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Richard King Mellon Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Richard King Mellon Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$117M
Granted FY2024still arriving
296
Grants FY2024still arriving
23
States reached
$10M
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$219MArts & Culture$83MEnvironment$77MCommunity Improvement$61MHealth$51MHuman Services$27MPhilanthropy$26MYouth Development$22MOther$0
02FY2024 · 296 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k34 grants · $592k
  • $50k–250k119 grants · $16M
  • $250k+140 grants · $100M
$220,000
Median grant
23
States reached
$2.7B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH$10,000,000
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY$7,500,000
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY$7,000,000
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY$5,500,000
AMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION$4,500,000
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION$2,100,000
PHOEBE FOUNDATION INC$2,000,000
THE CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB$2,000,000
AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER$1,550,000
THREE RIVERS COMMUNITIES INC$1,250,000
RODALE INSTITUTE$1,029,000
PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER INC$1,000,000
VALLEY SCHOOL OF LIGONIER$1,000,000
MAX MCGRAW WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$1,000,000
HOMEWOOD CHILDREN'S VILLAGE$1,000,000
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 (FY19–24, $37.4M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 80% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DELIVERFUND: $325k → 11%PRESBYTERIAN SENIORCARE: $500k → 11%CHRISTIAN FAMILY & CHILDREN'S CENTER: $250k → 17%NEW SUN RISING: $300k → 11%NEW SUN RISING: $250k → 11%HOLY FAMILY INSTITUTE: $375k → 11%HUMAN SERVICES CENTER CORPORATION: $250k → 11%WESTMORELAND HUMAN OPPORTUNITIES INC: $400k → 10%WESTMORELAND HUMAN OPPORTUNITIES INC: $400k → 10%LIGHT OF LIFE RESCUE MISSION INC: $2.1M → 11%LIGHT OF LIFE RESCUE MISSION INC: $2.0M → 11%JEWISH ASSOCIATION ON AGING: $500k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH: $400k → 11%YOUNG MEN & WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION & IRENE KAUFMANN CTRS: $300k → 11%WAYPOINT YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTER: $277k → 10%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY INC: $500k → 11%BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $1.5M → 10%BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $800k → 10%LIGONIER VALLEY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PA INC: $800k → 10%YOUTH ENRICHMENT SERVICES INC: $400k → 11%YOUTH ENRICHMENT SERVICES INC: $400k → 11%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY INC: $400k → 11%BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $515k → 10%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY INC: $400k → 11%LIGONIER VALLEY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA: $450k → 10%BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $400k → 10%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY INC: $350k → 11%BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $342k → 10%EAST END COOPERATIVE MINISTRY: $340k → 11%JEREMIAH'S PLACE - PITTSBURGH RELIEF NURSERY: $300k → 11%PATHWAYS OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA INC: $400k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $350k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $350k → 11%YMCA OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $300k → 11%URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $400k → 11%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH INC: $315k → 11%CENTER OF LIFE: $400k → 11%CENTER OF LIFE: $400k → 11%CENTER OF LIFE: $300k → 11%CENTER OF LIFE: $300k → 11%THE CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB: $2.0M → 11%CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB: $350k → 11%CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB: $350k → 11%THREE RIVERS COMMUNITIES INC: $1.3M → 11%AMACHI PITTSBURGH: $400k → 11%REIMAGINE REENTRY INC: $310k → 11%REIMAGINE REENTRY INC: $310k → 11%AMACHI PITTSBURGH: $275k → 11%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

ME
VT
NH
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
IN
OH
PA
RI
CA
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
GA
TX
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 7% of Richard King Mellon Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 89% of the giving stays in PA; by stated purpose, 84%.

Richard King Mellon Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.0% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$561M · 304 repeat orgs$78M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

304 repeat relationships: 162 still active in FY2024, 142 since wound down; 67 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

304
227

Total granted

$561M
$60M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+16%

Still filing today

89%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18M went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • CM
    Carnegie Mellon University
    6× · 2019–2024 · $80M · revenue +52%
  • UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
    6× · 2019–2024 · $65M · revenue +28%
  • MR
    MAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND FOUNDATION
    4× · 2019–2023 · $16M · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • SC
    STEELERS CHARITIESgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10M · revenue +373%
  • TI
    TRWIB INC
    one grant, 2023 · $3.0M · revenue -2%
  • Appalachian Mountain Club
    one grant, 2023 · $2.0M · revenue -5%
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
Pittsburgh Council On Higher Education

To provide a means for sharing resources and information among members, engage in joint projects, and offer a common voice on educational matters.

Education
2
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation

Pidc plans and implements economic development initiatives (see schedule o) which enhance the competitive environment, generate jobs and produce higher tax ratables throughout philadelphia.

Community Improvement
3
Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation

Visit philadelphia is our name and our mission. as the region's official tourism marketing agency, we build greater philadelphia's image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

Community Improvement
4
Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc

To support education and research at college, university, and research libraries.

