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Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff 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.

$2.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$2.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$7.8MPhilanthropy$418kHealth$173kArts & Culture$141kReligion$95kFood & Nutrition$11kCommunity Improvement$10kCivil Rights$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k4 grants · $130k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $110k
  • $250k+1 grant · $2.0M
$48,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON$2,000,000
PARENT TEACHER COLLABORATIVE CO$60,000
BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE$50,000
HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT$48,000
GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$47,000
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON$25,000
TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$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:

Its human-services grants (FY19–22, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $3k → 16%COLLABORATIVE FOR CHILDREN: $8k → 16%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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.1M · 9 repeat orgs$295k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +23% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
20

Total granted

$8.1M
$235k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+23%
+10%

Still filing today

67%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $60k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthPhilanthropyHuman ServicesArts & CultureReligionOther
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

  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicine
    3× · 2022–2024 · $150k · revenue +19%
  • HM
    HOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON
    4× · 2020–2024 · $129k · revenue +105%
  • BB
    BARBARA BUSH HOUSTON LITERACY FOUNDATION
    3× · 2019–2021 · $115k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • United Way of Greater Houston
    one grant, 2021 · $100k · revenue -16%
  • HI
    Houston Independent School District Foundation
    one grant, 2022 · $31k · revenue -30%
  • OF
    OUT FOR EDUCATION
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +10%
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
Breakthrough Houston

The mission of Breakthrough Houston (BTH) is to work with highly motivated students to achieve post-secondary success and empower aspiring leaders to become the next generation of educational advocates.

Education
2
American Leadership Forum Houston Gulf Coast Chapter

American Leadership Forum (ALF) brings together, in classes, leaders with diverse perspectives so they can build relationships, learn to dialogue and respectfully differ, and work together for the good of our community.

—
3
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
4
Trees for Houston

Plant, protect and promote trees all over the greater Houston area.

—
5
Houston Botanic Garden

To enrich life through discovery, education, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment.

Environment
6
Houston Local Information Initiative Inc

The Houston Local Information Initiative, Inc. provides public service journalism that reflects the civic needs of the diverse communities comprising Greater Houston.

Arts & Culture
7
Good Reason Houston Inc

Good Reason Houston strives to grow and sustain great schools while advocating for families and communities.

Education
8
Memorial Hermann Medical Group

Memorial hermann health system is a nonprofit, values-driven, community-owned health system dedicated to improving health. our vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come. our values are community,…

Health
9
Harris County Medical Society

Our mission is to be the leading advocate for our member physicians, their patients and our community, in promoting the highest standards of ethical medical practice, access to quality medical care, medical education, research, and…

—
10
Houston Bar Foundation

The Houston Bar Foundation supports programs that help provide legal representation to the indigent, promote community understanding of our legal system, and foster the administration of justice.

Crime & Legal
11
Rebuilding Together Houston

Rebuilding Together Houston is the only organization in Houston and Harris County providing free home repairs to hundreds of families each year. We employ licensed contractors to restore homes to safe, livable conditions, extending each…

Housing & Shelter
12
The Women's Resource of Greater Houston

See Schedule OThe Women's Resource of Greater Houston helps women and girls make choices toward becoming independent, productive, and financially stable. We fulfill our mission by recruiting volunteer instructors to deliver our programs in…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Greater Houston Community Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Planned Parenthood. 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

21 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. 21 of the 32 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
14/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $7,496,826 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON+16 more: $275,689 · OtherGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $293,000 · PhilanthropyBARBARA BUSH HOUSTON LITERACY FOUNDATION: $115,481 · PhilanthropyUnited Way of Greater Houston: $100,000 · PhilanthropyBaylor College of Medicine: $150,000 · EducationTHE PARENT TEACHER COLLABORATIVE CO: $60,000 · EducationOUT FOR EDUCATION: $20,000 · EducationCOMP-U-DOPT INC: $15,000 · EducationHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $128,711 · Arts & CultureHouston Ballet Foundation: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTexas Children's Hospital: $15,000 · HealthPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $3,000 · HealthRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES GREATER HOUSTON INC: $2,500 · HealthBrighter Bites Inc: $11,000 · Food & NutritionCollaborative for Children: $7,585 · Human ServicesJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $2,500 · Human Services
Other$7,772,515Philanthropy$508,481Education$245,000Arts & Culture$138,711Health$20,500Food & Nutrition$11,000Human Services$10,085

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 budgetGREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $293,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $150,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHOLOCAUST MUSEUM HOUSTON: $128,711 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetBARBARA BUSH HOUSTON LITERACY FOUNDATION: $115,481 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Houston: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PARENT TEACHER COLLABORATIVE CO: $60,000 over 1y, 34% of budgetHouston Independent School District Foundation: $30,939 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetInterfaith Ministries for Greater Houston: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJewish Federation of Greater Houston: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOUT FOR EDUCATION: $20,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetTexas Children's Hospital: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMP-U-DOPT INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBrighter Bites Inc: $11,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHouston Ballet Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCollaborative for Children: $7,585 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOUSTON AREA URBAN LEAGUE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES GREATER HOUSTON INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRO-VISION INC: $2,500 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.

Greater Houston Commu…Shell USA Company Fou…Centerpoint Energy Fo…ESB3 FoundationHouston Texans Founda…Marek Family Foundati…Strake FoundationAlbert & Ethel Herzst…Wells Fargo FoundationJpmorgan Chase Founda…National Philanthropi…Network for Good
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX18.1× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Centerpoint Energy Foundation Inc · ESB3 Foundation · Houston Texans Foundation · Marek Family Foundation · Strake Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Wells Fargo Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Network for Good

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 Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff 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 32 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 Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff’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