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James H Cummings Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

James H Cummings Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.4M
Granted FY2025still arriving
62
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$116k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Health$4.1MEducation$1.6MHuman Services$1.2MHousing & Shelter$1.0MPhilanthropy$968kArts & Culture$627kFood & Nutrition$573kYouth Development$454kOther$0
02FY2025 · 62 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k33 grants · $811k
  • $50k–250k23 grants · $1.6M
$30,390
Median grant
2
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CRADLE BEACH$115,600
RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR SUNY AT UB$104,189
UNITED WAY OF HENDERSON COUNTY$100,000
FEEDMORE WNY OF BUFFALO$100,000
MINISTRY SEVEN$87,297
BROTHERS OF MERCY$84,463
JACOBS INSTITUTE$80,196
ADVENTHEALTH HENDERSONVILLE$74,667
SINAI HEALTH FOUNDATION$72,337
RAHAMA INC$67,871
DAEMEN UNIVERSITY$60,000
FOREST LAWN HERITAGE FOUNDATION$57,407
UNITED WAY OF BUFFALO & ERIE COUNTY$55,000
GATEWAY LONGVIEW$54,805
BUFFALO CENTER FOR THE ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY$51,520
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 (FY20–25, $755k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COMMUNITY MISSIONS OF NIAGARA FRONTIER INC: $31k → 14%GATEWAY LONGVIEW: $55k → 13%GATEWAY LONGVIEW INC: $25k → 13%WNY HEROES: $10k → 13%LORD OF LIFE LUTHERAN: $21k → 13%COMPASS HOUSE: $66k → 13%FRIENDS OF LITTLE PORTION FRIARY: $24k → 13%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE: $15k → 13%FRIENDS INC: $15k → 13%COMPASS HOUSE: $2k → 13%VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $50k → 13%MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE PROJECT: $64k → 13%BUFFALO CITY MISSION: $27k → 13%COMMUNITY SERVICES FOR EVERY1: $15k → 13%BUFFALO URBAN LEAGUE: $7k → 13%RURAL OUTREACH CENTER: $100k → 13%RURAL OUTREACH CENTER: $50k → 13%RURAL OUTREACH CENTER: $25k → 13%FOUNDRY: $30k → 13%SUBURBAN ADULT SERVICES: $21k → 13%BUILD PROMISE: $50k → 13%WNY HEROES: $44k → 13%WNY HEROES: $5k → 13%WNY HEROES: $4k → 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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 8% of James H Cummings Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 78% of the giving stays in NY; by stated purpose, 73%.

James H Cummings Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 10% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.7M · 60 repeat orgs$4.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

60 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2025, 37 since wound down; 35 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

60
85

Total granted

$7.7M
$3.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
+10%

Still filing today

63%
49%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthEducationArts & CulturePhilanthropyYouth 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

  • TJ
    THE JACOBS INSTITUTE INC
    5× · 2020–2025 · $666k · revenue +65%
  • HC
    Henderson County United Way Inc
    5× · 2020–2025 · $400k · revenue +68%
  • HM
    HAUPTMAN-WOODWARD MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $335k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $250k
  • TR
    The Research Foundation for The State University of New Yorkgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $200k · revenue +33%
  • NIAGARA FALLS MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER
    one grant, 2024 · $125k · revenue 0%
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
The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo

The legal aid bureau of buffalo, inc., a not-for-profit organization, provides legal representation to financially needy men, women and children in western new york. through its skilled staff, the legal aid bureau seeks equal justice for…

Crime & Legal
2
Community Health Center of Buffalo Inc

The community health center of buffalo, inc operates four freestanding federally qualified health centers licensed as a diagnostic and treatment center under article 28 of the ny state health law. the center provides a broad range of…

Health
3
Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers Inc

To improve the quality of life of the people and neighborhoods we serve by preparing, equipping and empowering them to meet the challenges of contemporary urban life and realize their full potential.

—
4
Hispanos Unidos De Buffalo

Respond to economic, social, educational, and cultural needs of hispanic/latinos in western new york through bilingual, bicultural services that promote self-sufficiency and improve quality of life.

