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Dean and Carol Mueller Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Dean and Carol Mueller Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$120k
Granted FY2025still arriving
2
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$110k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Animals$1.2MHealth$567kArts & Culture$230kHuman Services$126kFood & Nutrition$115kPublic Safety & Disaster$35kRecreation & Sports$20kEducation$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $110k
$110,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$3.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE$110,000
LORAIN COUNTY HEROES FUND$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 (FY17–20, $135k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $25k → 14%HOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE: $10k → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $25k → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $25k → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $25k → 17%THE GATHERING PLACE: $25k → 17%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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.1M · 12 repeat orgs$202k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
18

Total granted

$2.1M
$192k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+21%

Still filing today

67%
61%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
HealthAnimalsHuman ServicesArts & CultureFood & NutritionEducationOther
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 CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.1M · revenue +8%
  • WR
    WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $195k · revenue +1%
  • RM
    RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF NORTHEAST OHIO INC
    5× · 2017–2021 · $125k · revenue +152%

Funded once

  • TC
    THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND
    one grant, 2018 · $25k · revenue -20%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue +46%
  • HH
    HOUSTON HUMANE SOCIETY
    one grant, 2017 · $25k · revenue -1%
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
Hospice & Palliative Care of the Ohio Valley Inc

Helping individuals live with dignity through the final stage of life.

Human Services
2
Hospice of Medina County

Hospice of medina county provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout northern ohio. in celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort,…

—
3
Hospice of Northwest Ohio

Hospice of northwest ohio provides specialized medical emotional and spiritual care to people of all ages - and their families - living with any end-stage illness in northwest ohio and southeast michigan

—
4
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati Inc

Ronald mcdonald house charities of greater cincinnati offers a community of compassion, support and the comforts of home to families with critically ill children, steps away from the medical care they need.

Human Services
5
Stein Hospice Service Inc

Hospice of the western reserve provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support, and bereavement services throughout northern ohio. in celebration of the individual worth of each life, we strive to relieve suffering, enhance…

Human Services
6
Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland

Diabetes partnership of cleveland works to provide relevant and sustainable programming, education, resources and supplies to the community in northeast ohio affected by diabetes.

—
7
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
8
Greater Cleveland Volunteers

Greater cleveland volunteers enriches the community and indivuduals through volunteer service. volunteers age 18 and older are recruited and placed in the agency's programs or referred to local nonprofit or public organizations to help…

Philanthropy
9
Union Hospital Inc

We exist to serve our patients with compassionate health care of the highest quality.

Health
10
Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank

The mission of the akron-canton regional foodbank is to lead a collaborative network that empowers people to experience healthy and hunger-free lives. we distribute food to feed people and we advocate, engage and convene our community in…

Food & Nutrition
11
Global Cleveland

Global cleveland is dedicated to growing northeast ohio's economy by welcoming and connecting international people to opportunities and fostering a more inviting community for those seeking a place to call home.

Human Services
12
Ohio Business Roundtable

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

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio Inc; the most unlike its peers is Western Reserve Historical Society. 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

20 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. 20 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
17/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $1,050,000 · AnimalsTHE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUEFRIENDSHIP ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $80,000 · AnimalsFRIENDSHIP ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE+1 more: $25,000 · AnimalsUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS: $375,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY HOSPITALSIndividual grant recipient: $40,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipie…+12 more: $83,700 · Other+12 moreWESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $195,000 · Arts & CultureWESTERN RE…THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE CHILDR…RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF NORTHEAST OHIO INC: $125,000 · HealthRONALD MC…RECOVERY CENTER OF MEDINA COUNTY: $40,000 · HealthRECOVERY …ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 · HealthST JUDE C…COMMUNITY WEST FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Health+2 more: $6,500 · HealthTHE GATHERING PLACE: $100,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $25,000 · Human ServicesHOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $75,000 · Food & NutritionVILLAGE PROJECT: $40,000 · Food & NutritionORCHARD FRIENDS SCHOOL: $15,000 · EducationMDRC: $5,000 · Employment
Animals$1,155,000Other$498,700Arts & Culture$220,000Health$196,500Human Services$135,000Food & Nutrition$115,000Education$15,000Employment$5,000

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 CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $1,050,000 over 9y, 2.0% of budgetWESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $195,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF NORTHEAST OHIO INC: $125,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetTHE GATHERING PLACE: $100,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetFRIENDSHIP ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $80,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetVILLAGE PROJECT: $40,000 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetRECOVERY CENTER OF MEDINA COUNTY: $40,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOUSTON HUMANE SOCIETY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetORCHARD FRIENDS SCHOOL: $15,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY WEST FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS OHIO INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMDRC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL SPACES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetED KEATING CENTER INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.3% 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 Cleveland Foundat…The Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Network for GoodMorgan Stanley Global…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Cleveland FoundationOH13.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Cleveland Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Network for Good · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Dean and Carol Mueller Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Dean and Carol Mueller Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Dean and Carol Mueller Family’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