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Gladys M Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Gladys M Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$25k
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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$196kRecreation & Sports$3k
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$102k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OHIO UNIVERSITY$5,000
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY$2,500
SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE$2,500
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY$2,500
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY$2,500
THIEL COLLEGE$2,500
UPMC ST MARGARET SCHOOL OF NURSING$2,500
LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY$2,500
WESTMINSTER COLLEGE$2,500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3k → 9%YORK COOLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3k → 9%SETON HILL UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%GENEVA COLLEGE: $3k → 10%UPMC ST MARGARET SCHOOL OF NURSING: $3k → 11%WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON: $3k → 12%THIEL COLLEGE: $3k → 13%WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: $5k → 13%LOCK HAVEN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 13%JUNIATA COLLEGE: $3k → 13%CLARION UNIVERSITY: $5k → 14%ALLEGHENY COLLEGE: $3k → 14%INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $5k → 14%PENN STATE BEHREND: $3k → 15%MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 15%PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 16%SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $3k → 16%NIAGARA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA: $3k → 13%MOUNT MERCY UNIVERSITY: $3k → 9%BROWN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: $3k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: $3k → 13%THE UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION: $3k → 13%OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 15%OHIO UNIVERSITY: $5k → 22%BETHANY COLLEGE: $3k → 13%WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: $3k → 15%NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3k → 9%SETON HILL UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%UPMC ST MARGARET SCHOOL OF NURSING: $3k → 11%CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3k → 12%THIEL COLLEGE: $3k → 13%WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: $3k → 13%CLARION UNIVERSITY: $3k → 14%INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3k → 14%MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY: $3k → 15%PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 16%THE UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION: $3k → 13%SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $3k → 10%DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 11%THIEL COLLEGE: $3k → 13%SLIPPERY ROCK UNNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $5k → 9%SLIPPERY ROCK UNNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $5k → 9%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $5k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $5k → 11%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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
IA
OH
PA
CT
RI
UT
WV
DC
FL
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$119k · 14 repeat orgs$78k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +19% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
26

Total granted

$119k
$65k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+16%

Still filing today

50%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k 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
EducationRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
    7× · 2017–2023 · $23k · revenue +44%
  • DU
    DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
    4× · 2019–2023 · $10k · revenue +6%
  • WC
    WESTMINSTER COLLEGE
    2× · 2017–2024 · $8k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • OS
    OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
  • BC
    BETHANY COLLEGEgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $3k · revenue +33%
  • PW
    PENNSYLVANIA WESTERN UNIVERSITY-CLARION
    one grant, 2023 · $3k
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
St Marys University of Minnesota

Enriched by the lasallian catholic heritage, saint mary's university of minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.

Education
2
St Mary's University

St. marys university, as a catholic marianist university, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence.

—
3
Albright College

As a diverse community of learners, we cultivate integrity, curiosity, connection and resilience.

Education
4
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
5
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
6
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
7
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
8
Endicott College

Endicott college offers students a vibrant academic environment that remains true to its founding principle of integrating professional and liberal arts with experiential learning. for more information see schedule o.

Education
9
The Catholic University of America

As the national university of the catholic church in the united states, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the holy see, the catholic university of america is committed to being a comprehensive…

Education
10
Mcdaniel College Inc

Mcdaniel college is a diverse student-centered community committed to excellence in the liberal arts & sciences and professional studies with careful mentoring and attention to the individual. mcdaniel changes lives. we challenge students…

Education
11
Marietta College

Marietta college (mc) provides a strong foundation for a lifetime of leadership, critical thinking, and problem solving. we achieve this mission by offering undergraduates a contemporary liberal arts education and graduate students an…

Education
12
John Carroll University

As a jesuit catholic university committed to academic rigor, inclusive excellence, and care for the whole person, john carroll university inspires individuals of intellect and character to learn, lead and serve in the community and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Pittsburgh; the most unlike its peers is Rosedale Technical College. 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

25 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. 25 of the 45 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
22/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $22,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGHDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $10,000 · EducationDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRITWESTMINSTER COLLEGE: $7,500 · EducationWESTMINSTER COLLEGETHIEL COLLEGE: $7,500 · EducationTHIEL COLLEGESETON HILL UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · EducationUniversity of Mount Union: $5,000 · EducationSAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $5,000 · Education+15 more: $37,500 · Education+15 moreCLARION UNIVERSITY: $12,500 · OtherCLARION UNIVERSITYSLIPPERY ROCK UNNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $12,500 · OtherSLIPPERY ROCK UNNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAPENN STATE UNIVERSITY: $7,500 · OtherPENN STATE UNIVERSITYINDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $7,500 · OtherINDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIABUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $6,250 · OtherBUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGEUPMC ST MARGARET SCHOOL OF NURSING: $5,000 · OtherOHIO UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · OtherSLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · Other+13 more: $32,500 · Other+13 moreBROWN UNIVERSITY: $2,500 · Community ImprovementNorthwestern University: $2,500 · Recreation & Sports
Education$100,000Other$93,750Community Improvement$2,500Recreation & Sports$2,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $22,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWESTMINSTER COLLEGE: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHIEL COLLEGE: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSETON HILL UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Mount Union: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBETHANY COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHATHAM UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIATA COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNIAGARA UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe University of Tampa Incorporated: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYORK COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROWN UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALLEGHENY COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGENEVA COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMERCYHURST UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCARLOW UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROSEDALE TECHNICAL COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUND FARM HOLDINGS INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $2,500 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 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ↗
  • Who funds WESTMINSTER COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds THIEL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SETON HILL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds University of Mount Union ↗
  • Who funds SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds BETHANY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds CHATHAM UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds JUNIATA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The University of Tampa Incorporated ↗
  • Who funds YORK COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds BROWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds ALLEGHENY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds GENEVA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CARLOW UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds ROSEDALE TECHNICAL COLLEGE ↗

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 Pittsburgh Founda…The Blackbaud Giving …American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Pittsburgh FoundationPA13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Pittsburgh Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Gladys M Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gladys M Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • The University of Tampa Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 45 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 Gladys M Hess Memorial Scholarship’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