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Blanket Fort Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Blanket Fort Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
78
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$3.0MHealth$856kPhilanthropy$830kYouth Development$778kHuman Services$398kArts & Culture$347kReligion$299kCommunity Improvement$238kOther$0
02FY2024 · 78 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k27 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k37 grants · $835k
  • $50k–250k13 grants · $907k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$20,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$23M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THREAD INC$300,000
THE ASSOCIATED$180,000
FUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC$110,000
IMPROVING EDUCATION$75,000
HOMEWORTHY$60,000
KIPP BALTIMORE INC$60,000
HEARTSMILES$60,000
THE MARYLAND ZOO IN BALTIMORE$60,000
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY$51,800
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$50,000
REBUILD METRO INC$50,000
THE VENETOULIS INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL JOURNALISM$50,000
NEW ISRAEL FUND$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC$50,000
SOCIAL GOOD FUND INC (JEWTINA Y CO)$43,000
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, $482k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 48% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%SPRINGBOARD COLLABORATIVE: $20k → 22%MARC LUSTGARTEN PANCREATIC CANCER FOUNDATION: $100 → 6%CHERRY HILL STRONG INC: $25k → 6%MARYLAND FAMILY NETWORK: $25k → 19%THE CHILDREN'S HOME INC: $5k → 11%BALTIMORE OUTREACH SERVICES INC: $3k → 19%KNOX COUNTY HOMELESS COALITION: $75k → 11%KNOX COUNTY HOMELESS COALITION: $60k → 11%HOMEWORTHY: $60k → 11%SHALOM TIKVAH INC: $5k → 11%ART WITH A HEART: $30k → 19%ART WITH A HEART: $30k → 19%ART WITH A HEART: $20k → 19%ART WITH A HEART INC: $10k → 19%SHALOM TIKVAH INC: $500 → 11%ART WITH A HEART: $180 → 19%SHALOM TIKVAH INC: $10k → 11%FORWARD VISIONS INC: $500 → 11%BEYOND THE NATURAL FOUNDATION: $20k → 19%HEAVEN ON EARTH NOW INC: $10k → 11%FRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $30k → 19%29TH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $10k → 19%CENTER FOR URBAN FAMILIES: $15k → 19%BALTIMORE SAFE HAVEN: $8k → 19%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF BALTIMORE: $10k → 19%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

ME
ND
IL
NY
MA
OR
WY
PA
CT
CA
UT
MO
VA
MD
DE
TN
DC
GA
TX
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.

67%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.7M · 71 repeat orgs$2.8M to everyone else

71 repeat relationships: 49 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 28 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

71
86

Total granted

$5.7M
$2.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+33%

Still filing today

75%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 64% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $730k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • KB
    KIPP BALTIMORE INC
    4× · 2017–2024 · $570k · revenue +44%
  • FUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC
    6× · 2018–2024 · $419k · revenue +218%
  • H
    Homeworthy
    3× · 2022–2024 · $195k · revenue +18%

Funded once

  • TP
    THE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $630k · revenue +34%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $345k
  • KK
    KENNEDY KRIEGER FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $234k · revenue +98%
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
University of Maryland Physicians Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
2
University of Maryland Anesthesiology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
3
University of Maryland Neurosurgeryassociates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Education
4
University of Maryland Family Medicine Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
5
University of Maryland Neurology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

—
6
University of Maryland Pediatric Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
7
University of Maryland Oncology Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
8
University of Maryland Dermatologists Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
9
University of Maryland Eye Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
10
University of Maryland Surgical Associates Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
11
University of Maryland Otorhino-Laryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Pa

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland school of medicine, medical services are rendered by the members of the faculty on behalf of the school of medicine in connection with their duties to provide clinical…

Health
12
University of Maryland Facultyphysicians Inc

Under the medical service plan of the university of maryland, school of medicine, administrative support services are provided to the physician practices of the university of maryland, including but not limited to information technology,…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Thread Inc; the most unlike its peers is Alice G Gadd and F Frederick Romanow Jr Charitable Foundation. 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

139 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 139 of the 191 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)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
135/139
Grantees still filing
96/139
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE INC: $630,000 · EducationTHE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE INCKIPP BALTIMORE INC: $570,000 · EducationKIPP BALTIMORE INCTeach for America Inc: $538,573 · EducationTeach for America IncFUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC: $419,444 · EducationFUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INCTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $200,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLV…IMPROVING EDUCATION INC: $125,000 · EducationItineris Inc: $115,180 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $111,381 · Education+15 more: $361,106 · Education+15 moreTHE ASSOCIATED: $957,384 · OtherTHE ASSOCIATEDIndividual grant recipient: $344,604 · OtherIndividual grant recipientKENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTE INC: $233,513 · OtherKENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTE INCBETH EL CONGREGATION: $216,556 · OtherBETH EL CONGREGATIONJOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE: $150,000 · Other+107 more: $1,701,160 · Other+107 moreTHREAD INC: $300,000 · Youth DevelopmentBALTIMORES PROMISE INC: $155,000 · Youth DevelopmentHEARTSMILES INC: $120,000 · Youth DevelopmentAZIZA PE&CE: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentCHANGE SUMMER INC: $30,000 · Youth Development+5 more: $38,000 · Youth DevelopmentASSOCIATED JEWISH CHARITIES OF BALTIMORE: $275,250 · PhilanthropyKENNEDY KRIEGER FOUNDATION INC: $233,583 · PhilanthropySLINGSHOT FUND INC: $116,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $180 · PhilanthropyHomeworthy: $195,000 · Human ServicesArt With a Heart Inc: $90,180 · Human ServicesFOOTSTEPS INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesWEEKEND BACKPACKS BALTIMORE INC: $32,500 · Human ServicesFRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesMARYLAND FAMILY NETWORK INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesCHERRY HILL STRONG INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesSPRINGBOARD COLLABORATIVE: $20,000 · Human ServicesBEYOND THE NATURAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Human Services+10 more: $76,930 · Human ServicesTHE BALTIMORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $123,587 · Arts & CultureTHE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INC: $61,000 · Arts & CultureTHE VENETOULIS INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL JOURNALISM: $50,000 · Arts & CultureSHAREBABY INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 · Arts & CultureBALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $20,135 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $16,360 · Arts & CultureLIFEBRIDGE HEALTH INC: $100,180 · HealthMt Washington Pediatric Hospital Inc: $30,000 · HealthBEYOND TYPE 1: $26,200 · HealthLewy Body Dementia Association Inc: $25,000 · HealthTOUCHED BY TYPE 1 INC: $20,000 · HealthFAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF MAINE INC: $10,000 · HealthTHE RYR-1 FOUNDATION: $9,500 · Health+7 more: $12,610 · Health
Education$3,070,684Other$3,603,217Youth Development$693,000Philanthropy$625,013Human Services$554,610Arts & Culture$331,082Health$233,490

