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Ohio History Connection at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· 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 it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$2.1MCommunity Improvement$630kPublic Benefit$604kHousing & Shelter$205kRecreation & Sports$148kEducation$147kEnvironment$105kReligion$96kOther$0
02FY2025 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 43 grants below total $1,537,978, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,777,261 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $239,283 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

  • 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

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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 77% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its 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
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.

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +68% since the first grant, against +7% for those 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

+68%
+7%

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
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

  • 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%
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
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 Harmon Museum

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

Arts & Culture
6
Columbus Jewish Historical Society

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

Arts & Culture
7
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
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
Granville Ohio Historical Society

The Granville Historical Society acquires, preserves, and shares Granvilles past with residents and visitors to inspire curiosity about, instill knowledge of, and foster a commitment to our history.

—
10
The Castle Museum

None

Arts & Culture
11
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
12
Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio

The wayne county historical society is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of wayne county.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heritage Ohio Inc; 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.
04the grantee network

98 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. 98 of the 166 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
28
Early backer (in before they grew)
96/98
Grantees still filing
58/98
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and 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 & CultureTAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 · Arts & CultureLEADERSHIP OHIO: $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 ImprovementDOWNTOWN MARION INC: $12,000 · Community ImprovementDEFIANCE DEVELOPMENT AND VISITORS BUREAU INC: $12,000 · Community ImprovementDOWNTOWN PAINESVILLE ORGANIZATION: $12,000 · Community ImprovementUPTOWN WESTERVILLE INC: $12,000 · Community ImprovementOUR TOWN COSHOCTON: $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 grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's 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 budgetMarion Voices Folklife & Oral History: $35,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetTAFT MUSEUM OF ART: $35,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetLEADERSHIP OHIO: $35,000 over 1y, 11% 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 BIOLOGICAL SURVEY INC: $30,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetOHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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 budgetFORT RECOVERY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $25,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetBURTEN BELL CARR DEVELOPMENT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIDEASTREAM: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWATERVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $23,000 over 1y, 33% 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 budgetGREAT CIRCLE ALLIANCE: $20,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetMIDDLETOWN FINE ARTS CENTER: $20,000 over 1y, 4.1% of budgetDELAWARE COUNTY CULTURAL ARTS CENTER: $20,000 over 1y, 5.6% 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 budgetCorporation for Findlay Market: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetOHIODANCE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetTHE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER COLUMBUS: $14,700 over 2y, 0.1% 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.

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

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 Ohio History Connection funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ohio History Connection. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%4%15%34%60%funder's 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
    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 166 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

    Play a game based on Ohio History Connection’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