Skip to content

Michigan · Private foundation

Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$759k
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
37
Grants FY2024
39
Organizations funded FY2023
10%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$15,500
Largest grant, FY2024
$100,000
Organizations funded a year
39 to 57
FY2020 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
1
Total assets, FY2024
$16M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 10% of the organizations Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 10% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
HealthArts & CultureEducationEnvironmentOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving36$709k8%
FY202339$703k10%
FY202248$703k8%
FY202149$866k6%
FY202057$811kn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$780kArts & Culture$495kAnimals$495kHuman Services$435kEducation$353kHealth$342kYouth Development$330kFood & Nutrition$275kOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 51 grantees
All grantees of Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy$425,00051%
Detroit Zoological Society$245,00050%
Forgotten Harvest Inc$180,00050%
Racquet Up Detroit$180,00052%
Michigan Humane Society$175,00050%
Detroit Institute for Children$100,00041%
Trinity Health - Michigan$100,00030%
Say Detroit$100,00051%
Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan$95,00050%
Michigan Science Center$90,00051%
The Midnight Golf Program$85,00051%
Judson Center Inc$80,00050%
College for Creative Studies$80,00050%
Father Fred Foundation$75,00051%
The Greening of Detroit$75,00051%
YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit$75,00050%
The Great Lakes Childrens Museum$67,50056%
Cherryland Humane Society$65,00051%
Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Inc$65,00050%
Detroit Public Media$60,00040%
Interlochen Center for the Arts$60,00020%
Leader Dogs for the Blind$50,00050%
Detroit Opera$50,00050%
Beaumont Health Foundation$50,00020%
Automotive Hall of Fame Inc$50,00052%
Community House Foundation$40,00042%
Oakland Family Services$40,00040%
Cranbrook Educational Community$40,00020%
Cots$35,00030%
Reach Out and Read Inc$30,00020%
Sphinx Organization Inc$30,00030%
Museum of African American History$30,00030%
Special Olympics Michigan Inc$30,00030%
Detroit Regional Chamber Foundation Inc$30,00030%
Women of Tomorrow$30,0003n/a
Lighthouse of Oakland County$30,000318%
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance$25,00051%
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Ctr Inc$20,00021%
Three Pillars an Educational Service Provider$20,00020%
Humble Design Inc$15,50010%
Seven Ponds Reserve Fund$15,000355%
Friends of Peninsula Community Library$15,000513%
Inland Seas Education Association$10,00010%
Common Ground$10,00010%
Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation$10,00040%
The Detroit Institute of Arts$10,00010%
Seven Ponds Nature Center Inc$10,00021%
Starfish Family Services Inc$10,00010%
Orchards Children's Services Inc$10,00010%
Crossroads for Youth$5,00010%
Oakland University$5,0001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 20 recipients with no EIN on record ($557k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 49 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGrand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy: $425,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetDetroit Zoological Society: $245,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetForgotten Harvest Inc: $180,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetRacquet Up Detroit: $180,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetMichigan Humane Society: $175,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetDetroit Institute for Children: $100,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetTrinity Health - Michigan: $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSay Detroit: $100,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetGleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan: $95,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMichigan Science Center: $90,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetThe Midnight Golf Program: $85,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetJudson Center Inc: $80,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCollege for Creative Studies: $80,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFather Fred Foundation: $75,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetThe Greening of Detroit: $75,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetYMCA of Metropolitan Detroit: $75,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetThe Great Lakes Childrens Museum: $67,500 over 5y, 5.8% of budgetCherryland Humane Society: $65,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetDetroit Riverfront Conservancy Inc: $65,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDetroit Public Media: $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetInterlochen Center for the Arts: $60,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLeader Dogs for the Blind: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDetroit Opera: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBeaumont Health Foundation: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAutomotive Hall of Fame Inc: $50,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetCommunity House Foundation: $40,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetOakland Family Services: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCranbrook Educational Community: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCots: $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetReach Out and Read Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSphinx Organization Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMuseum of African American History: $30,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSpecial Olympics Michigan Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDetroit Regional Chamber Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLighthouse of Oakland County: $30,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetInternational Wildlife Refuge Alliance: $25,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetBirmingham Bloomfield Art Ctr Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetThree Pillars an Educational Service Provider: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHumble Design Inc: $15,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSeven Ponds Reserve Fund: $15,000 over 3y, 55% of budgetFriends of Peninsula Community Library: $15,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetInland Seas Education Association: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCommon Ground: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMichigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation: $10,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetThe Detroit Institute of Arts: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSeven Ponds Nature Center Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetStarfish Family Services Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOrchards Children's Services Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 49.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

DTE Energy FoundationMI42.8× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: DTE Energy Foundation · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · The Kresge Foundation · Ford Philanthropy · United Way for Southeastern Michigan · The Carls Foundation · The Fred & Barbara Erb Family Foundation · The Barton Malow Foundation · Ethel and James Flinn Foundation · United Jewish Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · World Heritage 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.

Compare Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation with peer funders

About Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation

How much does Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation give?
Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation reported 37 grants totaling $758,500 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 39 and 57 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
What does Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (20%), Arts & Culture (13%), Animals (13%).
Who are Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy ($425k), Detroit Zoological Society ($245k), Forgotten Harvest Inc ($180k).
Does Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 10% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include DTE Energy Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, The Kresge Foundation.
Where is Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation based?
Ralph L & Winifred E Polk Foundation is based in MI.

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 73 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Ralph L & Winifred E Polk’s filings →

More from the funding graph