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Plinth

· Public charity

Ohio History Connection

Identify, authenticate, collect, preserve, and interpret ohio's history.

$1.8M
Granted FY2025still arriving
43
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$190k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
01What you fund
01

What you funded, over time

By grantee IRS cause code (NTEE).

A cause breakdown isn’t shown here: 62% of OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION’s grantee dollars fall outside its nine largest cause areas, whether because the recipient carries no IRS cause code or because its cause sits in the long tail. A chart would be mostly one residual band and misrepresent the portfolio.

02FY2025 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 43 grants below total $1,537,978 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $1,777,261 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $239,283 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $47k
  • $10k–50k29 grants · $630k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $862k
$19,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$6.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATION$190,000
VAN WERT COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY$157,557
RIDDLE BLOCK 9 LLC$109,440
THIRD STREET STUDIO LLC$95,000
PAINESVILLE TOWER LLC$94,330
MARK MILLER$80,864
CONFLUENCE CORPORATION$74,320
HONEY HOUSE COSHOCTON LLC$59,990
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION$49,250
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI$42,500
AMERICAS RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE$40,000
OBERLIN HERITAGE CENTER$39,014
CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY$33,012
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$30,000
CITY OF TOLEDO$27,480
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 (FY19–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CONFLUENCE CORPORATION: $74k → 5%PAINESVILLE TOWER LLC: $94k → 6%RIDDLE BLOCK 9 LLC: $109k → 7%MARK MILLER: $81k → 8%FORT RECOVERY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $25k → 8%VAN WERT COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY: $158k → 9%GREEN LAWN ABBEY PRESERVATION ASSOCATION: $35k → 10%CITY OF SANDUSKY: $40k → 11%CAMBRIDGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE: $71k → 15%EAST LIVERPOOL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR REVITALIZATION: $25k → 16%CITY OF SHAKER HEIGHTS: $25k → 17%MARION VOICES FOLKLIFE AND ORAL HISTORY: $35k → 17%THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%HONEY HOUSE COSHOCTON LLC: $60k → 10%NATIONAL FIRST LADIES LIBRARY: $38k → 13%LEADERSHIP OHIO: $35k → 15%ARTWORKS: $40k → 16%CITY OF TOLEDO: $27k → 18%CAESAR'S FORD THEATRE INC: $27k → 9%THIRD STREET STUDIO LLC: $95k → 12%GREEN LAWN ABBEY PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $27k → 15%GREEN UMBRELLA: $28k → 16%WATERVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $23k → 18%CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY: $33k → 17%OBERLIN HERITAGE CENTER: $39k → 13%CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY: $30k → 17%THEFIRST CHURCH IN OBERLIN UCC: $26k → 13%CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY: $30k → 17%THE FIRST CHURCH IN OBERLIN UCC: $25k → 13%CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY: $28k → 17%NORWOOD TOGETHER: $38k → 16%CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY: $28k → 17%AMERICAS RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE: $40k → 16%IDEASTREAM: $25k → 17%TAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $35k → 16%CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM: $25k → 16%OHIO BIOLOGICAL SURVEY: $30k → 15%CAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATION: $190k → 15%BURTEN BELL CARR DEVELOPMENT INC: $25k → 17%JEWISH EDUCATION CENTER OF CLEVELAND: $39k → 17%OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $52k → 15%CITY OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS: $25k → 17%OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $50k → 15%OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $49k → 15%OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $40k → 15%OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDATION: $29k → 15%MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE: $26k → 17%CITY OF CLEVELAND: $30k → 17%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.

32%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.3M · 26 repeat orgs$2.8M to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +72% since the first grant, against +6% for the ones you funded once.

26 repeat relationships — 12 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 31 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

26
107

Total granted

$1.3M
$1.7M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+72%
+6%

Still filing today

58%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 27% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureCommunity ImprovementEducationHousing & ShelterEnvironmentHuman ServicesOther

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

  • CR
    CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY INC
    6× · 2019–2025 · $220k · revenue +185%
  • CS
    CAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATION
    2× · 2024–2025 · $213k · revenue +285%
  • SL
    SOUTHERN LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    3× · 2019–2025 · $35k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • CP
    Cambridge Performing Arts Center
    one grant, 2024 · $71k · 50% of their budget
  • SC
    SANDUSKY CITY
    one grant, 2024 · $58k
  • M
    MIDSTORY
    one grant, 2024 · $40k · revenue -38%

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
Canfield Heritage Foundation

Museum

Arts & Culture
2
Middleburg Heights Historical Society

Non profit historical society

Arts & Culture
3
Cleveland Museum of Art

The mission of the cleveland museum of art (cma) is to fulfill its dual roles as one of the world's most distinguished comprehensive art museums and as one of northeastern ohio's principal civic and cultural institutions. the museum,…

Arts & Culture
4
Western Reserve Historical Society

Western reserve historical society preserves and uses its collections, historic sites, and museums to inspire people to discover the american experience by exploring the tangible history of northeast ohio.

