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Ferree Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ferree Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
28
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$400k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Arts & Culture$2.8MEducation$2.3MHealth$632kCommunity Improvement$210kEnvironment$180kScience & Tech$179kHousing & Shelter$147kYouth Development$116kOther$0
02FY2024 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k6 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $290k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $400k
  • $250k+1 grant · $400k
$20,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$22M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE$400,000
FULTON THEATRE$100,000
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE$100,000
LANCASTERLEBANON HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$50,000
LANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$50,000
SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTER$50,000
LANCASTER COUNTY FOOD HUB$50,000
NORTH MUSEUM$40,000
CENTRAL MARKET TRUST$30,000
LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASSOCIATION$25,000
HOPE INSPIRE LOVE$25,000
LANCASTER SCIENCE FACTORY$22,880
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN$20,000
OXFORD AREA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION$20,000
GOOD SAMARITAN SERVICES$16,920
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 (FY18–24, $134k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 6% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SUSQUEHANNA SERVICE DOGS: $8k → 12%POWERPACKS PROJECT: $25k → 9%AARONS ACRES: $15k → 9%GOOD SAMARITAN SERVICES: $17k → 9%HOPE INSPIRE LOVE: $25k → 9%VISIONCORPS: $15k → 9%FRIENDSHIP COMMUNITY: $20k → 9%LANDIS COMMUNITIES: $10k → 9%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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.3M · 48 repeat orgs$970k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2024, 36 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
37

Total granted

$6.3M
$678k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+20%

Still filing today

71%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $293k 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthEducationEnvironmentReligionOther
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

  • L
    LANCASTERHISTORYORG
    5× · 2017–2021 · $750k · revenue +203%
  • LC
    LANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
    7× · 2017–2024 · $354k · revenue +55%
  • CF
    COMMUNITY FIRST FUND
    3× · 2020–2022 · $150k · revenue +218%

Funded once

  • CP
    CENTRAL PENN COLLEGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
  • WV
    WILLOW VALLEY MEMORY CARE
    one grant, 2022 · $50k
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
Lancaster County Council of the Arts

To enrich the quality of life in Lancaster County by building vibrant and inclusive communities connecting arts, culture, education, and economic vitality.

Arts & Culture
2
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry

The lancaster chamber of commerce & industry's mission is to create the environment, facilitate partnerships, and lead on issues that elevate business success. the chamber has 5 strategic priorities: public policy, workforce, business…

—
3
The Arc of Lancaster County

Empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (i/dd) and their families to lead full, satisfying, independent lives of their choice.

Health
4
Lancaster County Academy

Lancaster county academy's mission is to empower non-traditional learners to achieve academic success, career readiness and personal growth through flexible, student-centered programs that values independence, resilience, and real-world…

Education
5
Library System of Lancaster County

Provide resources, services, and expertise in a collaborative manner to and with the member libraries in order to effectively serve our communities

—
6
Literacy Council of Lanc-Leb Lva

Our mission is success through lifelong learning and learning for life. our vision is for adults to have the skills to transform their lives, sustain their families and strengthen their communities.

Education
7
Lawrence County Association for Responsible Care

To advocate for and provide quality services to people with developmental disabilities and ensure their health, safety and welfare while promoting personal choice and growth.

Human Services
8
Lancaster Equity Inc

Lancaster equity coordinates efforts to advance communities where everyone has an opportunity to thrive, whether that be through neighborhood revitalization, living wage work, entrepreneurship, or safe and affordable housing.

Housing & Shelter
9
Adamstown Area Library

The mission of the adamstown library is to maintain and improve the quality of life in our community by providing access to cultural, intellectual, and informational resources and programs to promote life-long learning for all ages. the…

Education
10
The New School of Lancaster Dba New School Montessori

The mission is to facilitate the unfolding of each child's unique potential through an outstanding montessori education that enables a child to meet future challenges, and that encourages a love of learning, independent thinking, social…

—
11
Gettysburg College

Gettysburg college is a residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
12
The Community Library Inc

The lancaster community library is a center for the cultural, intellectual, and recreational pursuits of the community. through its materials, programs, and services, the library promotes literacy, provides lifetime learning opportunities,…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lancaster General Health Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Little Conestoga Creek 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

