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Ridgeway Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ridgeway 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.

$115k
Granted FY2025still arriving
51
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% 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$319kEnvironment$83kEducation$64kRecreation & Sports$56kAnimals$47kFood & Nutrition$45kHealth$39kHuman Services$35kOther$0
02FY2025 · 51 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k50 grants · $95k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $20k
$2,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ART$20,000
PLANED PARENHOOD SOUTHWEST OHIO$7,000
VALENTINE RICHMOND HISTORY CENTER$5,000
CAPITAL TREES$3,000
LEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDENS$3,000
RICHMOND SPCA$3,000
CAMPING & EDUCATION FOUNDATION$3,000
MAYMONT FOUNDATION$3,000
QUEEN CITY POLINATORS PROJECT$3,000
FEED MORE$3,000
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND$3,000
CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY$3,000
SHARE THE HARVEST COMMUNITY FARM$2,500
PROSPECT HOUSE$2,500
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN$2,500
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 (FY22–23, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SPARK MAKERSPACE: $1k → 9%SPARK MARKETSPACE: $1k → 9%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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$761k · 73 repeat orgs$21k to everyone else

73 repeat relationships: 46 still active in FY2025, 27 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

73
11

Total granted

$761k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+85%

Still filing today

53%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k 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
Arts & CultureEnvironmentAnimalsEducationFood & NutritionHealthOther
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

  • TV
    THE VALENTINE MUSEUM
    9× · 2017–2025 · $42k · revenue +176%
  • LG
    LEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $34k · revenue +107%
  • MF
    MAYMONT FOUNDATION
    8× · 2018–2025 · $30k · revenue +130%

Funded once

  • SC
    ST CATHERINE'S SCHOOL FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +188%
  • UL
    UC LIBRARIESUC FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
  • CI
    COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF VAgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $2k · revenue +85%
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
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
2
Chestnut Hill Conservancy

The Chestnut Hill Conservancy conserves, preserves, and celebrates history, architecture, and landscapes in Chestnut Hill and the lower Wissahickon watershed through inclusive and proactive community engagement, advocacy, and stewardship.

Arts & Culture
3
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
4
The Land Trust for Tennessee Inc

To conserve the unique character of tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Environment
5
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science Inc

The museum is an educational corporation formed to ignite a life-long passion for exploring, discovering, and valuing nature and science.

—
6
Cincinnati Observatory Center

The mission of the cincinnati observatory is to maintain the integrity and heritage of an historic 19th century observatory and to educate, engage, and inspire our community about astronomy and science.

Arts & Culture
7
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter Inc

Provide shelter for homeless animals and prevent animal cruelty

Animals
8
Central Indiana Land Trust Incorporated

The central indiana land trust, inc. preserves the best of central indiana's natural areas, protecting plants and animals, so hoosiers can experience the wonder of the state's natural heritage.

Environment
9
Racine Zoological Society Inc

The mission of the racine zoological society is to foster an enlightening and affordable wildlife experience that improves the bond between people and nature. the society will provide for the recreation and education of the people, the…

Animals
10
Cleveland Botanical Garden

The cleveland botanical garden connects people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities.

Environment
11
Heckscher Museum

Museum has a mission to create opportunties for everyone to experience art that broadens understanding of the past, fosters community connections to the present, and creates diverse possbilities for the future.

Arts & Culture
12
Cincinnati Public Radio Inc

Cincinnati Public Radio is the trusted, independent source of journalism, music and culture empowering a vibrant, engaged and informed community.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the most unlike its peers is Communities in Schools of Va. 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

