMEN INC) — $175,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSESAME WORKSHOP — $150,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe New School — $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetENACTUS — $100,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART — $86,667 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetESPERANZA INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHEART OF KENTUCKY UNITED WAY INC — $15,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetPROVIDENCE HOUSE INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF CLEVELAND — $7,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDIVERSITY CENTER OF NORTHEAST OHIO — $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLEVELAND POPS ORCHESTRA — $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEPHCURE KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL — $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO — $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetELEANOR B RAINEY MEMORIAL INSTITUTE — $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GATHERING PLACE — $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEngage Cleveland Inc — $2,500 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION — $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION — $1,450 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSavannah College of Art and DesignInc — $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBELIEVE IN DREAMS — $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetVALUES-IN-ACTION FOUNDATION — $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBAY VILLAGE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC — $500 over 1y, 1.1% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

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

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Cleveland FoundationOH28.6× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Cleveland Foundation · Jewish Federation of Cleveland · The George Gund Foundation · Giant Eagle Foundation · The Swagelok Foundation · George Codrington Fdnhirtlena · Third Federal Foundation · The Albert B & Audrey G Ratner Family Foundation · The Cleveland Clinic Foundation · The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Group Return · The Nord Family Foundation · Akron Community Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization American Greetings Foundation Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to American Greetings Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to American Greetings Foundation Inc 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 49 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph