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· Private foundation

Gar Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$7.5M
Granted FY2024still arriving
1
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$7.5M
Largest
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$5.5MEducation$4.1MCommunity Improvement$3.9MHuman Services$3.6MPhilanthropy$3.3MYouth Development$1.2MEnvironment$905kEmployment$649kOther$0
02FY2024 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$7,544,893
Median grant
1
States reached
$153M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RECIPIENT STATEMENT ATTACHED$7,544,893
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, $3.7M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $250k → 13%EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $224k → 13%EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $216k → 13%OHIO LIVING HOLDINGS: $11k → 15%EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $199k → 13%REBUILDING TOGETHER NE OHIO: $23k → 13%CHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $85k → 13%CHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $80k → 13%CHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $80k → 13%ASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $66k → 13%CHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $61k → 13%ASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $60k → 13%ASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $50k → 13%VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: $40k → 13%VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: $30k → 13%VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: $30k → 13%BUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $293k → 13%BUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $218k → 13%BUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $185k → 13%BUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $160k → 13%AKRON URBAN LEAGUE: $86k → 13%MATURE SERVICES INC: $26k → 13%ALCHEMY INC: $70k → 13%ALCHEMY INC: $51k → 13%ALCHEMY INC: $45k → 13%ALCHEMY INC: $45k → 13%FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: $73k → 13%FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: $68k → 13%FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: $61k → 13%FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: $60k → 13%SOUTH STREET MINISTRIES INC: $55k → 13%SOUTH STREET MINISTRIES INC: $45k → 13%FAMILY PROMISE OF SUMMIT COUNTY: $40k → 13%SOUTH STREET MINISTRIES INC: $35k → 13%SOUTH STREET MINISTRIES INC: $30k → 13%FAMILY PROMISE OF SUMMIT COUNTY: $16k → 13%OPEN M: $13k → 13%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON: $55k → 13%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON: $46k → 13%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON: $45k → 13%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON: $40k → 13%PROJECT UJIMA: $29k → 13%BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER: $71k → 13%BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER: $70k → 13%BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER: $21k → 13%BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER: $11k → 13%AKRON AREA YMCA: $105k → 13%AKRON AREA YMCA: $20k → 13%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.
$53M · 122 repeat orgs$2.0M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

122 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2024, 121 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

122
110

Total granted

$53M
$2.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+25%

Still filing today

59%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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 ServicesEducationCommunity ImprovementHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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 COMMUNITY HALL FOUNDATION INC DBA AKRON CIVIC THEATRE
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.1M · revenue +64%
  • FF
    FUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NORTHEAST OHIO
    3× · 2017–2020 · $1.0M · revenue +263% · 42% of their budget
  • EC
    EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER
    3× · 2018–2020 · $889k · revenue +129%

Funded once

  • GA
    GREATER AKRON CHAMBERgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $235k · revenue +58%
  • BA
    BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST OHIO
    one grant, 2020 · $110k · revenue +22%
  • AC
    AKRON CIVIC THEATRE
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
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
Akron Parks Collaborative

To engage the akron, ohio community around the creation and sustainability of vibrant public spaces within the city of akron. we foster and support neighborhood park advocates by enabling them to meet their goals, partner with the city and…

Recreation & Sports
2
Akron Revitalization Committee Inc
Community Improvement
3
Literary Cleveland

Literary Cleveland assists writers and readers at all stages of development, promotes new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advances Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions.

Education
4
Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce

Advancing a thriving central ohio commmunity by serving as a catalyst for all businesses to grow and flourish. our mission pillars are connections, government relations, strategic business solutions and talent/workforce.

—
5
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
6
Greater Columbus Arts Council

Mission: to champion and elevate the arts and cultural expression of greater columbus.vision: power of art realized. people engaged. city energized.

Arts & Culture
7
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
8
Akron History Center

The mission of the Akron History Center is to create an enduring long-lasting free museum-quality exhibit about Akrons history that inspires residents educates young people and welcomes visitors to our community.

Arts & Culture
9
Ohio Business Roundtable

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

—
10
Summit Choral Society Inc

To provide a continuum of musical training for young children through senior adults, produce exceptional choral performances and preserve the art of choral music for the enrichment and enjoyment of the greater akron community.

