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· Public charity

Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation

Further the charitable, educational and religious purposes of the jewish federation of cleveland ("federation").

$535k
Granted FY2025still arriving
10
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2025.

Philanthropy$1.1MEducation$792kFood & Nutrition$590kArts & Culture$468kHealth$461kHuman Services$108kEmployment$90kCommunity Improvement$75kOther$0
02FY2025 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 10 grants below total $511,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $534,500 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $23,500 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k7 grants · $186k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $325k
$35,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$21M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEMS INC$200,000
PLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND$75,000
JEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND$50,000
CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART$36,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND$35,000
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO$35,000
BEREA COLLEGE$35,000
MANUFACTURING ADVOCACY & GROWTH NETWORK INC$25,000
MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE$10,000
YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED$10,000
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 (FY23–23, $9k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%MENORAH PARK CENTER FOR SENIOR LIVING: $9k → 17%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.

79%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.5M · 9 repeat orgs$653k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +3% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
14

Total granted

$2.5M
$643k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+3%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthFood & NutritionPhilanthropyReligionOther
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

  • TC
    THE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART
    4× · 2019–2025 · $383k · revenue +32%
  • GC
    GREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC
    2× · 2019–2022 · $280k · revenue +8%
  • JF
    JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO
    5× · 2018–2025 · $263k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • TM
    The Musical Arts Associationgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $300k · revenue +27%
  • FH
    FACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC
    one grant, 2024 · $130k · revenue +3%
  • UH
    UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue +9%
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
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
2
Capital University

Capital university transforms lives by empowering an inclusive community of learners through engaging academic, co-curricular, and professional experiences.

Education
3
Point Park University

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement,we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill,and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed…

—
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
Oberlin College

Oberlin College and Conservatory educate students for lives of intellectual, musical and artistic rigor and breadth, sustained inquiry, creativity and innovation, and leadership. Oberlin aims to prepare graduates with the knowledge,…

Education
6
Cleveland Hillel Foundation Inc

Center of jewish life for undergraduate, graduate and professional students who attend 11 colleges and universities in greater cleveland. provides the means for students to celebrate their judaism through enriching cultural, educational,…

Philanthropy
7
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
8
Colgate University

Colgate university's mission is to provide a demanding, expansive educational experience to a select group of diverse, talented, intellectually sophisticated students who are capable of challenging themselves, their peers and their…

Education
9
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
10
Manhattan University

Manhattan university is an independent catholic instituion of higher learning that embraces qualified men and women of all faiths, cultures, and traditions. the mission of manhattan university is to provide a contemporary, person-centered…

Education
11
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art

See schedule ovision: the cooper union for the advancement of science and art is dedicated to peter cooper's radical commitment to diversity and his founding vision that fair access to an inspiring free education and forums for courageous…

Education
12
Otterbein University

Otterbein University is an inclusive community dedicated to educating the whole person in the context of humane values. Our mission is to prepare graduates to think deeply and broadly, to engage locally and globally, and to advance their…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Greater Cleveland; the most unlike its peers is The Musical Arts Association. 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

27 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
17/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $688,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELANDJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $569,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELANDPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $75,000 · PhilanthropyPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INCTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $383,000 · EducationTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ARTCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $325,000 · EducationCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDA…CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $225,000 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITYBEREA COLLEGE: $162,500 · EducationBEREA COLLEGE+2 more: $17,500 · EducationThe Musical Arts Association: $300,000 · Arts & CultureThe Musical A…FACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $130,000 · Arts & CultureFACING HISTOR…THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS THEATRE COMPANY: $20,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $10,000 · Arts & CultureGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $280,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $7,500 · Food & NutritionJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $263,209 · ReligionMANUFACTURING ADVOCACY & GROWTH NETWORK INC: $100,000 · Community ImprovementUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $50,000 · HealthMENORAH PARK FOUNDATION: $30,000 · HealthHANNA PERKINS SCHOOL: $10,000 · HealthYOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED: $50,000 · OtherORT AMERICA INC: $20,000 · OtherCU BOULDER HILLEL FOUNDATION: $9,000 · OtherCHN HOUSING PARTNERS: $30,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $10,000 · OtherMENORAH PARK CENTER FOR SENIOR LIVING: $9,000 · Other
Philanthropy$1,332,000Education$1,113,000Arts & Culture$460,000Food & Nutrition$287,500Religion$263,209Community Improvement$100,000Health$90,000Other$128,000

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 budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $688,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $569,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART: $383,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetCUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $325,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetThe Musical Arts Association: $300,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $280,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $263,209 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $225,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBEREA COLLEGE: $162,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $130,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMANUFACTURING ADVOCACY & GROWTH NETWORK INC: $100,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetYOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHN HOUSING PARTNERS: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMENORAH PARK FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS THEATRE COMPANY: $20,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetORT AMERICA INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHANNA PERKINS SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMENORAH PARK CENTER FOR SENIOR LIVING: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCU BOULDER HILLEL FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetCLEVELAND CHESED CENTER: $7,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $7,500 over 1y, 0.4% 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.

Jewish Federation of ClevelandOH15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Jewish Federation of Cleveland · The Cleveland Foundation · The Reinberger Foundation · The George Gund Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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.

    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 26 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 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

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