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Mark and Donna Ross Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Mark and Donna Ross Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$135k
Granted FY2024still arriving
14
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$35k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.

Health$158kHuman Services$73kFood & Nutrition$72kReligion$65kHousing & Shelter$48kPhilanthropy$39kEducation$30kRecreation & Sports$25kOther$0
02FY2024 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k9 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $100k
$8,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$2.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HASBRO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL$35,000
CROSSROADS$20,000
BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL TRUST$20,000
ROCKY HILL COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL$15,000
WINTHROP LITTLE LEAGUE$10,000
WITHROP YOUTH FOOTBALL$8,000
THE WINTHROP FOUNDATION$8,000
MI-AMORE$4,000
CLOTHES TO KIDS OF RI$2,500
PAWTUCKET SOUP KITCHEN$2,500
RISE FOUNDATION$2,500
SOJOURNER'S HOUSE$2,500
MCAULEY HOUSE$2,500
Individual grant recipient$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 (FY21–24, $93k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 83% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $6k → 8%RISE FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%COMFORT CASES: $5k → 8%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $5k → 8%PINE STREET INN: $7k → 16%BEAUTIFUL DAY: $5k → 14%BEAUTIFUL DAY: $5k → 14%CHILDREN'S FRIEND: $7k → 14%HELP THE HOMELESS RI: $5k → 14%CHILDREN'S FRIEND: $5k → 14%HELP THE HOMELESS RI: $3k → 14%HELP THE HOMELESS RI: $3k → 14%THE ELISHA PROJECT: $3k → 14%COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM: $3k → 14%CLOTHES TO KIDS OF RI: $7k → 14%CLOTHES TO KIDS OF RI: $5k → 14%CLOTHES TO KIDS OF RI: $3k → 14%JEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RI: $10k → 14%JEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RI: $5k → 14%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.

72%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$414k · 24 repeat orgs$162k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +44% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 9 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
25

Total granted

$414k
$124k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+17%

Still filing today

67%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 72% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $38k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthFood & NutritionYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementRecreation & 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

  • CH
    Children's Hospital Corporation
    3× · 2022–2024 · $47k · revenue +44%
  • MA
    MI AMORE INCORPORATED
    4× · 2021–2024 · $20k · revenue +8%
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc
    3× · 2021–2023 · $18k · revenue +62%

Funded once

  • MG
    MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • SA
    ST ANDREW'S SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -13%
  • PINE STREET INN INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $7k · revenue +34%
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 Rhode Island Public Health Foundation

The organization's mission is to eliminate health disparities in rhode island and beyond. the organization develops innovative public health programs, conducts translational and policy research, provides clinical services, and trains…

Health
2
Better Lives Rhode Island

Better lives rhode island is a non-profit agency whose mission is to offer stability, justice, and hope to those in need through advocacy and direct service.

—
3
The Rhode Island Community Foundation

The rhode island foundation mobilizes generosity and motivates change that makes a difference

Philanthropy
4
Westbay Community Action Inc

To organize, plan and provide social services to low income and elderly individuals.

—
5
Rhode Island Community Food Bank Association

To improve the quality of life for all rhode islanders by advancing solutions to the problem of hunger.

Food & Nutrition
6
Rcap Solutions Inc Formerly Rural Housing Improvement Inc

Rental assistance received from a government agency under section 8 of the housing assistance payments program. providing technical assistance and training to low-income rural communities and other agencies in order to provide or enhance…

—
7
Horizons for Homeless Children

Hhc's mission is to improve the lives of homeless children and their families. hhc provides homeless children in massachusetts with the nurturing, stimulation and opportunities for early education and play that all children need to learn…

Human Services
8
Hospital Association of Rhode Island

To be a proactive advocate for the hospitals in rhode island that is capable of working for and with the hospitals to positively influence public opinion, legislative outcomes and regulatory policy. the purpose of such advocacy is to…

—
9
Crossroads Rhode Island

The core mission of the organization is to assist homeless or at-risk individuals and families secure stable homes. this is accomplished by providing a range of services including housing, basic needs, shelter, case management, referrals,…

Human Services
10
Rhode Island Dream Center

The rhode island dream center provides hope and holistic support to the impoverished in the greater rhode island area through food, clothing and services.

Human Services
11
Disability Rights Rhode Island

To assist rhode islanders with differing abilities in their efforts to achieve full inclusion in society and to exercise their civil and human rights through the provision of legal advocacy.

