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Peggy & John Garson Family Foundation at a glance

· Public charity

Peggy & John Garson Family Foundation

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

$250k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$75k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Health$2.9MPhilanthropy$225kHuman Services$128kYouth Development$80kRecreation & Sports$80kArts & Culture$77kHousing & Shelter$75kFood & Nutrition$40kOther$0
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 13 grants below total $232,500, the rows itemized in this filing. The $250,250 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $17,750 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 $10k1 grant · $8k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $150k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $75k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$486k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND$75,000
BELLEFAIRE JEWISH CHILDRENS BUREAU$25,000
MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF CLEVELAND$20,000
FOOTPATH FOUNDATION$15,000
HAVEN HOME LLC$15,000
WESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY$15,000
BIRTHING BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITIES$10,000
HOMELESS HOOKUP$10,000
FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES INC$10,000
CLEVELAND PEACEMAKERS INC$10,000
LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND$10,000
NEAR WEST SIDE MULTI-SERVICE CORPORATION$10,000
SEEDS OF LITERACY$7,500
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 (FY22–25, $257k) land where the poverty rate runs at 17%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 14%HOMELESS HOOKUP: $10k → 17%SEEDS OF LITERACY: $8k → 17%NEAR WEST SIDE MULTI-SERVICE CORPORATION: $10k → 17%GOODS BANK NEO: $60k → 17%GOODS BANK NEO: $30k → 17%MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF CLEVELAND: $23k → 17%MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF CLEVELAND: $22k → 17%MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF CLEVELAND: $20k → 17%MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF CLEVELAND: $15k → 17%UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT INC: $40k → 17%CLEVELAND PEACEMAKERS INC: $10k → 17%CLEVELAND PEACEMAKERS INC: $10k → 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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.3M · 12 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +25% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
9

Total granted

$2.3M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+25%
+18%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $103k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesArts & CultureYouth DevelopmentHealthEducationReligionOther
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

  • UH
    UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC
    2× · 2020–2022 · $1.8M · revenue +25%
  • GB
    GOODS BANK NEO
    2× · 2023–2024 · $90k · revenue +11%
  • TM
    The Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland
    4× · 2022–2025 · $80k · revenue +322%

Funded once

  • CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2022 · $1.0M · revenue +13%
  • US
    UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT INC
    one grant, 2022 · $40k · revenue -34%
  • CF
    CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE & CREATIVITYgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +401%
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
Literary Cleveland

Literary Cleveland assists writers and readers at all stages of development, promotes new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advances Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions.

Education
2
The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati
Philanthropy
3
Cleveland Mediation Center

Our mission is to promote a just and peaceful community by honoring all people, building their capacity to act, and facilitating opportunities for them to engage in conflict constructively. We continue to fulfill our mission by…

Crime & Legal
4
Global Cleveland

Global cleveland is dedicated to growing northeast ohio's economy by welcoming and connecting international people to opportunities and fostering a more inviting community for those seeking a place to call home.

Human Services
5
Cleveland Leadership Center

The mission of cleveland leadership center (the organization) is to build a continuum of civic leaders committed to our community's excellence by serving as a catalyst for civic engagement. the organization achieves its mission by…

Education
6
Hope for Cleveland's Children
—
7
Jewish Family Services

To help individuals and families achieve economic self-sufficiency and emotional stability.

Human Services
8
Cleveland Public Market Corporation

Cleveland public market corporations mission is to preserve the city's public market tradition while making the local food system more accessible, equitable, and diverse.

Community Improvement
9
Cleveland Public Library Foundation

Cleveland public library foundation's mission is to raise philanthropic and advocacy support for the cleveland public library.

Education
10
Hillel the Foundation of Jewish Campus Life

The purpose of Hillel is to be a center for enriching the lives of Jewish students in the Greater Cincinnati area and to strengthen Jewish identity through social and a broad range of programs and services in an atmosphere that is…

—
11
Cleveland Jobs With Justice

To work as a coalition of labor unions, community organzation, and religious community to raise the public awarness of and build campaigns to promote workers rights an social justice issues.