Human Services
5
Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation

The buffalo erie niagara land improvement corporation (benlic) seeks to confront and alleviate the problems distressed properties cause to communities by supporting municipal and regional revitalization efforts and strategically acquiring,…

Community Improvement
6
Legal Assistance of Western New York Inc

Lawny increases access to justice through excellent legal representation, advocacy and service.

Crime & Legal
7
Invest Buffalo Niagara Inc

To attract new employers to the buffalo niagara region through outreach to growing companies around the world. to support business attraction, expansion and entrepreneurship, invest buffalo niagara collaborates with local businesses,…

Community Improvement
8
Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust Inc

To acquire, remediate, and steward lands along wny's waterfronts prioritizing public access.

Environment
9
New Opportunities Community Housing Development Corp

To provide decent, affordable housing to low and moderate income persons of wny.

—
10
University At Buffalo Neurosurgery Inc

University at buffalo neurosurgery, inc. is an academic neurosurgical group committed to excellence in patient care, research, and education. our mission is to develop and implement sound strategies that focus on quality medical services,…

Health
11
Cny Fair Housing Inc

We work to eliminate housing discrimination, promote open communities, and ensure equal access to housing opportunity for all people in central and northern new york.

—
12
Baptist Home of Brooklyn New York

To enhance the quality of life for the aged by promoting and providing quality care in a loving environment that supports their social, medical and religious needs while encouraging independence and self-development.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Neighborhood Health Center of Wny Inc; the most unlike its peers is My Fathers Storehouse the Storehouse. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

104 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. 104 of the 181 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
102/104
Grantees still filing
64/104
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FEEDMORE WNY OF BUFFALO: $350,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $250,000 · Other+120 more: $6,531,867 · Other+120 moreROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $400,000 · PhilanthropyROSWELL PARK …Henderson County United Way Inc: $400,000 · PhilanthropyHenderson Cou…UNITED WAY OF BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY: $273,163 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF…SAFELIGHT INC: $150,000 · PhilanthropySAFELIGHT INCCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO INC: $145,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOU…PARDEE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · PhilanthropyPARDEE MEMORI…THE JACOBS INSTITUTE INC: $665,971 · HealthTHE JACOBS IN…HAUPTMAN-WOODWARD MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $335,000 · HealthHAUPTMAN-WOOD…NIAGARA FALLS MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: $125,000 · HealthNIAGARA FALLS…AdventHealth Foundation Inc: $75,000 · HealthBUFFALO HEARING & SPEECH CENTER INC: $50,000 · HealthKEVIN GUEST HOUSE INC: $50,000 · Health+7 more: $149,597 · Health+7 moreD'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY: $200,000 · EducationThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $200,000 · EducationTROCAIRE COLLEGE: $160,530 · EducationEPIC - EVERY PERSON INFLUENCES CHILDREN INC: $100,000 · EducationMOUNTAIN AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER INC: $84,813 · EducationDAEMEN UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · EducationNIAGARA UNIVERSITY: $58,000 · EducationBUFFALO STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $39,918 · Education+3 more: $50,521 · EducationThe Rural Outreach Center Inc: $175,000 · Human ServicesGATEWAY-LONGVIEW INC: $79,805 · Human ServicesCOMPASS HOUSE: $67,933 · Human ServicesMassachusetts Avenue Project Inc: $63,880 · Human ServicesWNY HEROES INC: $62,000 · Human ServicesTHE VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesBUILD PROMISE INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY MISSIONS OF THE NIAGARA FRONTIER INC: $31,000 · Human ServicesNet Positive Inc: $30,390 · Human ServicesMY FATHERS STOREHOUSE THE STOREHOUSE: $30,000 · Human ServicesCITY MISSION SOCIETY INC: $27,300 · Human Services+7 more: $118,054 · Human ServicesCRADLE BEACH INC: $314,810 · Recreation & SportsSKATING ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND & HAND: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsBUFFALO FINE ARTS ACADEMY: $100,000 · Arts & CultureASSEMBLY HOUSE 150 INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureEXPLORE & MORE A CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $46,873 · Arts & CultureJUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER INC: $25,000 · Arts & CultureFRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S MARTIN HOUSE CORPORATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureBUFFALO STRING WORKS INC: $24,998 · Arts & CultureSTITCH BUFFALO INC: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $10,382 · Arts & Culture
Other$7,131,867Philanthropy$1,468,163Health$1,450,568Education$953,782Human Services$785,362Recreation & Sports$334,810Arts & Culture$302,253