Arts & Culture
5
The Columbus Historical Society

Preserve the multi-cultural history of columbus and share that history with the community through a variety of educational programming

Arts & Culture
6
The Harmon Museum

To preserve and present the history of warren county and southwest ohio.

Arts & Culture
7
Columbus Jewish Historical Society

To facilitate the collection, preservation and education of the jewish history of central ohio.

Arts & Culture
8
Akron History Center

The mission of the Akron History Center is to create an enduring long-lasting free museum-quality exhibit about Akrons history that inspires residents educates young people and welcomes visitors to our community.

Arts & Culture
9
The Castle Museum

None

Arts & Culture
10
Clark County Historical Society

The mission of the clark county historical society is to collect, preerve, and interpret resources which provide understanding and appreciation of clark county's heritage, and to relate to the community's past to the present and its future.

Arts & Culture
11
Indian Hill Historical Museum Associatio

Archive History of Community

Arts & Culture
12
Cleveland Historical Society

To discover, to collect, to preserve and to interpret materials and objects germane to the history of Cleveland and the North Shore of Oneida Lake, NY, to sponsor writings, education, publications, and to promote public interest in…

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heritage Ohio Inc and the most unlike its peers is Harry and Violet Turner 95 Charitable Trust. 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 37 years old; the field is 19. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number19%2%<5yr13%9%5–10yr19%16%10–20yr14%20%20–35yr16%29%35–55yr20%25%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value19%2%<5yr13%5%5–10yr19%12%10–20yr14%18%20–35yr16%47%35–55yr20%16%55yr+

The field is 19% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 2% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.6% lost their exemption, against 12% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.6%1/164
the rest of the field
12%
5,786/48,139