Education
12
Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland Inc

Habitat for humanity of cleveland is a non-profit christian housing ministry. habitat works in partnership with god and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities for people in need by building and selling houses…

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Family Promise of Greater Cleveland; the most unlike its peers is Refresh Collective. 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

32 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
32/32
Grantees still filing
22/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $1,750,000 · HealthUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INCBELLEFAIRE JEWISH CHILDREN'S BUREAU: $80,000 · Health+1 more: $32,500 · HealthCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $1,000,000 · EducationCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSIT…+2 more: $17,000 · EducationGOODS BANK NEO: $90,000 · Human ServicesThe Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland: $79,600 · Human ServicesUNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesCLEVELAND PEACEMAKERS INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesNear Westside MultiService Corp: $10,000 · Human ServicesHOMELESS HOOKUP: $10,000 · Human Services+1 more: $7,500 · Human ServicesJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $242,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $7,500 · PhilanthropyBUILDING HOPE IN THE CITY: $76,250 · ReligionJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $67,500 · ReligionFRIENDSHIP CIRCLE OF CLEVELAND INC: $15,000 · ReligionThe Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage: $40,000 · Arts & CultureCENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE & CREATIVITY: $25,000 · Arts & CultureHEIGHTS ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $12,000 · Arts & CultureFACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureRID-ALL FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentLAKE ERIE INK: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentFOOTPATH FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Youth DevelopmentREFRESH COLLECTIVE: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentGMILUTH CHASODIM (THE HEBREW FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION): $15,000 · OtherWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $15,000 · OtherTHE HAVEN HOME LLC: $15,000 · OtherHUMMINGBIRD PROJECT: $10,000 · OtherFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $10,000 · OtherLESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10,000 · Other
Health$1,862,500Education$1,017,000Human Services$257,100Philanthropy$249,500Religion$158,750Arts & Culture$87,000Youth Development$70,000Other$75,000

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 budgetUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HEALTH SYSTEM INC: $1,750,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $242,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetGOODS BANK NEO: $90,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetBELLEFAIRE JEWISH CHILDREN'S BUREAU: $80,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetThe Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland: $79,600 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetBUILDING HOPE IN THE CITY: $76,250 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CLEVELAND OHIO: $67,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetThe Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage: $40,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetUNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT INC: $40,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLIFEACT: $32,500 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetRID-ALL FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetCENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE & CREATIVITY: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetCLEVELAND PEACEMAKERS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetLAKE ERIE INK: $15,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetGMILUTH CHASODIM (THE HEBREW FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION): $15,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetFRIENDSHIP CIRCLE OF CLEVELAND INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFOOTPATH FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHEIGHTS ARTS COLLABORATIVE INC: $12,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetHUMMINGBIRD PROJECT: $10,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetBIRTHING BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITIES: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREFRESH COLLECTIVE: $10,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetSEEDS OF LITERACY: $7,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND KIDS' BOOK BANK: $7,000 over 1y, 1.4% 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.

The Cleveland Foundat…The Char and Chuck Fo…Jewish Federation of …The George Gund Found…Treu Mart FundThe Cyrus Eaton Found…The Andrews FoundationThe Sk Wellman Founda…The Abington Foundati…Murphy Family Foundat…Cavaliers Youth Found…Mt Sinai Health Care …
The Cleveland FoundationOH40.2× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Cleveland Foundation · The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation · Jewish Federation of Cleveland · The George Gund Foundation · Treu Mart Fund · The Cyrus Eaton Foundation · The Andrews Foundation · The Sk Wellman Foundation · The Abington Foundation · Murphy Family Foundation · Cavaliers Youth Foundation · Mt Sinai Health Care 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 Peggy & John Garson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Peggy & John Garson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%5%11%20%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
    1get no government money at all
    16report 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 Peggy & John Garson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Peggy & John Garson Family 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 32 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 Peggy & John Garson Family’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