Skip to content
Plinth
Foundation DossiersMostly funded, not a grantmaker — see who funds it →
Plinth

· Public charity

Maryland Historical Society Inc

The maryland historical society serves the people of maryland, and those interested in maryland history, through stewardship of comprehensive library and museum collections that are central to the state's history but promoting scholarship through publications and by providing educational services at its own campus and throughout the…

$172k
Granted FY2024still arriving
17
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2020–2024.

Arts & Culture$741kEnvironment$72kRecreation & Sports$20kCivil Rights$20kCommunity Improvement$13kMembership Benefit$10k
02FY2024 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$47M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOSANNA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC$10,000
LAKELAND COMMUNITY HERITAGE PROJECT INC$10,000
MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC$10,000
NATIONAL ELECTRONICS MUSEUM INC$10,000
SANDY SPRING MUSEUM$10,000
RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INC$10,000
HAVRE DE GRACE MARITIME MUSEUM INC$10,000
NATIONAL CAPITAL TROLLEY MUSEUM$10,000
NATIONAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MARYLAND$10,000
FIELDS OF FIRSTS FDN$10,000
GAITHERSBURG PARKS ART & RECREATION$10,000
WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY$10,000
LOST TOWNS PROJECT INC$10,000
RIVERSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC$10,000
AFRO CHARITIES INC$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:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 55% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 9%HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CARROLL COUNTY: $10k → 6%CATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 6%FRIENDS OF HANCOCK'S RESOLUTION (FOHR): $10k → 6%HOSANNA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $10k → 7%GAITHERSBURG PARKS ART & RECREATION: $10k → 8%HISTORIC SOTTERLEY INC: $10k → 8%RIVERSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 11%NATIONAL ELECTRONICS MUSEUM INC: $10k → 11%C&O CANAL TRUST INC: $10k → 12%ADKINS ARBORETUM: $10k → 13%RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INC: $10k → 15%HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CARROLL COUNTY: $10k → 6%CATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 6%BLACKS OF THE CHESAPEAKE FOUNDATION INC: $20k → 6%HOSANNA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC: $10k → 7%MENARE FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 8%HISTORIC SOTTERLEY INC: $10k → 8%RIVERSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 11%FRIENDS OF HISTORICAL CHERRY HILL AUMP: $10k → 11%C&O CANAL TRUST INC: $10k → 12%ADKINS ARBORETUM: $10k → 13%RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INCORPORATED: $10k → 15%LOST TOWNS PROJECT INC: $10k → 6%HAVRE DE GRACE MARITIME MUSEUM INC: $10k → 7%MENARE FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 8%FIELDS OF FIRSTS FDN: $10k → 11%WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $10k → 12%LOST TOWNS PROJECT INC: $10k → 6%HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF HARFORD COUNTY INC: $10k → 7%HISTORIC TAKOMA INC: $10k → 8%LAKELAND COMMUNITY HERITAGE PROJECT INC: $10k → 11%FRIENDS OF HANCOCKS RESOLUTION (FOHR): $10k → 6%HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF HARFORD COUNTY INC: $10k → 7%HISTORIC TAKOMA INC: $10k → 8%FRIENDS OF GREENBELT THEATRE INC: $10k → 11%MARYLAND LYNCHING MEMORIAL PROJECT INC: $10k → 11%NATIONAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $10k → 19%PEERLESS ROCKVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION: $10k → 8%ACCOKEEK FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 8%ACCOKEEK FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $10k → 8%ACCOKEEK FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%MARYLAND LYNCHING MEMORIAL PROJECT INC: $10k → 11%MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MOVING IMAGE ARCHIVE: $21k → 19%PEERLESS ROCKVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION: $10k → 8%SANDY SPRING MUSEUM: $20k → 8%BALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION: $20k → 19%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$746k · 36 repeat orgs$130k to everyone else

36 repeat relationships — 8 still active in FY2024, 28 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
4

Total granted

$746k
$50k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+60%

Still filing today

86%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $80k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsPhilanthropyOther

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

  • SS
    SANDY SPRING MUSEUM INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $50k · revenue +202%
  • BA
    BALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2020–2021 · $36k · revenue +37% · 26% of their budget
  • MR
    MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MOVING IMAGE ARCHI
    2× · 2020–2023 · $31k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • BO
    BLACKS OF THE CHESAPEAKE FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue ×22
  • PA
    PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE BLACK ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +60%
  • AA
    AFRICAN AMERICAN FIRE FIGHTERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC
    one grant, 2023 · $10k

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
Maryland Technology Museum Inc
Arts & Culture
2
Historical Society of Kent Co Md

County historical society providing for preservation and collection of materials relating to local county history. maintain and operate historic house museum.

