Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation Dossiers
Plinth

· Private foundation

Kern Family Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$365k
Granted FY2024still arriving
7
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$275k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
0197% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2017–2024.

Philanthropy$645kInternational$515kArts & Culture$258kHealth$218kHuman Services$158kCommunity Improvement$135kAnimals$113kEducation$52kOther$0
02FY2024 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k6 grants · $90k
  • $250k+1 grant · $275k
$15,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$3.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNITED WAY$275,000
ERIE TOGETHER$20,000
Individual grant recipient$18,925
MLK CENTER$15,000
ST MATTHEW'S HOUSE$15,000
NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CLINIC$11,000
HOPE ON HORSEBACK$10,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–22, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%St Martin Center: $27k → 15%ST MARTIN CENTER: $20k → 15%MECA Inc: $3k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.7M · 19 repeat orgs$353k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +30% since the first grant, against +9% for the ones you funded once.

19 repeat relationships — 4 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
14

Total granted

$1.7M
$317k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+9%

Still filing today

74%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $36k 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
Arts & CultureHealthEducationCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesInternationalOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • VF
    VISION FOR THE POOR
    2× · 2019–2021 · $515k · revenue +63%
  • EZ
    Erie Zoological Society
    3× · 2017–2020 · $113k · revenue +30%
  • MC
    MERCY CENTER FOR WOMEN INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $105k · revenue +237%

Funded once

  • JH
    JULIA HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CAREgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +28%
  • DA
    Donor Advised Fund
    one grant, 2018 · $45k
  • VM
    VILLA MARIA CATHERDRAL PREPARATORY CATHOLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
    one grant, 2022 · $35k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Erie Independence House Inc

Erie Independence House, Inc. (EIH) exists to enhance and promote independence in people with disabilities through the provision of accessible, affordable, adaptive housing necessary for them to lead productive, independent lives. We offer…

—
2
Erie County Economic Development Charitable Fund

To facilitate both the creation and retention of jobs within erie county and increase economic opportunities for individuals and businesses through comprehensive economic development programs.

—
3
Erie Neighborhood House

Erie neighborhood house provides the most comprehensive support to immigrant and low-income families in chicago. our mission is to empower our communitylatinx immigrants alongside individuals and families of all backgroundsthrough…

Human Services
4
Ehca Foundation

Ehca foundation (the "foundation") is a pennsylvania nonprofitcorporation and was organized as a supporting organization. thefoundation will be operated exclusively for the benefit of, and toperform functions on behalf of, erie homes for…

Housing & Shelter
5
Environment Erie

A non-profit organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, enhancement, and sustainable development of the lake erie watershed in pennsylvania.

—
6
Greater Erie Economic Development Corporation
—
7
Jewish Community Council of Erie

The Jewish Community Council of Erie is a community-based organization serving individuals and families in the Erie area with a wide range of social and educational services, as well as capacity-building support to other community-based…

Philanthropy
8
Erie Elementary Charter School

Erie elementary charter school was formed in 2005 to provide educational and community opportunities for youths, grades k-8. the school is a bi-literate school focusing on heritage and culture.

Education
9
Erie Cancer and Wellness Foundation dba - Erie Cancer Wellness Center

The mission of the erie cancer wellness center is to support those living with cancer and the people that care for them through free of charge programs and services that promote physical, emotional and mental healing.

Health
10
East Erie County Emergency Medical Services Corporation

To provide emergency medical services with advanced and basic life support capabilities, ambulance transportation services, and providing trained personnel to assist local fire departments.

Community Improvement
11
Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership

To lead erie's economic evolution through access, advocacy and awareness.

Community Improvement
12
United Way of Erie County Inc

To increase the organized capacity for people to care for one another.