46 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. 46 of the 89 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)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
45/46
Grantees still filing
32/46
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS: $82,000 · OtherVIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTSCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $28,000 · OtherCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATIONWOMEN HELPING WOMEN: $20,500 · OtherWILTON HOUSE MUSEUM: $20,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD SOUTHWEST OHIO: $17,500 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY: $17,000 · OtherPLANED PARENHOOD SOUTHWEST OHIO: $16,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $14,500 · OtherCOMMUNITY SHARES OF CINCINNATI: $14,000 · OtherCincinnati Parks Foundation: $13,750 · Other+43 more: $167,250 · Other+43 moreTHE VALENTINE MUSEUM: $42,000 · Arts & CultureTHE VALENTINE MUSEUMMAYMONT FOUNDATION: $30,000 · Arts & CultureMAYMONT FOUNDATIONTHE RICHMOND BALLET: $20,500 · Arts & CultureTHE RICHMOND BALLETCINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $20,250 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI PRESERVATION AS…CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $19,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTERCINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $17,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COM…THE RICHMOND SYMPHONY: $11,000 · Arts & CultureTHE RICHMOND SYMPHONY+7 more: $21,500 · Arts & Culture+7 moreLEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $34,000 · EnvironmentLEWIS GINTER …CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $18,000 · EnvironmentCINCINNATI NA…CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $14,000 · EnvironmentCIVIC GARDEN …THE HILLSIDE TRUST: $10,000 · EnvironmentTHE HILLSIDE …CAPITAL TREES: $10,000 · EnvironmentCAPITAL TREESLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $4,000 · EnvironmentCHATHAM CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INC: $3,250 · Environment+1 more: $1,000 · EnvironmentLeague for Animal Welfare: $8,500 · AnimalsRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $6,000 · AnimalsZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $5,500 · AnimalsGREYHOUND ADOPTION OF GREATER CINCINNATI INC: $4,500 · AnimalsCHERRYLAND HUMANE SOCIETY: $3,000 · AnimalsQueen City Bulldog Rescue Inc: $2,500 · AnimalsST CHRISTOPHER'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EducationTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $5,000 · EducationST CATHERINE'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $2,500 · EducationCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF VA: $2,000 · EducationFEED MORE INC: $14,000 · Food & NutritionLA SOUPE INC: $6,000 · Food & NutritionLAST MILE FOOD RESCUE: $3,500 · Food & NutritionProspect House Inc: $18,000 · Health
Other$410,500Arts & Culture$181,250Environment$94,250Animals$30,000Education$24,500Food & Nutrition$23,500Health$18,000

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 budgetTHE VALENTINE MUSEUM: $42,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetLEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $34,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMAYMONT FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $28,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetWOMEN HELPING WOMEN: $20,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE RICHMOND BALLET: $20,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION: $20,250 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $19,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI NATURE CENTER: $18,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetProspect House Inc: $18,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $17,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetST CHRISTOPHER'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI: $14,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetFEED MORE INC: $14,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCincinnati Parks Foundation: $13,750 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND INC: $12,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE RICHMOND SYMPHONY: $11,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HILLSIDE TRUST: $10,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetCAPITAL TREES: $10,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetCOVINGTON LADIES HOME INC: $9,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetLeague for Animal Welfare: $8,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetLA SOUPE INC: $6,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetRICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $6,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $5,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $5,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetARTS FOR LEARNING CONNECTICUT: $5,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetINDIGO HIPPO INC: $4,500 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetPROFESSIONAL ARTISTIC RESEARCH PROJECTS: $4,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCincinnati Playhouse in the Park: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCARACOLE INC: $3,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetLAST MILE FOOD RESCUE: $3,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCHATHAM CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INC: $3,250 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCHERRYLAND HUMANE SOCIETY: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHATHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $2,750 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetST CATHERINE'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetQueen City Bulldog Rescue Inc: $2,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSpark Makerspace Co: $2,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetLITERACY NETWORK OF GREATER CINCINNATI DBA QUEEN CITY BOOK BANK: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBLACK HISTORY MUSEUM & CLT CTR: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF VA: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTreesCharlotte: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND TRAVERSE LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPeaslee Neighborhood Center Inc: $500 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 THE VALENTINE MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds LEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN INC ↗
  • Who funds MAYMONT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN HELPING WOMEN ↗
  • Who funds THE RICHMOND BALLET ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Prospect House Inc ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds ST CHRISTOPHER'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF GREATER CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds FEED MORE INC ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Parks Foundation ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND INC ↗
  • Who funds THE RICHMOND SYMPHONY ↗
  • Who funds THE HILLSIDE TRUST ↗
  • Who funds CAPITAL TREES ↗
  • Who funds COVINGTON LADIES HOME INC ↗
  • Who funds League for Animal Welfare ↗
  • Who funds LA SOUPE INC ↗
  • Who funds RICHMOND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL ↗

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 Greater Cincinnat…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Johnson Charitable Gi…John a Schroth Family…William P Anderson Fo…The Community Foundat…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Ruth J & Robert a Con…Louise Taft Semple Fo…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…The Thomas J Emery Me…Robins Foundation
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH32.5× affinity16 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · William P Anderson Foundation Central Trust · The Community Foundation Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Robins 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 Ridgeway Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ridgeway Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 14%
  • Arts for Learning Connecticut: 14% of income from government
  • Chatham Historical Society Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
19report 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 89 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 Ridgeway’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