Skip to content
Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$503k
Granted FY2025still arriving
34
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$980kEducation$745kHealth$656kRecreation & Sports$538kCommunity Improvement$365kFood & Nutrition$315kHuman Services$315kAnimals$185kOther$0
02FY2025 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k31 grants · $395k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$50,000
OLD NEWSBOYS' GOODFELLOW FUND DETROIT$40,000
US CHARITABLE GIFT TRUST$25,000
FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE$25,000
THE PARADE COMPANY$25,000
FORGOTTEN HARVEST$15,000
THE HENRY FORD$15,000
FOCUS HOPE$10,000
LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND$10,000
DETROIT HISTORICAL SOCIETY$10,000
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$10,000
CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN$10,000
SEEDLINGS BRAILLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN$10,000
COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES$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 (FY17–25, $330k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 71% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $15k → 14%GIANNA HOUSE FOUNDATION: $5k → 10%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $10k → 21%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $10k → 8%POPE FRANCIS CENTER: $5k → 21%FOCUS HOPE: $10k → 21%FOCUS HOPE: $10k → 21%FOCUS HOPE: $10k → 21%FOCUS HOPE: $10k → 21%FOCUS HOPE: $10k → 21%FULL CIRCLE FOUNDATION: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $10k → 21%CHRIST CHILD HOUSE: $5k → 21%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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
OH
PA
CA
VA
DE
DC
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.6M · 55 repeat orgs$101k to everyone else

55 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 23 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
13

Total granted

$4.6M
$91k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+53%

Still filing today

53%
69%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesArts & CultureHealthEducationAnimalsRecreation & 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

  • TP
    THE PARADE COMPANY
    9× · 2017–2025 · $225k · revenue +121%
  • UO
    University of Michigan
    5× · 2019–2025 · $170k · revenue +140%
  • FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $135k · revenue +12%

Funded once

  • WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INCgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $15k · revenue +53%
  • CROSSROADS OF MICHIGAN
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -43%
  • GS
    GIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN
    one grant, 2019 · $10k · revenue -12%
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
Michigan Enviromental Council

Informing and educating the public and decision makers about environmental issues.

Environment
2
Detroit Regional Chamber

The chamber is the voice for business and works to power the economy for southeast michigan through public policy, advocacy and leading regional economic development and talent initiatives.

—
3
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
4
Business Leaders for Michigan Foundation

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

Community Improvement
5
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

To promote conditions favorable to job creation and business success in michigan.

—
6
Michigan Farmers Market Association

Mifma supports the viability of all community-driven marketplaces so that they can connect all consumers to local farms and businesses.

Food & Nutrition
7
Michigan Science Center

The mission of the michigan science center is to inspire curious minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math in a creative, dynamic learning environment.

Education
8
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
9
Michigan Pharmacists Association

To encourage and support its members as professionals responsible for the delivery of patient-focused care.

—
10
Michigan Farm Bureau

Michigan farm bureau (mfb) is a member directed agricultural organization whose purpose is to represent, protect, and enhance the business, economic, social, and educational interests of our members located throughout the state of michigan.

—
11
Delta Dental Fund

Delta dental fund's mission is to improve the oral health of the public and to advance dental science and the dental profession through research and education.

—
12
Mymichigan Health Foundation

The corporation is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes by conducting or supporting activites exclusively for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, or to carry out the…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Michigan Humane Society; the most unlike its peers is Gianna House Foundation. 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, 2017–2025.

