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· Private foundation

George & Margaret McLane Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
38
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$250k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.9MArts & Culture$1.9MHealth$877kHuman Services$389kCommunity Improvement$282kHousing & Shelter$244kPhilanthropy$132kAnimals$100kOther$0
02FY2024 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k9 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $650k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $621k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$30,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$5.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CATHOLIC CHARITIES SW OHIO$250,000
FRANKLIN CITY SCHOOLS$200,000
OPTIMALL SERVICES$150,000
FILM CINCINNATI$85,000
CINCINNATI MEMORIAL HALL SOCIETY$71,700
STARFIRE$60,000
THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY$54,000
CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$45,000
SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK$40,000
CET PUBLIC TELEVISION$40,000
ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI$40,000
LEVEL-UP CINCINNATI$35,000
WILLIAM S OLSON FOUNDATION$35,000
ELEMENTZ$35,000
WOMEN'S ALLIANCE INC$30,000
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, $372k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HOPE HOUSE MISSION: $30k → 12%HOPE HOUSE MISSION: $25k → 12%GOOD NEIGHBOR HOUSE: $8k → 14%GOOD NEIGHBOR HOUSE: $5k → 14%GOOD NEIGHBOR HOUSE: $500 → 14%STRAGIES TO END HOMELESSNESS: $2k → 16%STEPPING STONES: $5k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $46k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $40k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $35k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $35k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $30k → 16%COMMUNITY MATTERS CINCINNATI: $30k → 16%COMMUNITY MATTERS CINCINNATI: $20k → 16%COMMUNITY MATTERS CINCINNATI: $20k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10k → 16%CINCINNATI SQUASH ACADEMY: $30k → 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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.0M · 52 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +38% since the first grant, against +31% for those funded once.

52 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2024, 23 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
57

Total granted

$5.0M
$724k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+38%
+31%

Still filing today

50%
61%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 71% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $457k 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 & CultureEducationHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementHousing & ShelterAnimalsOther
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

  • CM
    CINCINNATI MEMORIAL HALL SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $323k · revenue +18% · 28% of their budget
  • CS
    CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
    8× · 2017–2024 · $265k · revenue +198%
  • TG
    The Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation
    7× · 2018–2024 · $215k · revenue +24%

Funded once

  • XJ
    XAVIER JESUIT ACADEMY
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • BM
    BLOC MINISTRIES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $55k · revenue +84%
  • OR
    OVER-THE-RHINE REVITILIZATION CORPO
    one grant, 2020 · $55k
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
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
2
Cincinnati Public Radio Inc

Cincinnati Public Radio is the trusted, independent source of journalism, music and culture empowering a vibrant, engaged and informed community.

Arts & Culture
3
The Greater Cincinnati Film Commission

The Greater Cincinnati Film Commission is dedicated to maximizing the area's economic potential by attracting, promoting and cultivating film, television, and commercial production throughout Greater Cincinnati. Once filmmakers choose…

—
4
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

To resolve serious legal problems of low income people, to promote economic and family stability, and reduce poverty through effective legal assistance.

—
5
The Contemporary Arts Center

The CAC is a lab for understanding ourselves, others, and the world around us through the experience and creation of all contemporary art forms.

Arts & Culture
6
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

We are Cincinnati's national theater - committed to bringing diverse, engaging works of great artistry to our community, and to putting Cincinnati's artistic excellence in the national spotlight.

Arts & Culture
7
Cincinnati Arts Association

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA), a not-for-profit, was founded in 1990 to serve as a manager, presenter and educator. CAA's mission is to present a broad range of high quality performing and visual arts programs, develop diverse…

Arts & Culture
8
Know Theatre of Cincinnati

Know Theatre is a small professional theatre showcasing voices, new works, & plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic…

Arts & Culture
9
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati

Ensemble theatre of cincinnati is a professional theatre rooted in historic over-the- rhine, dedicated to engaging, enriching and inspiring audiences through our thought-provoking world and regional premier productions, creating and…

Arts & Culture
10
Cincinnati Observatory Center

The mission of the cincinnati observatory is to maintain the integrity and heritage of an historic 19th century observatory and to educate, engage, and inspire our community about astronomy and science.

Arts & Culture
11
Cintrifuse

To empower Cincinnati entrepreneurs to launch bold, scalable startups; and we work to improve the odds of those startups growing into transformational companies.

Community Improvement
12
World Affairs Council - Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky

The World Affairs Council, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is the bridge that connects the world to one of America's most vibrant regions. Through Global education, International exchange, and cultural awareness initiatives, the council strengthens…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Coverd Greater Cincinnati; the most unlike its peers is Anderson Twp Historical Society 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