Education
5
Pidc Development Management Corporation

Pidc dmc administers and coordinates various development projects for the city and other not-for-profit entities.

Community Improvement
6
Pittsburgh Entertainment Project

To create a vibrant, responsible, and sustainable film and digital media sector in southwestern pennsylvania.

—
7
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
8
Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association

The pittsburgh venture capital association was founded in 1982 to catalyze venture investment and entrepreneurialism in western pennsylvania. since then it has become the leading voice of private equity investors in the region.through a…

—
9
Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc

Tourism development organization dedicated to expanding the tourism economy across allegheny county.

—
10
Allegheny County Conservation District

The Allegheny County Conservation District is an urban conservation district that engages and leads through partnerships, innovation, and implementation to conserve, promote, and improve Allegheny Countys natural resources.

Environment
11
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh

The world affairs council of pittsburgh's mission is to convene and connect people around global issues to build a competitive, thriving, and inclusive pittsburgh.

International
12
Pittsburgh Technology Council

Membership organization formed to help tech companies succeed through a proven platform of business development, talent retention, government relations, and visibility services. companies at all growth stages use the pittsburgh technology…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh; the most unlike its peers is Minority Outdoor Alliance. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

536 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. 536 of the 611 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.

125
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
122
Early backer (in before they grew)
530/536
Grantees still filing
352/536
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Carnegie Mellon University: $79,600,800 · OtherCarnegie Mellon UniversityHIGHMARK HEALTH: $10,000,000 · Other+82 more: $133,179,185 · Other+82 moreUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $64,953,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBU…VALLEY SCHOOL OF LIGONIER: $4,965,000 · Education+24 more: $39,306,663 · Education+24 moreCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $12,528,000 · Arts & CultureCARNEGIE INSTIT…AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER: $10,400,000 · Arts & CultureAFRICAN AMERICA…PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST: $9,704,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH CULT…PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC: $7,850,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH SYMP…PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE INC: $3,100,000 · Arts & CultureHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $3,010,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH OPERA INC: $3,000,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER INC: $2,920,000 · Arts & CultureWESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $2,905,000 · Arts & CulturePITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER CORPORATION: $2,625,000 · Arts & Culture+15 more: $17,790,200 · Arts & Culture+15 moreWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $9,250,201 · EnvironmentWESTERN PEN…AMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION: $5,983,000 · EnvironmentAMERICAN PR…THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $5,390,825 · EnvironmentTHE CONSERV…FOUNDATION FOR PENNSYLVANIA WATERSHEDS: $2,943,450 · EnvironmentAMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATION: $2,750,000 · EnvironmentPENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $2,465,000 · EnvironmentRIVERLIFE: $2,400,000 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain Club: $2,000,000 · Environment+22 more: $23,260,200 · Environment+22 moreTHE PROGRESS FUND: $6,843,500 · Community ImprovementECONOMIC GROWTH CONNECTION OF WESTMORELAND: $6,000,000 · Community ImprovementTHRILL MILL INC: $3,495,000 · Community ImprovementTRWIB INC: $3,000,000 · Community ImprovementBRIDGEWAY CAPITAL INC: $2,535,000 · Community ImprovementHAZELWOOD INITIATIVE INC: $2,374,256 · Community ImprovementPITTSBURGH DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP: $1,835,000 · Community ImprovementINNOVATEPGH PARTNERSHIP: $1,811,000 · Community ImprovementNEIGHBORHOOD ALLIES INC: $1,565,000 · Community ImprovementFOCUS ON RENEWAL STO-ROX NEIGHBORHOOD CORPORATION: $1,350,000 · Community ImprovementWILKINSBURG COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $1,250,000 · Community Improvement+5 more: $4,919,215 · Community ImprovementSTEELERS CHARITIES: $10,000,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION: $6,525,000 · PhilanthropyPOISE FOUNDATION: $4,618,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN: $4,182,500 · PhilanthropyTHE PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $2,131,400 · PhilanthropyBest of the Batch Foundation: $1,890,000 · PhilanthropyTHE UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $1,700,000 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: $1,125,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $1,477,000 · PhilanthropyMAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND FOUNDATION: $16,156,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $4,334,000 · HealthPHOEBE FOUNDATION INC: $2,750,000 · HealthMUTUAL AID AMBULANCE SERVICE INC: $2,250,000 · HealthPENNSYLVANIA ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN IN EARLY RECOVERY: $1,498,000 · HealthPrimary Care Health Services Inc: $1,350,000 · HealthHERITAGE COMMUNITY INITIATIVES: $1,100,000 · Health+2 more: $1,356,733 · Health
Other$222,779,985Education$109,224,663Arts & Culture$75,832,200Environment$56,442,676Community Improvement$36,977,971Philanthropy$33,648,900Health$30,794,733