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 budgetTHE JACOBS INSTITUTE INC: $665,971 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetROSWELL PARK ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $400,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetHenderson County United Way Inc: $400,000 over 5y, 5.9% of budgetHAUPTMAN-WOODWARD MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $335,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetCRADLE BEACH INC: $314,810 over 3y, 5.8% of budgetUNITED WAY OF BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY: $273,163 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetD'YOUVILLE UNIVERSITY: $200,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Research Foundation for The State University of New York: $200,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHENDERSONVILLE RESCUE MISSION: $191,075 over 5y, 5.0% of budgetThe Rural Outreach Center Inc: $175,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetTROCAIRE COLLEGE: $160,530 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BUFFALO INC: $160,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetBUFFALO PREP INC: $150,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetSAFELIGHT INC: $150,000 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetGERARD PLACE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND COMPANY INC: $146,777 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER BUFFALO INC: $145,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNIAGARA FALLS MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: $125,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY BUFFALO INC: $120,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetCatholic Health System: $114,107 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity District Community Developmen: $107,612 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetKING URBAN LIFE CENTER INC: $106,802 over 2y, 9.8% of budgetEPIC - EVERY PERSON INFLUENCES CHILDREN INC: $100,000 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetBUFFALO FINE ARTS ACADEMY: $100,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPARDEE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetVOCATIONAL SOLUTIONS OF HENDERSON COUNTY INC: $100,000 over 3y, 5.3% of budgetJERICHO ROAD MINISTRIES INC: $99,110 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMOUNTAIN AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER INC: $84,813 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNIAGARA LUTHERAN HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $83,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetBUFFALO & ERIE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $80,144 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetGATEWAY-LONGVIEW INC: $79,805 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBESTSELF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INC: $76,634 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAdventHealth Foundation Inc: $75,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCOMPASS HOUSE: $67,933 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetMassachusetts Avenue Project Inc: $63,880 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetWNY HEROES INC: $62,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER OF WNY INC: $61,320 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDAEMEN UNIVERSITY: $60,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOMESPACE CORPORATION: $58,991 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetNIAGARA UNIVERSITY: $58,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOREST LAWN HERITAGE FOUNDATION INC: $57,407 over 1y, 15% of budgetBUFFALO HEARING & SPEECH CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetThe Boys & Girls Club Of The Northtowns Inc: $50,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF HENDERSON COUNTY/HENDERSONVILLE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetKEVIN GUEST HOUSE INC: $50,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetASSEMBLY HOUSE 150 INC: $50,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetEXPLORE & MORE A CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $46,873 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCHURCH MISSION OF HELP OF WNY INC: $45,000 over 1y, 6.3% 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.

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.

Community Foundation …The John R Oishei Fou…The Western New York …Cullen FoundationFirst Niagara Foundat…United Way of Buffalo…The Peter and Elizabe…The Margaret L Wendt …Children's Foundation…Rich Family FoundationMother Cabrini Health…The Baird Foundation
Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo IncNY128.4× affinity71 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Inc · The John R Oishei Foundation · The Western New York Foundation · Cullen Foundation · First Niagara Foundation · United Way of Buffalo and Erie County · The Peter and Elizabeth C Tower Foundation · The Margaret L Wendt Foundation · Children's Foundation of Erie County Inc · Rich Family Foundation · Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Inc · The Baird 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 James H Cummings Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James H Cummings Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%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
    48report 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 James H Cummings Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to James H Cummings Foundation Inc 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 181 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 James H Cummings’ 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