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. 39 of the 70 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
28/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $215,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANUniversity of Michigan: $170,000 · OtherUniversity of MichiganFIDELITY CHARITABLE FUND: $125,000 · OtherDETROIT CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL INC: $120,000 · OtherTHE HENRY FORD: $110,000 · OtherDOSSIN GREAT LAKES MUSEUM - DETROIT HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $100,000 · OtherCAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN: $90,000 · OtherMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION: $90,000 · OtherDETROIT WALDORF SCHOOL: $90,000 · OtherYWCA OF METRO DETROIT: $90,000 · OtherSEEDLINGS BRAILLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: $90,000 · OtherGROSSE POINTE WAR MEMORIAL: $90,000 · OtherFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $135,000 · OtherFORGOTTEN HARVEST INCGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $90,000 · OtherMICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $90,000 · OtherDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $90,000 · OtherWORLD MEDICAL RELIEF INCORPORATED: $90,000 · Other+28 more: $625,000 · Other+28 moreFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $275,000 · EducationFRANKLIN &…COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES: $90,000 · EducationCOLLEGE FO…MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationMACOMB COM…DETROIT OPERA: $165,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT OP…DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $120,000 · Arts & CultureDETROIT SY…Detroit Historical Society: $90,000 · Arts & CultureDetroit Hi…SPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $15,000 · Arts & CultureMOSAIC YOUTH THEATRE OF DETROIT: $15,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $10,000 · Arts & CultureOLD NEWSBOYS GOODFELLOW FUND OF DETROIT MICHIGAN: $365,000 · Community ImprovementPenrickton Center for Blind Children: $90,000 · HealthBARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE: $90,000 · HealthROSE HILL CENTER INC: $90,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S LEUKEMIA FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN: $80,000 · Health+1 more: $10,000 · HealthDETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE INCORPORATED: $90,000 · Human ServicesLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $90,000 · Human ServicesPOPE FRANCIS CENTER: $65,000 · Human ServicesFOCUSHOPE: $50,000 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $15,000 · Human Services+3 more: $20,000 · Human ServicesTHE PARADE COMPANY: $225,000 · Recreation & SportsSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC: $67,500 · Recreation & Sports
Other$2,500,000Education$415,000Arts & Culture$415,000Community Improvement$365,000Health$360,000Human Services$330,000Recreation & Sports$292,500

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 budgetOLD NEWSBOYS GOODFELLOW FUND OF DETROIT MICHIGAN: $365,000 over 9y, 2.5% of budgetFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $275,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PARADE COMPANY: $225,000 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $170,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetDETROIT OPERA: $165,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetFORGOTTEN HARVEST INC: $135,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetDETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $120,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetDETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $90,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPenrickton Center for Blind Children: $90,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetBARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetROSE HILL CENTER INC: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD MEDICAL RELIEF INCORPORATED: $90,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES: $90,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetDetroit Historical Society: $90,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetGLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $90,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSEEDLINGS BRAILLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: $90,000 over 9y, 2.5% of budgetDETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE INCORPORATED: $90,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $90,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S LEUKEMIA FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN: $80,000 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC: $67,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetPOPE FRANCIS CENTER: $65,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetFOCUSHOPE: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetSPHINX ORGANIZATION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMOSAIC YOUTH THEATRE OF DETROIT: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCROSSROADS OF MICHIGAN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetDMC FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWHYY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCASS COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFULL CIRCLE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetTHE AUTISM COMMUNITY IN ACTION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBUCKS COUNTY SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetStudents for Life of America Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIANNA HOUSE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTHE CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY OF DETROIT: $5,000 over 1y, 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.

  • Who funds OLD NEWSBOYS GOODFELLOW FUND OF DETROIT MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds THE PARADE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT OPERA ↗
  • Who funds FORGOTTEN HARVEST INC ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds MICHIGAN HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Penrickton Center for Blind Children ↗
  • Who funds BARBARA ANN KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds ROSE HILL CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD MEDICAL RELIEF INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE FOR CREATIVE STUDIES ↗
  • Who funds Detroit Historical Society ↗
  • Who funds GLEANERS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds SEEDLINGS BRAILLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN ↗
  • Who funds DETROIT POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S LEUKEMIA FOUNDATION OF MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL OLYMPICS MICHIGAN INC ↗
  • Who funds POPE FRANCIS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds FOCUSHOPE ↗
  • Who funds MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Community Foundation …Ford PhilanthropyDTE Energy FoundationThe Kresge FoundationDeroy Testamentary Fo…United Way for Southe…The Carls FoundationFlagstar Foundation I…Molinello Family Foun…Young Woman's Home As…Comerica Charitable F…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…
Community Foundation for Southeast MichiganMI32.2× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · Ford Philanthropy · DTE Energy Foundation · The Kresge Foundation · Deroy Testamentary Foundation · United Way for Southeastern Michigan · The Carls Foundation · Flagstar Foundation Inc · Molinello Family Foundation · Young Woman's Home Association of Detroit Michigan · Comerica Charitable Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase 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 Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
10report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Oliver Dewey Marcks 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 70 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Oliver Dewey Marcks’ 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