Arts & Culture
11
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce

The chamber is a member association designed to be the leading advocate for the business community of the greater dayton region. its mission is to work shoulder to shoulder with businesses to help them succeed.

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Akron Community Service Center & Urban League Inc; the most unlike its peers is Great Lakes Biomimicry Inc. 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

129 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. 129 of the 235 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.

8
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
39
Early backer (in before they grew)
126/129
Grantees still filing
89/129
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

RECIPIENT STATEMENT ATTACHED: $29,310,611 · OtherRECIPIENT STATEMENT ATTACHED+121 more: $9,445,135 · Other+121 moreAKRON ART MUSEUM: $645,500 · Arts & CultureARTSNOW: $564,413 · Arts & CultureSTAN HYWET HALL & GARDENS INC: $514,425 · Arts & CultureOHIO & ERIE CANALWAY COALITION: $400,000 · Arts & CultureArt Sparks: $255,950 · Arts & CultureGreater Akron Musical Association Inc: $235,000 · Arts & CultureThe Musical Arts Association: $235,000 · Arts & CultureTUESDAY MUSICAL ASSOCIATION: $212,000 · Arts & CultureWEATHERVANE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE: $186,000 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $172,000 · Arts & CultureAkron Creative Inc: $148,500 · Arts & Culture+15 more: $653,000 · Arts & CultureEARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $889,322 · Human ServicesBUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $855,125 · Human ServicesCHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $306,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $260,500 · Human ServicesALCHEMY INC: $211,200 · Human ServicesINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON INC: $186,000 · Human ServicesASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $176,000 · Human ServicesHOPE AND HEALING SURVIVOR RESOURCE CENTER: $172,750 · Human ServicesSOUTH STREET MNISTRIES INC: $165,100 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF AKRON INC: $125,000 · Human Services+10 more: $382,700 · Human ServicesUNITED WAY OF SUMMIT AND MEDINA: $2,354,060 · PhilanthropyAKRON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $905,750 · Philanthropy+3 more: $98,100 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY HALL FOUNDATION INC DBA AKRON CIVIC THEATRE: $1,149,050 · Community ImprovementFUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $1,013,333 · Community ImprovementAKRON DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $355,000 · Community ImprovementDOWNTOWN AKRON PARTNERSHIP: $320,000 · Community ImprovementURBAN VISION: $145,000 · Community ImprovementBOUNCE INNOVATION HUB: $135,000 · Community Improvement+4 more: $170,500 · Community ImprovementSUMMIT EDUCATION INITIATIVE: $878,600 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION: $352,400 · EducationSTARK STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $310,000 · EducationPROJECT GRAD AKRON: $227,550 · EducationLEADERSHIP AKRON: $171,000 · EducationKENT STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $88,100 · Education+7 more: $193,790 · EducationCONSERVANCY FOR CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK: $254,700 · EnvironmentCROWN POINT ECOLOGY CENTER: $126,000 · EnvironmentKEEP AKRON BEAUTIFUL: $27,050 · Environment+1 more: $10,000 · Environment
Other$38,755,746Arts & Culture$4,221,788Human Services$3,729,697Philanthropy$3,357,910Community Improvement$3,287,883Education$2,221,440Environment$417,750