Civil Rights
12
Adoption Rhode Island

Adoption rhode island is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to create safety, belonging and permanency for adopted and foster children, vulnerable youth, and families through compassionate services, advocacy, and education.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cradles to Crayons Inc; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. 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

39 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. 39 of the 55 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
29/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CROSSROADS: $60,000 · OtherCROSSROADSHASBRO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $55,000 · OtherHASBRO CHILDRENS HOSPITALRI COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $15,000 · OtherROCKY HILL COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $12,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $12,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY MUSICWORKS: $12,500 · Other+22 more: $142,000 · Other+22 moreJEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND: $15,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH ALLIANCE O…CLOTHES TO KIDS RI INC: $14,500 · Human ServicesCLOTHES TO KIDS R…CHILDREN'S FRIEND AND SERVICE: $12,000 · Human ServicesCHILDREN'S FRIEND…CRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $11,000 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYON…Help the Homeless RI Inc: $10,500 · Human ServicesHelp the Homeless…BEAUTIFUL DAY: $10,000 · Human ServicesBEAUTIFUL DAYPINE STREET INN INC: $7,000 · Human ServicesPINE STREET INN I…COMFORT CASES INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesCOMFORT CASES INC+3 more: $8,000 · Human Services+3 moreChildren's Hospital Corporation: $47,000 · HealthChildren's Hospi…Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $18,000 · HealthDana-Farber Canc…THE RHODE ISLAND FREE CLINIC INC: $10,000 · HealthTHE RHODE ISLAND…REFOCUS INC: $5,000 · HealthREFOCUS INCCOMMUNITY CARE ALLIANCE: $5,000 · HealthCOMMUNITY CARE A…+1 more: $2,500 · HealthMI AMORE INCORPORATED: $20,000 · Food & NutritionFeed RI: $5,000 · Food & NutritionWe Care Inc: $5,000 · Food & NutritionTHE WINTHROP FOUNDATION: $14,000 · Community ImprovementPAWTUCKET SOUP KITCHEN: $7,500 · Community ImprovementJEWISH FEDERATION FOUNDATION OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND: $10,000 · PhilanthropyHEATHER ABBOTT FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyWINTHROP LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsMARTIN LUTHER KING COMMUNITY CENTER INCORPORATED: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$324,000Human Services$93,000Health$87,500Food & Nutrition$30,000Community Improvement$21,500Philanthropy$15,000Recreation & Sports$15,000

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 budgetChildren's Hospital Corporation: $47,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMI AMORE INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $18,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetROCKY HILL COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCLOTHES TO KIDS RI INC: $14,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetTHE WINTHROP FOUNDATION: $14,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSICWORKS: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S FRIEND AND SERVICE: $12,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHelp the Homeless RI Inc: $10,500 over 3y, 2.8% of budgetBEAUTIFUL DAY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE RHODE ISLAND FREE CLINIC INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION FOUNDATION OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWINTHROP LITTLE LEAGUE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetStem Advantage: $10,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetAMOS HOUSE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetST ANDREW'S SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPAWTUCKET SOUP KITCHEN: $7,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetSOJOURNER HOUSE INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPINE STREET INN INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDAY ONE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMFORT CASES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFeed RI: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TOMORROW FUND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHEATHER ABBOTT FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetREFOCUS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWe Care Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetHOUSE OF HOPE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY CARE ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRHODE ISLAND KIDS COUNT INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetELISHA PROJECT: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMCAULEY CORPORATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetONE MISSION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRISE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetCOMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY ACTION INC: $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.

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.

The Rhode Island Comm…United Way of Rhode I…The Champlin Foundati…Amica Companies Found…Citizens Charitable F…Ralph R Papitto & Bar…The Beacon FoundationCentreville Savings B…Ida Ballou Littlefiel…Washington Trust Co C…Bristol County Saving…Uw Urania C Sherburne
The Rhode Island Community FoundationRI47.7× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Rhode Island Community Foundation · United Way of Rhode Island Inc · The Champlin Foundation · Amica Companies Foundation · Citizens Charitable Foundation · Ralph R Papitto & Barbara a Papitto Private Family Foundation · The Beacon Foundation · Centreville Savings Bank Charitable Foundation · Ida Ballou Littlefield Memorial Trust · Washington Trust Co Charitable Fdn · Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation Inc · Uw Urania C Sherburne

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 Mark and Donna Ross Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mark and Donna Ross Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Pine Street Inn Inc: 11% of income from government
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Children's Hospital Corporation: 10% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Comfort Cases Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Mark and Donna Ross Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Mark and Donna Ross Family 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 55 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Mark and Donna Ross Family’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