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Helen E Allen Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Helen E Allen Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$98k
Granted FY2025still arriving
25
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$94kHealth$72kEducation$65kPublic Safety & Disaster$25kEnvironment$25kHuman Services$24kAnimals$20kCrime & Legal$18kOther$0
02FY2025 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k23 grants · $78k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$2,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$2.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM$10,000
CINCINNATI ZOO$10,000
ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI$7,500
CINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION$5,000
CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM$5,000
ADVENTURE CREW$5,000
CINCINNATI STREET SOCCER$5,000
OHIO VALLEY VOICES$5,000
CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER$5,000
CAMP JOY$2,500
CINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING$2,500
HEARING SPEECH & DEAF CENTER$2,500
WOMEN'S ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI$2,500
1N5$2,500
ALS UNITED OHIO$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:

Its human-services grants (FY22–24, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, 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%LADD INC: $3k → 16%BEECH ACRES: $3k → 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.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$341k · 26 repeat orgs$64k to everyone else

26 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
10

Total granted

$341k
$42k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+4%
+17%

Still filing today

62%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $23k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’21’22’23’24’25
HealthArts & CultureEducationEnvironmentCrime & LegalHuman ServicesOther
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

  • CF
    CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM
    5× · 2021–2025 · $25k · revenue +18%
  • OV
    OHIO VALLEY VOICES
    5× · 2021–2025 · $25k · revenue +4%
  • CT
    CINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HORSEM HORSEMANSHIP
    5× · 2021–2025 · $15k · revenue +8%

Funded once

  • CH
    CHILDREN'S HOME OF CINCINNAT
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • DS
    DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION OF
    one grant, 2024 · $5k
  • BS
    BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD
    one grant, 2021 · $5k · revenue +17%
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 Center for Autism

We support individuals with autism and their families through programming in the areas of academics, adaptive behavior, communication, and social participation.

Education
2
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

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

Arts & Culture
3
Cincinnati Parks Foundation

To build broad based private/public partnerships supporting the conservation and enhancement of our City's parks and greenspaces.

Recreation & Sports
4
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
5
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
6
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber

To grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the cincinnati region.

—
7
Cincinnati Aquatic Club

To offer children and young adults a top quality program that develops, trains and competes as competitive swimmers year-round in a supportive and motivating enviroment that respects, challenges and nurtures them as athletes, students, and…

Recreation & Sports
8
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
9
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
10
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber Foundation

To develop and promote economic development, talent initiatives and the unique offerings in the cincinnati region.

Community Improvement
11
Fotofocus Cincinnati
Arts & Culture
12
Joy Outdoor Education Center Foundation Inc

Helping people grow and succeed through life-long, experience-based learning.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cincinnati Museum Association; the most unlike its peers is Faith Freedom Life. 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

24 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. 24 of the 43 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/24
Grantees still filing
13/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CINCINNATI ZOO: $20,000 · OtherCINCINNATI ZOOCINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HORSEM HORSEMANSHIP: $15,000 · OtherCINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HORSEM HORSEMA…Individual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHEARING SPEECH & DEAF CENTER: $15,000 · OtherHEARING SPEECH & DEAF CENTERWOMANS ART CLUB OF CINCINNATI: $13,000 · OtherWOMANS ART CLUB OF CINCINNATICHILDREN'S HOME OF CINCINNAT: $10,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S HOME OF CINCINNATKNOW THEATRE: $10,000 · OtherKNOW THEATRENEW PATH CHILD & FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $9,000 · OtherTHE CHILDREN'S THEATRE OF: $7,500 · Other1N5: $7,500 · Other+14 more: $50,000 · Other+14 moreCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $32,500 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCI…CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM: $25,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUMCINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $23,500 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI PRESERVATION …The Contemporary Arts Center: $7,500 · Arts & CultureThe Contemporary Arts Ce…OHIO VALLEY VOICES: $25,000 · EducationOHIO VALLEY VOI…ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $15,000 · EducationART ACADEMY OF …SPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER: $14,500 · EducationSPRINGER SCHOOL…Adopt A Class Foundation Inc: $2,500 · EducationCancer Family Care Inc: $10,500 · HealthCancer Fa…THE DRAGONFLY FOUNDATION: $7,500 · HealthTHE DRAGO…BREAKTHROUGH T1D: $7,500 · HealthBREAKTHRO…ALS UNITED OHIO INC: $5,000 · HealthALS UNITE…SERENITY CONSULTANTS INC: $2,500 · HealthSERENITY …CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $20,000 · EnvironmentGORMAN HERITAGE FARM FOUNDATION: $6,500 · EnvironmentCARDINAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $5,000 · EnvironmentPRO BONO PARTNERSHIP OF OHIO: $15,000 · Crime & LegalFaith Freedom Life: $2,500 · Crime & LegalADVENTURE CREW: $5,000 · Youth Development
Other$172,000Arts & Culture$88,500Education$57,000Health$33,000Environment$31,500Crime & Legal$17,500Youth Development$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 budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $32,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM: $25,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetOHIO VALLEY VOICES: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $23,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetCINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $20,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HORSEM HORSEMANSHIP: $15,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $15,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPRO BONO PARTNERSHIP OF OHIO: $15,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetSPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER: $14,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCancer Family Care Inc: $10,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetThe Contemporary Arts Center: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DRAGONFLY FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGORMAN HERITAGE FARM FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEaster Seals Tristate: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCARDINAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALS UNITED OHIO INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLiving Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSERENITY CONSULTANTS INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAdopt A Class Foundation Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBEECH ACRES: $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 CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI FIRE MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds OHIO VALLEY VOICES ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HORSEM HORSEMANSHIP ↗
  • Who funds ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds PRO BONO PARTNERSHIP OF OHIO ↗
  • Who funds SPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Cancer Family Care Inc ↗
  • Who funds The Contemporary Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds THE DRAGONFLY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BREAKTHROUGH T1D ↗
  • Who funds GORMAN HERITAGE FARM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ADVENTURE CREW ↗
  • Who funds BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD ↗
  • Who funds Easter Seals Tristate ↗
  • Who funds CARDINAL LAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds ALS UNITED OHIO INC ↗
  • Who funds Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled Inc ↗
  • Who funds SERENITY CONSULTANTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Faith Freedom Life ↗

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.

J Frederick & Helen B…The Greater Cincinnat…Robert a & Marian K K…Johnson Charitable Gi…Charles Scott Riley I…The Thomas J Emery Me…Charles H Dater Found…Agnes Nordloh Charita…Sutphin Family Founda…Pfau Charitable Found…Louise Taft Semple Fo…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…
J Frederick & Helen B Vogel TrustOH41.2× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: J Frederick & Helen B Vogel Trust · The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Robert a & Marian K Kennedy Charitable Trust · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Charles Scott Riley III Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Charles H Dater Foundation Inc · Agnes Nordloh Charitable Trust · Sutphin Family Foundation Ica · Pfau Charitable Foundation · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 Helen E Allen Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Helen E Allen Charitable 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 43 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 Helen E Allen’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