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Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$93M
Granted FY2023
1
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$93M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2023.

Philanthropy$94MAnimals$4.5MCommunity Improvement$1.1MOther$0
02FY2023 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$93,406,507
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE JOANIE BERNARD FOUNDATION$93,406,507
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 (FY20–22) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 81% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CLERMONT ANIMAL CARE HUMANE SOCIETY: $370k → 9%ADVOCATES 4 ANIMALS FELINE: $25k → 9%HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER DAYTON: $250k → 14%CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN: $171k → 16%HUMANE SOCIETY OF ADAMS COUNTY: $25k → 20%BANFIELD FOUNDATION: $38k → 9%NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT: $150k → 7%HORIZON COMMUNITY FUNDS OF: $500k → 11%BLUEGRASS AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT: $250k → 15%UNITED SPAY ALLIANCE: $5k → 7%LEAGUE FOR ANIMAL WELFARE: $20k → 9%ADVOCATES FOR ANIMALS FELINE: $25k → 9%CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN: $109k → 16%NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT: $150k → 7%BLUEGRASS AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT: $250k → 11%BLUEGRASS AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT: $200k → 15%LEAGUE FOR ANIMAL WELFARE: $10k → 9%ADVOCATES 4 ANIMALS FELINE: $25k → 9%CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN: $109k → 16%NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT: $150k → 7%CINCINNATI ANIMAL CARE: $586k → 16%HORIZON COMMUNITY FUNDS OF: $500k → 7%MY FURRY VALENTINE: $60k → 16%OHIO ALLEYCAT RESOURCE &: $500k → 16%OHIO ALLEYCAT RESOURCE &: $175k → 16%SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $100k → 16%SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $100k → 16%SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $25k → 16%MY FURRY VALENTINE: $50k → 16%SCRATCHING POST INC: $50k → 16%SPCA CINCINNATI: $1.0M → 16%SPCA CINCINNATI: $400k → 16%SPCA CINCINNATI: $300k → 16%SAVE CATS AND OBLITERATE OVERPOPULATION: $20k → 16%HOMELESS ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM: $30k → 16%THE HOMELESS ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM: $25k → 16%THE HOMELESS ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM: $25k → 16%UNITED COALITION FOR ANIMALS: $535k → 16%UCAN SPAYNEUTER CLINIC: $400k → 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.

5%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.4M · 11 repeat orgs$96M to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2023, 11 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
11

Total granted

$5.4M
$2.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+1%
+9%

Still filing today

64%
73%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $93M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
AnimalsCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • TH
    THE HAMILTON COUNTY SPCA INC DBA SPCA CINCINNATI
    3× · 2020–2022 · $1.7M · revenue +1%
  • NK
    NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT
    3× · 2020–2022 · $450k · revenue +126%
  • ST
    SAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION
    3× · 2020–2022 · $225k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • CA
    CINCINNATI ANIMAL CARE HUMANE SOCIETYgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $586k · revenue +35%
  • UC
    UNITED COALITION FOR ANIMALS
    one grant, 2022 · $535k · revenue +9% · 30% of their budget
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $400k
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
Save Ohio Pets

SAVE Ohio Pets is a non-profit whose mission is to reduce the homeless pet population in Central Ohio through community outreach and promoting spay/neuter, adoption, volunteering, and education. We operate a free, monthly vet care and…

Animals
2
Columbus Cares for Cats
—
3
Bartholomew County Humane Society Inc

Humane treatment of stray dogs and cats

Animals
4
Pound Pets Inc

Animal Rescue - finding homes for abandoned animals in Granite City, spaying and neutering stray animals and feral cats

Animals
5
Humane Society of Union County Inc

The Humane Society of Union County exists to reduce the number of abused, abandoned, and neglected cats and dogs through rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, and spay and neuter.

Animals
6
Humane Society of Central Illinois

HSCIs mission is to find loving, forever homes for abused and unwanted pets.

Animals
7
Liberty Humane Society Inc

We aim to improve animal welfare and reduce pet homelessness by providing affordable spay neuter services and wellness care enabling a better future for pets their families and all people who love them.

Animals
8
Unos Home for Wayward Cats and Dogs

Animal rescue organization

Animals
9
Freedom Tails Ohio

Animal Rescue

Animals
10
Safe Haven Inc
Animals
11
Hardin County Humane Society

The Hardin County Humane Society is dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of animal suffering, the elimination of pet overpopulation, and the education for the public about responsible pet ownership in the are served by the Society.

Animals
12
Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary

Protect and rescue abandoned and at-risk animals.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Hamilton County Spca Inc Dba Spca Cincinnati; the most unlike its peers is Joanie C Bernard Foundation. 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

17 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. 17 of the 23 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
9/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JOANIE C BERNARD FOUNDATION: $93,406,507 · AnimalsJOANIE C BERNARD FOUNDATION+13 more: $4,019,200 · AnimalsHORIZON COMMUNITY FUNDS OF: $1,000,000 · OtherBLUEGRASS AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT INC: $700,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $675,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $400,000 · OtherClermont Animal CARE Humane Society: $370,000 · Other+3 more: $100,000 · OtherNORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT: $450,000 · Community Improvement
Animals$97,425,707Other$3,245,000Community Improvement$450,000

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 budgetJOANIE C BERNARD FOUNDATION: $93,406,507 over 1y, 98% of budgetTHE HAMILTON COUNTY SPCA INC DBA SPCA CINCINNATI: $1,702,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetCINCINNATI ANIMAL CARE HUMANE SOCIETY: $586,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetUNITED COALITION FOR ANIMALS: $535,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetNORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT: $450,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $388,200 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetClermont Animal CARE Humane Society: $370,000 over 1y, 36% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER DAYTON: $250,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetSAVE THE ANIMALS FOUNDATION: $225,000 over 3y, 8.0% of budgetMy Furry Valentine Inc: $110,000 over 2y, 37% of budgetHOMELESS ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM: $80,000 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetSCRATCHING POST INC: $50,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetBANFIELD FOUNDATION: $38,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLeague for Animal Welfare: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetHumane Society of Adams County INC: $25,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetSave Cats & Obliterate Over Population Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 34% of budgetUnited Spay Alliance: $5,000 over 1y, 7.3% 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.

Joanie C Bernard Foun…The Greater Cincinnat…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Duke Energy FoundationAmerican Modern Found…Scott Kenneth a Chari…The Scripps Howard Fo…Best Friends Animal S…Petco LoveThe Duffield Family F…Celanese FoundationPetsmart Charities Inc
Joanie C Bernard FoundationOH26.4× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Joanie C Bernard Foundation · The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · American Modern Foundation · Scott Kenneth a Charitable Ta · The Scripps Howard Foundation · Best Friends Animal Society · Petco Love · The Duffield Family Foundation Dba Maddie's Fund · Celanese Foundation · Petsmart Charities Inc

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 Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard Foundation. 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard 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 23 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Joanie Jeanne and Howard Bernard’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
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    $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