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

98 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2017–2026, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 98 of the 166 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
96/98
Grantees still filing
56/98
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION FOUNDATION — $220,599 · OtherOHIO HISTORY CONNECTION FOUNDATIONCAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATION — $213,000 · OtherCAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATIONVAN WERT COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY — $157,557 · OtherVAN WERT COUNTY PORT AUTHORITYRIDDLE BLOCK 9 LLC — $109,440 · OtherTHIRD STREET STUDIO LLC — $95,000 · OtherPAINESVILLE TOWER LLC — $94,330 · Other+91 more — $1,787,815 · Other+91 moreCLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY INC — $220,217 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIE…GREENLAWN ABBEY PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION — $70,760 · Arts & CultureGREENLAWN ABBEY PRESERVATIO…ART OPPORTUNITIES INC — $40,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE — $40,000 · Arts & CultureLEADERSHIP OHIO — $35,000 · Arts & CultureTAFT MUSEUM OF ART — $35,000 · Arts & CultureThe Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage — $33,635 · Arts & Culture+34 more — $524,786 · Arts & Culture+34 moreNORWOOD TOGETHER — $37,500 · Community ImprovementHERITAGE OHIO INC — $27,450 · Community ImprovementEAST LIVERPOOL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP — $25,000 · Community ImprovementLAKEWOOD ALIVEINC — $22,000 · Community ImprovementCorporation for Findlay Market — $15,000 · Community ImprovementZOAR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION — $12,875 · Community ImprovementOUR TOWN COSHOCTON — $12,000 · Community ImprovementDEFIANCE DEVELOPMENT AND VISITORS BUREAU INC — $12,000 · Community ImprovementDOWNTOWN PAINESVILLE ORGANIZATION — $12,000 · Community ImprovementUPTOWN WESTERVILLE INC — $12,000 · Community ImprovementDOWNTOWN MARION INC — $12,000 · Community ImprovementCOMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM COMMISSION OF THE LANCASTER-FAIRFIELD COUNTY AREA INC — $12,000 · Community ImprovementNATIONAL FIRST LADIES LIBRARY — $37,500 · EducationOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $30,000 · EducationTHE TEACHING CLEVELAND FOUNDATION — $17,250 · EducationOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY — $16,000 · EducationFRIENDS OF CROWELL HILAKA — $15,250 · EducationHATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL — $12,053 · EducationFRIENDS OF THE HARTMAN ROCK GARDEN — $10,000 · EducationCAPITAL UNIVERSITY — $8,500 · EducationMAIN STREET VAN WERT INC — $8,000 · EducationMUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY — $7,200 · EducationANTIOCH COLLEGE CORPORATION — $6,120 · EducationBURTEN BELL CARR DEVELOPMENT INC — $25,000 · Housing & ShelterCINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT FUND — $20,510 · Housing & ShelterPRICE HILL WILL — $12,000 · Housing & ShelterMIDSTORY — $40,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH EDUCATION CENTER OF CLEVELAND — $39,000 · Religion
Other$2,677,741Arts & Culture$999,398Community Improvement$211,825Education$167,873Housing & Shelter$57,510Human Services$40,000Religion$39,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetOHIO HISTORY CONNECTION FOUNDATION — $220,599 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetCLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY INC — $220,217 over 6y, 4.2% of budgetCAPITOL SQUARE FOUNDATION — $213,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetCambridge Performing Arts Center — $71,152 over 1y, 50% of budgetMIDSTORY — $40,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetART OPPORTUNITIES INC — $40,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE — $40,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetJEWISH EDUCATION CENTER OF CLEVELAND — $39,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL FIRST LADIES LIBRARY — $37,500 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetNORWOOD TOGETHER — $37,500 over 1y, 30% of budgetSOUTHERN LORAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $35,419 over 3y, 20% of budgetLEADERSHIP OHIO — $35,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetMarion Voices Folklife & Oral History — $35,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetTAFT MUSEUM OF ART — $35,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetThe Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage — $33,635 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetOVER-THE-RHINE MUSEUM — $31,136 over 3y, 7.3% of budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION — $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOHIO BIOLOGICAL SURVEY INC — $30,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetGREEN UMBRELLA — $28,409 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHERITAGE OHIO INC — $27,450 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetCAESARS FORD THEATRE INC — $27,000 over 1y, 43% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION — $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBURTEN BELL CARR DEVELOPMENT INC — $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetIDEASTREAM — $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFORT RECOVERY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $25,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetOHIO LOCAL HISTORY ALLIANCE — $22,834 over 3y, 8.9% of budgetSHAKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $22,289 over 1y, 17% of budgetLAKEWOOD ALIVEINC — $22,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetOHIO HISTORY CONNECTION — $21,391 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY — $20,510 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetCINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT FUND — $20,510 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJAZZ ARTS GROUP — $20,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetMac-A-Cheek Foundations for the Humanities — $20,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetMIDDLETOWN FINE ARTS CENTER — $20,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetDELAWARE COUNTY CULTURAL ARTS CENTER — $20,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetGREAT CIRCLE ALLIANCE — $20,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetMAHONING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $19,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetINTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC — $17,500 over 1y, 8.4% of budgetMARION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $17,500 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — $17,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAviation Hall of Fame — $16,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetOHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY — $16,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LIBBEY HOUSE FOUNDATION — $15,727 over 1y, 20% of budgetFRIENDS OF CROWELL HILAKA — $15,250 over 2y, 13% of budgetOHIODANCE INC — $15,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetCorporation for Findlay Market — $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER COLUMBUS — $14,700 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY BOARD OF AKRON — $14,700 over 2y, 0.2% 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.

Ohio Humanities Counc…Carol Ann and Ralph V…The Frances R Luther …Earthward Bound Found…Louise Taft Semple Fo…Columbus FoundationLadislas & Vilma Sego…The Wohlgemuth Hersch…Millstone FundElsa M Heisel Sule Ch…Ohio Capital Impact C…Thomas R Schiff Found…
Ohio Humanities CouncilOH69.3× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ohio Humanities Council · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust · Earthward Bound Foundation · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · Columbus Foundation · Ladislas & Vilma Segoe Family Found · The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation Co Fifth Third Bank Na Agent · Millstone Fund · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · Ohio Capital Impact Corporation · Thomas R Schiff 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 Ohio History Connection 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 · 00%4%15%34%60%your share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    39report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely 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 166 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 2025, released 2025. 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