—

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Erie Homes for Children & Adults Inc and the most unlike its peers is Vision for the Poor. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

Your grantees are a median of 42 years old; the field is 27. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number15%4%<5yr13%7%5–10yr14%4%10–20yr15%18%20–35yr24%32%35–55yr20%36%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value15%7%<5yr13%7%5–10yr14%0%10–20yr15%34%20–35yr24%21%35–55yr20%31%55yr+

The field is 15% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 7% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 6% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/28
the rest of the field
6%
108/1,803

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

27 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 27 of the 37 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
18/27
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

UNITED WAY — $350,000 · OtherUNITED WAYMERCY CENTER FOR WOMEN INC — $105,000 · OtherMERCY CENTER FOR WOMEN INCDonor Advised Fund — $45,000 · OtherDonor Advised FundIndividual grant recipient — $43,925 · OtherIndividual grant recipientVILLA MARIA CATHERDRAL PREPARATORY CATHOLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM — $35,000 · OtherMLK CENTER — $35,000 · OtherSt Martin Center — $47,000 · OtherSt Martin Center+11 more — $130,166 · Other+11 moreVISION FOR THE POOR — $515,000 · InternationalVISION FOR THE POORFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND — $150,000 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVES…Erie Together — $120,000 · Community ImprovementErie TogetherERIE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP — $15,000 · Community ImprovementErie County Historical Society — $90,000 · Arts & CultureErie County …PUBLIC BROADCASTING OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA INC — $35,605 · Arts & CulturePUBLIC BROAD…Erie Philharmonic Inc — $35,000 · Arts & CultureErie Philhar…ERIE ART MUSEUM — $27,500 · Arts & CultureERIE ART MUS…ExpERIEnce Children's Museum — $25,000 · Arts & CultureExpERIEnce C…THE ARTS COUNCIL OF ERIE — $20,000 · Arts & CultureTHE ARTS COU…+1 more — $5,000 · Arts & CultureJULIA HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE — $100,000 · HealthJULIA HOS…ERIE HOMES FOR CHILDREN & ADULTS INC — $55,000 · HealthERIE HOME…Community of Caring Inc — $12,000 · HealthCommunity…NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CLINIC INC — $11,000 · HealthNEIGHBORH…COMMUNITY HEALTH NET — $10,000 · HealthACHIEVEMENT CENTER INC — $7,500 · HealthErie Zoological Society — $112,500 · AnimalsUnited Way of Erie County — $100,000 · Philanthropy
Other$791,091International$515,000Community Improvement$285,000Arts & Culture$238,105Health$195,500Animals$112,500Philanthropy$100,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetVISION FOR THE POOR — $515,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND — $150,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetErie Together — $120,000 over 6y, 5.8% of budgetErie Zoological Society — $112,500 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetMERCY CENTER FOR WOMEN INC — $105,000 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetUnited Way of Erie County — $100,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetJULIA HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE — $100,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetErie County Historical Society — $90,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetERIE HOMES FOR CHILDREN & ADULTS INC — $55,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSt Martin Center — $47,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetPUBLIC BROADCASTING OF NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA INC — $35,605 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetErie Philharmonic Inc — $35,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetERIE ART MUSEUM — $27,500 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetERIE CENTER FOR ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY INC — $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetExpERIEnce Children's Museum — $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ARTS COUNCIL OF ERIE — $20,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetERIE DAY SCHOOL INC — $17,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetERIE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP — $15,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetST MATTHEWS HOUSE INC — $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity of Caring Inc — $12,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CLINIC INC — $11,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY HEALTH NET — $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE ON HORSEBACK — $10,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetACHIEVEMENT CENTER INC — $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetASBURY WOODS PARTNERSHIP INC — $5,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetFlagship Niagara League — $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMECA INC — $2,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Erie Community Founda…M J Surgala TrWabtec FoundationGe Aerospace Foundati…Merwin FoundationThe Arts Council of E…The Britton Family Fo…Vorsheck Family Found…Northwest Charitable …Firstenergy FoundationJohn M & Gertrude E P…McBrier Foundation
Erie Community FoundationPA50.5× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Erie Community Foundation · M J Surgala Tr · Wabtec Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Merwin Foundation · The Arts Council of Erie · The Britton Family Foundation · Vorsheck Family Foundation Inc · Northwest Charitable Foundation · Firstenergy Foundation · John M & Gertrude E Petersen Foundation · McBrier Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Kern Family Foundation Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    14report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Kern Family Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Kern Family 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 37 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    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 camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home
    State money flows
    the interactive map of money crossing state lines