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetUNITED WAY OF SUMMIT AND MEDINA: $2,354,060 over 4y, 6.5% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY HALL FOUNDATION INC DBA AKRON CIVIC THEATRE: $1,149,050 over 4y, 16% of budgetFUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $1,013,333 over 3y, 42% of budgetAKRON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $905,750 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetEARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER: $889,322 over 3y, 10% of budgetSUMMIT EDUCATION INITIATIVE: $878,600 over 4y, 16% of budgetBUILDING FOR TOMORROW: $855,125 over 4y, 37% of budgetAKRON ART MUSEUM: $645,500 over 4y, 6.4% of budgetARTSNOW: $564,413 over 4y, 76% of budgetSTAN HYWET HALL & GARDENS INC: $514,425 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetOHIO & ERIE CANALWAY COALITION: $400,000 over 3y, 7.6% of budgetAKRON-CANTON REGIONAL FOODBANK: $396,140 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetAKRON DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $355,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION: $352,400 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetCONXUSNEO: $337,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetDOWNTOWN AKRON PARTNERSHIP: $320,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetCHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $306,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetACCESS INC: $261,175 over 4y, 7.3% of budgetFAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $260,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetArt Sparks: $255,950 over 3y, 38% of budgetCONSERVANCY FOR CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK: $254,700 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetGREATER AKRON CHAMBER: $235,000 over 1y, 6.3% of budgetGreater Akron Musical Association Inc: $235,000 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetThe Musical Arts Association: $235,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPROJECT GRAD AKRON: $227,550 over 3y, 15% of budgetSUMMIT COUNTY ADULT LITERACY COUNCIL: $224,500 over 4y, 7.5% of budgetTUESDAY MUSICAL ASSOCIATION: $212,000 over 4y, 8.1% of budgetALCHEMY INC: $211,200 over 4y, 28% of budgetWEATHERVANE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE: $186,000 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON INC: $186,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetASIAN SERVICES IN ACTION INC: $176,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetHOPE AND HEALING SURVIVOR RESOURCE CENTER: $172,750 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $172,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLEADERSHIP AKRON: $171,000 over 4y, 5.9% of budgetSOUTH STREET MNISTRIES INC: $165,100 over 4y, 8.2% of budgetAkron Creative Inc: $148,500 over 4y, 12% of budgetAKRON ZOOLOGICAL PARK: $147,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetURBAN VISION: $145,000 over 4y, 7.0% of budgetBOUNCE INNOVATION HUB: $135,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetGROUNDWORKS DANCE THEATER: $133,500 over 4y, 8.7% of budgetCROWN POINT ECOLOGY CENTER: $126,000 over 2y, 27% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF AKRON INC: $125,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEGAL AID SERVICES: $122,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetEMMANUEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: $115,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $110,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetVICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM INC: $107,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetTHE WELL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $102,000 over 3y, 5.1% of budgetOpen Tone Music: $96,750 over 4y, 10% 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 UNITED WAY OF SUMMIT AND MEDINA ↗
  • Who funds THE COMMUNITY HALL FOUNDATION INC DBA AKRON CIVIC THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds FUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NORTHEAST OHIO ↗
  • Who funds AKRON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SUMMIT EDUCATION INITIATIVE ↗
  • Who funds BUILDING FOR TOMORROW ↗
  • Who funds AKRON ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds ARTSNOW ↗
  • Who funds STAN HYWET HALL & GARDENS INC ↗
  • Who funds OHIO & ERIE CANALWAY COALITION ↗
  • Who funds AKRON-CANTON REGIONAL FOODBANK ↗
  • Who funds AKRON DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CONXUSNEO ↗
  • Who funds DOWNTOWN AKRON PARTNERSHIP ↗
  • Who funds STARK STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILD GUIDANCE & FAMILY SOLUTIONS ↗
  • Who funds ACCESS INC ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds Art Sparks ↗
  • Who funds CONSERVANCY FOR CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK ↗
  • Who funds GREATER AKRON CHAMBER ↗
  • Who funds Greater Akron Musical Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds The Musical Arts Association ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT GRAD AKRON ↗
  • Who funds SUMMIT COUNTY ADULT LITERACY COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds TUESDAY MUSICAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds ALCHEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds WEATHERVANE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AKRON INC ↗

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.

Akron Community FoundationOH156.9× affinity88 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Akron Community Foundation · The Welty Family Foundation · Sisler McFawn Foundation Pfdn · Mary S & David C Corbin Foundation · L R Moffitt & L W Moffitt Foundation · Lehner Family Foundation · Charles E and Mabel M Ritchie Memorial · United Way of Summit and Medina · Burton D Morgan Foundation Inc · Lloyd L & Louise K Smith Foundation · Synthomer Foundation Inc · Glenn R & Alice V Boggess Memorial

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%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
    50report 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 Gar Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Gar 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 235 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 Gar’s filings →

    More from the funding graph