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE INC: $630,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetKIPP BALTIMORE INC: $570,000 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $538,573 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetFUND FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE INC: $419,444 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetTHREAD INC: $300,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetASSOCIATED JEWISH CHARITIES OF BALTIMORE: $275,250 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetKENNEDY KRIEGER FOUNDATION INC: $233,583 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHomeworthy: $195,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetIMPROVING EDUCATION INC: $125,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetTHE BALTIMORE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM INC: $123,587 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetHEARTSMILES INC: $120,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetSLINGSHOT FUND INC: $116,000 over 6y, 3.7% of budgetItineris Inc: $115,180 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $111,381 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMARYLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $110,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetLIFEBRIDGE HEALTH INC: $100,180 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetArt With a Heart Inc: $90,180 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetDREAM BIG FOUNDATION INC: $90,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $80,646 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJOIN FOR JUSTICE INC: $80,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetProject Kesher: $77,500 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetNEW ISRAEL FUND: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOLLEGEBOUND FOUNDATION: $71,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetWE WILL ALL RISE: $70,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetISRAAID US GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE INC: $65,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE OSBORNE ASSOCIATION INC: $65,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HAROLD GRINSPOON FOUNDATION: $64,300 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNew York University: $61,800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILLIAM A FARNSWORTH LIBRARY AND ART MUSEUM INC: $61,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetAN END TO IGNORANCE INC: $60,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetREBUILD METRO INC: $52,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetAZIZA PE&CE: $50,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE VENETOULIS INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL JOURNALISM: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFOOTSTEPS INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetWEEKEND BACKPACKS BALTIMORE INC: $32,500 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetCHANGE SUMMER INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBRITISH SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMt Washington Pediatric Hospital Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSHAREBABY INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetBALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART: $30,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFRANCISCAN CENTER INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE FAMILY TREE INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetBEYOND TYPE 1: $26,200 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetIGNITE CAPITAL INC: $25,000 over 1y, 9.5% of budgetMARYLAND FAMILY NETWORK INC: $25,000 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.

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 Harry and Jeanett…The Abell Foundation …Baltimore Community F…The Morris Goldseker …France-Merrick Founda…Annie E Casey Foundat…Sherman Family Founda…Associated Jewish Cha…Fund for Educational …T Rowe Price Foundati…David & Barbara B Hir…The United Way of Cen…
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation IncMD76.9× affinity43 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc · The Abell Foundation Inc · Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · The Morris Goldseker Foundation of Maryland Inc · France-Merrick Foundation Inc · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · Sherman Family Foundation · Associated Jewish Charities of Baltimore · Fund for Educational Excellence Inc · T Rowe Price Foundation · David & Barbara B Hirschhorn Foundation Inc · The United Way of Central Maryland Inc

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 Blanket Fort Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Blanket Fort Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 280%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Hias Inc: 88% of income from government
  • Maryland Family Network Inc: 66% of income from government
  • Central Baltimore Partnership Inc: 46% of income from government
  • Parks and People Inc: 43% of income from government
  • Center for Urban Families Inc: 36% of income from government
  • Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Co in Station 70: 36% of income from government
  • The Baltimore Children's Museum Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Pikesville Volunteer Fire Co Inc: 32% of income from government
  • Baltimore Safe Haven Corp: 28% of income from government
  • Asylee Women Enterprise Inc: 26% of income from government
  • Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association Inc (Eagala): 20% of income from government
  • Family Centers Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Thread Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Associated Catholic Charities Inc: 10% of income from government
  • The Family Tree Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Casa Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Helping Up Mission Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Rebuild Metro Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Arts Every Day Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Baltimore Museum of Art: 4% of income from government
  • Art With a Heart Inc: 4% of income from government
  • University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Maryland Zoological Society Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Fusion Partnership Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Franciscan Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Health Care for the Homeless Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Lifebridge Health Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Fund for Educational Excellence Inc: 1% of income from government
  • National Aquarium Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Goucher College: 0% of income from government
  • Gilchrist Hospice Care Inc: 0% of income from government
  • University of Maryland Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Mt Washington Pediatric Hospital Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
28get no government money at all
28report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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.

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 191 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

Play a game based on Blanket Fort’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