69 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. 69 of the 121 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/69
Grantees still filing
51/69
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRANKLIN CITY SCHOOLS: $1,104,219 · OtherFRANKLIN CITY SCHOOLSSTARFIRE: $315,000 · OtherSTARFIREFILM CINCINNATI: $310,000 · OtherFILM CINCINNATICATHOLIC CHARITIES SW OHIO: $250,000 · OtherCATHOLIC CHARITIES SW OHIOGOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $165,000 · Other+72 more: $1,643,047 · Other+72 moreCINCINNATI MEMORIAL HALL SOCIETY: $323,307 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MEMORIAL H…CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $264,500 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI SYMPHONY O…The Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation: $215,000 · Arts & CultureThe Greater Cincinnat…BEHRINGER CRAWFORD MUSEUM: $141,000 · Arts & CultureBEHRINGER CRAWFORD MU…ART OPPORTUNITIES INC: $94,500 · Arts & CultureART OPPORTUNITIES INCKennedy Heights Arts Center: $72,000 · Arts & CultureKennedy Heights Arts …+12 more: $93,800 · Arts & Culture+12 moreThe Mercantile Library: $163,000 · EducationThe Merca…Optim-All Services: $150,000 · EducationOptim-All…Level Up Cincinnati: $105,000 · EducationLevel Up …ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $55,000 · EducationART ACADE…XAVIER UNIVERSITY: $32,900 · EducationXAVIER UN…+4 more: $30,000 · Education+4 moreCOVERD GREATER CINCINNATI: $186,200 · Human ServicesCommunity Matters Cincinnati Inc: $70,000 · Human ServicesHOPE HOUSE RESCUE MISSION INC: $54,947 · Human ServicesEmanuel Community Center DBA Cincinnati Squash Academy: $30,000 · Human ServicesGOOD NEIGHBOR HOUSE: $13,500 · Human Services+3 more: $17,000 · Human ServicesElementz: $190,000 · Crime & LegalTHE GREATER CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DAYTON FOUNDATION: $15,500 · PhilanthropyTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyAUGUSTA COLLEGE ECHO HALL ASSOCIATION: $35,000 · Community ImprovementCINCINNATI NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY URBAN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $35,000 · Community ImprovementCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Community ImprovementCINCINNATI CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $20,000 · Community ImprovementTHE CINCINNATI REDS COMMUNITY FUND: $4,000 · Community Improvement
Other$3,787,266Arts & Culture$1,204,107Education$535,900Human Services$371,647Crime & Legal$190,000Philanthropy$120,500Community Improvement$119,000

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 budgetCINCINNATI MEMORIAL HALL SOCIETY: $323,307 over 8y, 28% of budgetCINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $264,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetThe Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation: $215,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetElementz: $190,000 over 8y, 9.5% of budgetCOVERD GREATER CINCINNATI: $186,200 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetThe Mercantile Library: $163,000 over 7y, 2.2% of budgetOptim-All Services: $150,000 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetBEHRINGER CRAWFORD MUSEUM: $141,000 over 7y, 5.7% of budgetLevel Up Cincinnati: $105,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetTHE GREATER CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetART OPPORTUNITIES INC: $94,500 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetOVER THE RHINE COMMUNITY HOUSING: $80,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetKennedy Heights Arts Center: $72,000 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetCommunity Matters Cincinnati Inc: $70,000 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $55,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $55,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetHOPE HOUSE RESCUE MISSION INC: $54,947 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetProKids: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetEducation Matters Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetSUNRISE SANCTUARY: $47,731 over 3y, 7.1% of budgetAUGUSTA COLLEGE ECHO HALL ASSOCIATION: $35,000 over 2y, 25% of budgetCINCINNATI NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY URBAN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $35,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $32,900 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEmanuel Community Center DBA Cincinnati Squash Academy: $30,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetThe Children's Theatre of Cincinnati: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJOURNEY TO HOPE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetCINCINNATI CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DAYTON FOUNDATION: $15,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOOKS BY THE BANKS: $15,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetLeague for Animal Welfare: $14,898 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGOOD NEIGHBOR HOUSE: $13,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSUNDOULOI MINISTRIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCORNERSTONE RENTER EQUITY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE TANDANA FOUNDATION INC: $8,500 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetCINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT FUND: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFOREST HILLS FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION INC: $6,500 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetCINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $6,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMortar Cincinnati: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetVALLEY VIEW FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetOTR ADOPT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetUniversity of Notre Dame du Lac: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTEPPING STONES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CLIFTON COMMUNITY PLAYERS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 8.9% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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 CINCINNATI MEMORIAL HALL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds The Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Elementz ↗
  • Who funds COVERD GREATER CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds The Mercantile Library ↗
  • Who funds Optim-All Services ↗
  • Who funds BEHRINGER CRAWFORD MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds Level Up Cincinnati ↗
  • Who funds THE GREATER CINCINNATI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ART OPPORTUNITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds OVER THE RHINE COMMUNITY HOUSING ↗
  • Who funds Kennedy Heights Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds Community Matters Cincinnati Inc ↗
  • Who funds FREESTORE FOODBANK INC ↗
  • Who funds BLOC MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds HOPE HOUSE RESCUE MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER ↗
  • Who funds ProKids ↗
  • Who funds Education Matters Inc ↗
  • Who funds SUNRISE SANCTUARY ↗

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 Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH75.8× affinity45 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Ed & Joann Hubert Family Foundation Inc · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · Charles H Dater Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · Millstone Fund · Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts · Andrew Jergens 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 George & Margaret McLane Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from George & Margaret McLane Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%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
    26report 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 121 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 George & Margaret McLane’s filings →

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