63 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. 63 of the 100 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
62/63
Grantees still filing
44/63
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FULTON OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATION: $762,000 · OtherFULTON OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATIONMILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY: $410,000 · OtherMILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITYSAMARITAN CENTER: $110,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $100,000 · OtherLANCASTERHISTORYORG (PROVIDENCE PROJECT MU & LHO): $90,000 · Other+55 more: $1,212,758 · Other+55 moreLANCASTERHISTORYORG: $750,000 · Arts & CultureLANCASTERHISTORYORGWORLD OF SCOUTING MUSEUM INC: $735,000 · Arts & CultureWORLD OF SCOUTING MUSEUM INCLANCASTER SCIENCE CENTER: $178,880 · Arts & CultureLANCASTER SCIENCE CENTERNORTH MUSEUM CORPORATION: $145,000 · Arts & CultureNORTH MUSEUM CORPORATIONFULTON THEATRE COMPANY: $100,000 · Arts & Culture+6 more: $243,500 · Arts & Culture+6 moreFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $1,012,000 · EducationFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGELANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $354,000 · EducationLANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOO…ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE: $270,000 · EducationELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE+3 more: $110,000 · Education+3 moreKEYSTONE HUMAN SERVICES: $50,000 · HealthUNION COMMUNITY CARE: $50,000 · HealthARCH STREET CENTER INC: $45,000 · HealthLANCASTER CLEFT PALATE CLINIC: $40,000 · HealthLANCASTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION: $15,405 · Health+2 more: $5,250 · HealthCOMMUNITY FIRST FUND: $150,000 · Housing & ShelterSACA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $20,000 · Housing & Shelter+1 more: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterLANCASTER FARMLAND TRUST: $50,000 · EnvironmentLANCASTER COUNTY CONSERVANCY: $40,000 · EnvironmentSTEWARDS OF THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA INC DBA LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASS: $25,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION FOUNDATION OF LANCASTER COUNTY: $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $10,000 · EnvironmentHOPE INSPIRE LOVE INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesPOWER PACKS PROJECT: $25,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDSHIP COMMUNITY: $20,000 · Human ServicesGOOD SAMARITAN SERVICES: $16,920 · Human ServicesAARON'S ACRES: $15,000 · Human ServicesVISIONCORPS: $15,000 · Human ServicesLANDIS COMMUNITIES: $10,000 · Human ServicesKEYSTONE SERVICE SYSTEMS INC: $7,500 · Human Services
Other$2,684,758Arts & Culture$2,152,380Education$1,746,000Health$205,655Housing & Shelter$175,000Environment$145,000Human Services$134,420

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 budgetFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $1,012,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetLANCASTERHISTORYORG: $750,000 over 5y, 7.7% of budgetWORLD OF SCOUTING MUSEUM INC: $735,000 over 6y, 100% of budgetLANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $354,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE: $270,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLANCASTER SCIENCE CENTER: $178,880 over 8y, 3.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FIRST FUND: $150,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetNORTH MUSEUM CORPORATION: $145,000 over 8y, 3.1% of budgetSAMARITAN CENTER: $110,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetFULTON THEATRE COMPANY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetLANCASTER COUNTY FOOD HUB: $80,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetLANCASTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $71,000 over 3y, 5.4% of budgetLANCASTER AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED WAY OF LANCASTER COUNTY: $57,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetLANCASTER PUBLIC LIBRARY: $50,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetKEYSTONE HUMAN SERVICES: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetLANCASTER FARMLAND TRUST: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSPANISH AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION FOR EQUALITY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetUNION COMMUNITY CARE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMusic for Everyone: $50,000 over 6y, 8.1% of budgetARCH STREET CENTER INC: $45,000 over 5y, 4.3% of budgetLANCASTER COUNTY CONSERVANCY: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLANCASTER CLEFT PALATE CLINIC: $40,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetADVANTAGE LANCASTER: $39,000 over 3y, 4.1% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $35,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCENTRAL MARKET TRUST: $30,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetMIDPENN LEGAL SERVICES: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE INSPIRE LOVE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetSWAN SCALING WALLS A NOTE AT A TIME: $25,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetLANCASTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetPOWER PACKS PROJECT: $25,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetSTEWARDS OF THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA INC DBA LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVERKEEPER ASS: $25,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetLANCASTER GENERAL HEALTH FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLITTLE CONESTOGA CREEK FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetCONSERVATION FOUNDATION OF LANCASTER COUNTY: $20,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetOxford Area Historical Association: $20,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetFRIENDSHIP COMMUNITY: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSACA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetGOOD SAMARITAN SERVICES: $16,920 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWATER FOR PEOPLE: $16,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLANCASTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION: $15,405 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPARISH RESOURCE CENTER INC: $15,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetAIM TO EMPOWER: $15,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetAARON'S ACRES: $15,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetVISIONCORPS: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COUNCIL INC: $12,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA CHESTER COUNTY COUNCIL: $10,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLATIN AMERICAN ALLIANCE: $10,000 over 2y, 5.1% 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 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTERHISTORYORG ↗
  • Who funds WORLD OF SCOUTING MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER SCIENCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FIRST FUND ↗
  • Who funds NORTH MUSEUM CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds SAMARITAN CENTER ↗
  • Who funds FULTON THEATRE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER COUNTY FOOD HUB ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF LANCASTER COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER PUBLIC LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds KEYSTONE HUMAN SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER FARMLAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SPANISH AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION FOR EQUALITY INC ↗
  • Who funds UNION COMMUNITY CARE ↗
  • Who funds Music for Everyone ↗
  • Who funds ARCH STREET CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER COUNTY CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds LANCASTER CLEFT PALATE CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds ADVANTAGE LANCASTER ↗
  • Who funds PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL MARKET TRUST ↗
  • Who funds MIDPENN LEGAL SERVICES ↗

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.

Lancaster County Comm…Clark Associates Char…The Steinman Foundati…High FoundationWillis and Elsie Shen…United Way of Lancast…Thomas a and Georgina…Fulton Family Foundat…The Abigail L Longene…Richard S & Ann B Bar…Pryor E & Arlene R Ne…Ppl Foundation
Lancaster County Community FoundationPA109.2× affinity53 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lancaster County Community Foundation · Clark Associates Charitable Foundation · The Steinman Foundation · High Foundation · Willis and Elsie Shenk Foundation · United Way of Lancaster County · Thomas a and Georgina T Russo Foundation · Fulton Family Foundation · The Abigail L Longenecker Memorial Foundation · Richard S & Ann B Barshinger Family Fdn · Pryor E & Arlene R Neuber Charitable Trust · Ppl 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 Ferree Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ferree Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%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
    0get no government money at all
    19report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Ferree Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Ferree 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 100 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 Ferree’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