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $79,600,800 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: $64,953,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetMAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND FOUNDATION: $16,156,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetCARNEGIE INSTITUTE: $12,528,000 over 6y, 7.2% of budgetAFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER: $10,400,000 over 6y, 26% of budgetPITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST: $9,704,000 over 6y, 8.4% of budgetWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY: $9,250,201 over 6y, 15% of budgetPITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC: $7,850,000 over 6y, 15% of budgetTHE PROGRESS FUND: $6,843,500 over 4y, 42% of budgetTHE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION: $6,525,000 over 5y, 20% of budgetECONOMIC GROWTH CONNECTION OF WESTMORELAND: $6,000,000 over 4y, 89% of budgetAMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION: $5,983,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetHOMEWOOD CHIDREN'S VILLAGE: $5,536,000 over 6y, 39% of budgetTHE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION: $5,390,825 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetMANCHESTER BIDWELL CORPORATION: $5,080,000 over 2y, 58% of budgetVALLEY SCHOOL OF LIGONIER: $4,965,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetPOISE FOUNDATION: $4,618,000 over 6y, 27% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $4,334,000 over 3y, 4.0% of budgetGREATER PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: $4,310,000 over 4y, 5.6% of budgetNATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION: $4,215,666 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN: $4,182,500 over 6y, 5.4% of budgetLIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC: $4,160,000 over 4y, 18% of budgetALLEGHENY COLLEGE: $3,605,877 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetBETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA: $3,599,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetTHRILL MILL INC: $3,495,000 over 5y, 72% of budgetALLEGHENY CONFERENCE ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: $3,425,000 over 6y, 7.3% of budgetRIDC OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA GROWTH FUND: $3,391,119 over 3y, 18% of budgetTHE CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB: $3,301,000 over 5y, 83% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3,225,450 over 6y, 15% of budgetPITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE INC: $3,100,000 over 6y, 8.1% of budgetHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $3,010,000 over 6y, 6.4% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $3,000,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRWIB INC: $3,000,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetPITTSBURGH OPERA INC: $3,000,000 over 6y, 13% of budgetPITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY: $3,000,000 over 6y, 11% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR PENNSYLVANIA WATERSHEDS: $2,943,450 over 5y, 78% of budgetPITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER INC: $2,920,000 over 6y, 20% of budgetWESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $2,905,000 over 5y, 18% of budgetSAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: $2,875,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetPHOEBE FOUNDATION INC: $2,750,000 over 3y, 44% of budgetAMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATION: $2,750,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetGOODWILL OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: $2,725,000 over 4y, 3.4% of budgetPITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER CORPORATION: $2,625,000 over 6y, 10% of budgetBRIDGEWAY CAPITAL INC: $2,535,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetFRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: $2,487,500 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetALLEGHENY COUNCIL TO IMPROVE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS-HOUSING INCORPORATED: $2,470,000 over 4y, 8.7% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $2,465,000 over 4y, 24% of budgetRIVERLIFE: $2,400,000 over 3y, 50% 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 Carnegie Mellon University ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ↗
  • Who funds MAGEE-WOMENS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CARNEGIE INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds STEELERS CHARITIES ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE PROGRESS FUND ↗
  • Who funds THE PITTSBURGH PROMISE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ECONOMIC GROWTH CONNECTION OF WESTMORELAND ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN PRAIRIE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HOMEWOOD CHIDREN'S VILLAGE ↗
  • Who funds THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds MANCHESTER BIDWELL CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds VALLEY SCHOOL OF LIGONIER ↗
  • Who funds POISE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GREATER PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN ↗
  • Who funds LIGHT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds ALLEGHENY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds BETHLEN HOME OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA ↗
  • Who funds THRILL MILL INC ↗
  • Who funds ALLEGHENY CONFERENCE ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ↗
  • Who funds RIDC OF SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA GROWTH FUND ↗
  • Who funds THE CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDATION FOR CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds TRWIB INC ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH OPERA INC ↗
  • Who funds PITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY ↗

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.

Hillman Family Founda…The Grable FoundationThe Heinz EndowmentsEden Hall FoundationThe Pittsburgh Founda…The United Way of Sou…The Buhl FoundationMcCune Foundation Pnc…The Jack Buncher Foun…Allegheny FoundationStaunton Farm Foundat…Eqt Foundation
Hillman Family FoundationsPA224.6× affinity211 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hillman Family Foundations · The Grable Foundation · The Heinz Endowments · Eden Hall Foundation · The Pittsburgh Foundation · The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania · The Buhl Foundation · McCune Foundation Pnc Bank Na · The Jack Buncher Foundation · Allegheny Foundation · Staunton Farm Foundation 540-054 Dba Staunton Farm Foundation · Eqt 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 Richard King Mellon Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Richard King Mellon Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Education Development Center Inc: 65% of income from government
  • Tall Timbers Research Inc: 10% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
90report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 Richard King Mellon Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Richard King Mellon 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 611 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

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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