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I Know I Can at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

I Know I Can

Ikic inspires and equips central ohio students with the knowledge, resources, and support needed to achieve their dreams through postsecondary education and career readiness.

$2.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
40
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$663k
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 2025.

Education$11M
02FY2025 · 40 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 40 grants below total $1,993,005, the rows itemized in this filing. The $2,086,063 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $93,058 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k9 grants · $63k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $492k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $504k
  • $250k+2 grants · $934k
$18,211
Median grant
10
States reached
$47M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY$662,638
COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE$271,212
OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY$123,781
CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY$72,596
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI$69,318
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - NEWARK$69,000
OHIO UNIVERSITY$61,704
DENISON UNIVERSITY$56,071
CAPITAL UNIVERSITY$51,200
OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY$47,910
OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY$42,314
KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY$42,250
HOWARD UNIVERSITY$42,000
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY$37,247
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY$35,149
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 (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 88% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $48k → 5%WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY: $50k → 9%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $60k → 10%BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY: $54k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: $49k → 13%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $271k → 15%OHIO UNIVERSITY: $62k → 22%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $57k → 10%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $232k → 15%OHIO UNIVERSITY: $54k → 22%DENISON UNIVERSITY: $56k → 10%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $169k → 15%OHIO UNIVERSITY: $54k → 22%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $158k → 15%OHIO UNIVERSITY: $54k → 22%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $150k → 15%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $132k → 15%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $130k → 15%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $101k → 15%COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $101k → 15%CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY: $73k → 9%CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY: $73k → 9%CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY: $52k → 9%CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY: $52k → 9%CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY: $52k → 9%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $663k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - NEWARK: $69k → 15%OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY: $51k → 15%CAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $51k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $482k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $348k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $124k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $90k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $83k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $83k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $79k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $473k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $79k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $417k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $74k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $417k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $62k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $356k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $61k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $323k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $49k → 15%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $298k → 15%OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY: $49k → 15%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

VT
IL
MI
NY
MA
IN
OH
CA
MO
KY
VA
MD
NC
DC
LA
AL
GA
TX
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$11M · 48 repeat orgs$651k to everyone else

48 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 27 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
6

Total granted

$11M
$55k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+49%

Still filing today

83%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $596k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationPhilanthropyRecreation & 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

  • OS
    OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2023 · $2.8M · revenue +36%
  • CS
    Columbus State Community College Development Foundation Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +609%
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $361k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • EC
    Earlham College Inc
    one grant, 2018 · $11k · revenue -10%
  • MC
    MOREHOUSE COLLEGEgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $11k · revenue +49%
  • WM
    William Marsh Rice Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $10k · revenue +63%
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
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
2
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
3
Trinity University

Trinity university is an independent co-educational university whose mission is excellence in the interrelated areas of teaching, research and services.

Education
4
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
5
Benedictine University

Benedictine University is an inclusive academic community dedicated to teaching and learning, scholarship and service, truth and justice, as inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, the social teaching of the Church, and the…

Education
6
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
7
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
8
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
9
Roger Williams University

At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers robust offerings of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across eight…

Education
10
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
11
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
12
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Ashland University; the most unlike its peers is New York University. 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

54 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. 54 of the 73 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)
53/54
Grantees still filing
40/54
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2,765,709 · EducationOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATIONOtterbein University: $831,851 · EducationOtterbein UniversityDENISON UNIVERSITY: $361,147 · EducationThe Ohio University Foundation: $357,276 · EducationWright State University Foundation Inc: $302,547 · EducationOHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY: $298,119 · EducationCAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $267,570 · EducationBowling Green State University Foundation Inc: $252,850 · Education+39 more: $1,820,597 · Education+39 moreTHE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: $1,079,754 · OtherTHE OHIO STATE UNIVERSIT…CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $336,231 · OtherCENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY…COLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $271,212 · OtherCOLUMBUS STATE COMMUNITY…NORTH CAROLINA A & T STATE UNIVERSITY: $122,700 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO FOUNDATION DRISCOLL CENTER: $81,800 · Other+18 more: $487,396 · Other+18 moreColumbus State Community College Development Foundation Inc: $1,173,237 · PhilanthropyColumbus State …THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $361,422 · PhilanthropyTHE UNIVERSITY …Northwestern University: $21,200 · Recreation & Sports
Education$7,257,666Other$2,379,093Philanthropy$1,534,659Recreation & Sports$21,200

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2,765,709 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetColumbus State Community College Development Foundation Inc: $1,173,237 over 8y, 5.8% of budgetOtterbein University: $831,851 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $361,422 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetDENISON UNIVERSITY: $361,147 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetThe Ohio University Foundation: $357,276 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $336,231 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetWright State University Foundation Inc: $302,547 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetOHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY: $298,119 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCAPITAL UNIVERSITY: $267,570 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetBowling Green State University Foundation Inc: $252,850 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION: $224,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetKENT STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $175,150 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $136,100 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetKENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $104,250 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $98,210 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN: $95,011 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetKENYON COLLEGE: $82,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Dayton: $77,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetClark Atlanta University Inc: $58,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTiffin University: $56,400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WITTENBERG COLLEGE: $44,489 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $41,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE OF NURSING: $40,100 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCornell University: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY: $39,700 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSpelman College: $33,900 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $31,050 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,600 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRose-Hulman Institute of Technology: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTuskegee University: $29,594 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $26,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNorthwestern University: $21,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetColumbia College Chicago: $21,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOberlin College: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNOTRE DAME COLLEGE: $16,200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEarlham College Inc: $11,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOREHOUSE COLLEGE: $11,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBENNETT COLLEGE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $10,000 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 OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Columbus State Community College Development Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Otterbein University ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DENISON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds The Ohio University Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Wright State University Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Bowling Green State University Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KENT STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE HOWARD UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds COLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN ↗
  • Who funds Miami University Foundation ↗
  • Who funds KENYON COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds University of Dayton ↗
  • Who funds Clark Atlanta University Inc ↗
  • Who funds Tiffin University ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WITTENBERG COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds New York University ↗
  • Who funds MOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE OF NURSING ↗
  • Who funds THE MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds University of Chicago ↗
  • Who funds WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Spelman 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.

Columbus FoundationNational Collegiate A…The Dayton FoundationThe Ohio Foundation o…Folds of Honor Founda…The Cleveland Foundat…Ascendium Education S…Tulsa Community Found…Community Foundations…Ohio Aerospace Instit…Prevention Action All…Ingram-White Castle F…
Columbus FoundationOH33.1× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Columbus Foundation · National Collegiate Athletic Association · The Dayton Foundation · The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges · Folds of Honor Foundation · The Cleveland Foundation · Ascendium Education Solutions Inc · Tulsa Community Foundation · Community Foundations Inc · Ohio Aerospace Institute · Prevention Action Alliance · Ingram-White Castle 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 I Know I Can funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from I Know I Can. 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 5% of income from government
  • The Morgan State University Foundation Inc: 1% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Middlebury College: 0% of income from government
  • Berklee College of Music Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 73 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 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 I Know I Can’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