Arts & Culture
3
Preservation Delaware
Arts & Culture
4
Historical Society of Middletown & Wallkill
—
5
Howard County Historical Society Inc

To collect, preserve, and share the diverse history of all the peoples of Howard County Maryland.

—
6
Howard County Historical Society

To collect, preserve and share the diverse history of all the peoples of howard county

Arts & Culture
7
St Marys County Historical Society Inc

To collect, preserve, research and interpret the history of st marys county, maryland holding these collections in trust for the use and education of the public.

—
8
Baltimore Heritage Incorporated

To preserve historic places in Baltimore.

—
9
Historical Preservation Inc
—
10
Cuttyhunk Historical Society Inc
Arts & Culture
11
Hoboken Historical Museum Inc

Hhm was founded in 1986 to stimulate interest in hoboken history through the installation of original exhibits; the collection and preservation of artifacts; and the documentation of hoboken's physical and cultural heritage; the publishing…

—
12
Mount Vernon Preservation Society
Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Baltimore County Historical Society Inc and the most unlike its peers is National Electronics Museum Inc. 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 35 years old; the field is 14. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number23%4%<5yr16%11%5–10yr19%15%10–20yr16%20%20–35yr11%39%35–55yr16%11%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value23%3%<5yr16%10%5–10yr19%15%10–20yr16%17%20–35yr11%42%35–55yr16%13%55yr+

The field is 23% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 3% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 15% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/48
the rest of the field
15%
4,665/31,092

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

40 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. 40 of the 48 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/40
Grantees still filing
23/40
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

BALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION INC — $35,500 · OtherBALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION INCMID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MOVING IMAGE ARCHI — $31,250 · OtherMID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MOVING IMAGE ARCHIACCOKEEK FOUNDATION INC — $30,000 · OtherACCOKEEK FOUNDATION INCPRINCE GEORGES COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 · OtherBETHESDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 · OtherHISTORIC TAKOMA INC — $20,000 · OtherTHE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CARROLL COUNTY MARYLAND INC — $20,000 · OtherCATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 · OtherHistorical Society Harford Cou — $20,000 · OtherTHE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FEDERAL HILL AND FELL'S POINT INC — $20,000 · OtherHISTORIC SOTTERLEY INC — $20,000 · OtherHOSANNA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC — $20,000 · OtherRIVERSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 · OtherBaltimore County Historical Society Inc — $20,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF HISTORICAL CHERRY HILL A U M P INC — $20,000 · OtherPRIDE OF BALTIMORE INC — $18,000 · OtherLENOX THEATRE PROJECTS INC — $16,500 · Other+8 more — $89,000 · Other+8 moreSANDY SPRING MUSEUM INC — $50,000 · Arts & CultureSANDY SPRING MUSEUM INCMONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $30,000 · Arts & CultureMONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY I…RICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INCORPORATED — $20,000 · Arts & CultureRICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INCORPORATE…Lost Towns Project Inc — $20,000 · Arts & CultureLost Towns Project IncTHE PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE INC — $20,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY…Friends of Hancocks Resolution Inc — $20,000 · Arts & CultureFriends of Hancocks Resolution IncMENARE FOUNDATION INC — $20,000 · Arts & CultureMENARE FOUNDATION INCBLACKS OF THE CHESAPEAKE FOUNDATION INC — $20,000 · Arts & CultureBLACKS OF THE CHESAPEAKE FOUNDATION IN…PEERLESS ROCKVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION LTD — $20,000 · Arts & CulturePEERLESS ROCKVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATI…HISTORIC HAMPTON INCORPORATED — $15,000 · Arts & CultureBERLIN HERITAGE FOUNDATION INC — $13,000 · Arts & CultureDELMARVA DISCOVERY CENTER & MUSEUM INC — $12,500 · Arts & Culture+4 more — $40,000 · Arts & Culture+4 moreC&O CANAL TRUST INC — $20,000 · EnvironmentADKINS ARBORETUM LTD — $20,000 · EnvironmentTHE HOWARD COUNTY CONSERVANCY INC — $12,000 · EnvironmentMARKET CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION — $20,000 · Community ImprovementSOUTHWEST PARTNERSHIP INC — $13,000 · Community ImprovementMARYLAND LYNCHING MEMORIAL PROJECT INC — $20,000 · Civil RightsFIELD OF FIRSTS FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 · Philanthropy
Other$460,250Arts & Culture$300,500Environment$52,000Community Improvement$33,000Civil Rights$20,000Philanthropy$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetSANDY SPRING MUSEUM INC — $50,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetBALTIMORE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION INC — $35,500 over 2y, 26% of budgetMID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MOVING IMAGE ARCHI — $31,250 over 2y, 12% of budgetMONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $30,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetACCOKEEK FOUNDATION INC — $30,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetRICHARDSON MARITIME MUSEUM INCORPORATED — $20,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetLost Towns Project Inc — $20,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetTHE PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE INC — $20,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetHISTORIC TAKOMA INC — $20,000 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetTHE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CARROLL COUNTY MARYLAND INC — $20,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetFriends of Hancocks Resolution Inc — $20,000 over 2y, 59% of budgetMENARE FOUNDATION INC — $20,000 over 2y, 9.3% of budgetMARYLAND LYNCHING MEMORIAL PROJECT INC — $20,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetCATOCTIN FURNACE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetHistorical Society Harford Cou — $20,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetC&O CANAL TRUST INC — $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetHISTORIC SOTTERLEY INC — $20,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetADKINS ARBORETUM LTD — $20,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetHOSANNA COMMUNITY HOUSE INC — $20,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetRIVERSDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $20,000 over 2y, 58% of budgetBaltimore County Historical Society Inc — $20,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetPEERLESS ROCKVILLE HISTORIC PRESERVATION LTD — $20,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetPRIDE OF BALTIMORE INC — $18,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetTHE CHEVY CHASE HISTORICAL SOCIETY LTD — $15,000 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetHISTORIC HAMPTON INCORPORATED — $15,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetSOUTHWEST PARTNERSHIP INC — $13,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBERLIN HERITAGE FOUNDATION INC — $13,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetDELMARVA DISCOVERY CENTER & MUSEUM INC — $12,500 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetTHE HOWARD COUNTY CONSERVANCY INC — $12,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC — $10,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA AVENUE BLACK ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT — $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MARYLAND INC — $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetAFRO CHARITIES INC — $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHAVRE DE GRACE MARITIME MUSEUM INC — $10,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetNATIONAL ELECTRONICS MUSEUM INC — $10,000 over 1y, 4.4% 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.

Maryland Humanities C…France-Merrick Founda…Arts and Humanities C…Nora Roberts Foundati…Greater Washington Co…National Trust for Hi…Baltimore Heritage Ar…Delaplaine Foundation…The United Way of Cen…T Rowe Price Program …Baltimore Community F…Ibm International Fou…
Maryland Humanities Council IncMD65.3× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maryland Humanities Council Inc · France-Merrick Foundation Inc · Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomer · Nora Roberts Foundation · Greater Washington Community Foundation · National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States · Baltimore Heritage Area Association Inc · Delaplaine Foundation Inc · The United Way of Central Maryland Inc · T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc · Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · Ibm International 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 Maryland Historical Society 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, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 130%6%25%56%100%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 28%
  • Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation Inc — 52% of income from government
  • Southwest Partnership Inc — 50% of income from government
  • Accokeek Foundation Inc — 44% of income from government
  • Pride of Baltimore Inc — 30% of income from government
  • Historic Sotterley Inc — 28% of income from government
  • Sandy Spring Museum Inc — 18% of income from government
  • Baltimore Architecture Foundation Inc — 17% of income from government
  • The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture Inc — 8% of income from government
  • The Howard County Conservancy Inc — 5% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
13get no government money at all
15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
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.

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 48 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports $600 of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2024, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

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