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Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family 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.

$267k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$150k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Philanthropy$1.2MEducation$1.1MInternational$1.0MHealth$992kArts & Culture$984kReligion$907kAnimals$173kFood & Nutrition$158kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $42k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $200k
$5,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$62k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAVE THE CHILDREN FEDERATION INC$150,000
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY$50,000
NEW ISRAEL FUND$25,000
HAMMER MUSEUM$16,666
IMMIGRANT DEFENDERS LAW CENTER$5,000
J STREET EDUCATION FUND$5,000
FRIENDS OF NACHUSA GRASSLANDS$5,000
CLEVELAND KIDS' BOOK BANK$5,000
PARK SYNAGOGUE$5,000
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 (FY17–24, $59k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 58% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FOCUS NORTH AMERICA: $3k → 11%HT MINISTRIES: $25k → 6%FOCUS NORTH AMERICA: $3k → 11%LOS ANGELES YOUTH NETWORK LA YOUTH: $500 → 14%FRIENDLY INN SETTLEMENT INC: $1k → 17%GATHERING PLACE INC: $5k → 17%GATHERING PLACE INC: $5k → 17%GATHERING PLACE: $5k → 17%GATHERING PLACE INC: $5k → 17%NORTHEAST OHIO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $3k → 17%NORTHEAST OHIO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $3k → 17%NORTHEAST OHIO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $3k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
IL
NY
MA
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
MD
AZ
TN
DC
LA
AL
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 14% of Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 54% of the giving stays in OH; by stated purpose, 51%.

Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 10% 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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.9M · 70 repeat orgs$567k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +3% for those funded once.

70 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 66 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

70
50

Total granted

$4.9M
$552k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+3%

Still filing today

76%
68%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $15k 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
EducationInternationalAnimalsArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesOther
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

  • Save The Children Federation Inc
    5× · 2021–2025 · $700k · revenue +1%
  • CP
    CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $240k · revenue +167%
  • PP
    PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO
    4× · 2021–2024 · $200k · revenue +55%

Funded once

  • JC
    JCF CAMPAIGN FOR JEWISH NEEDS
    one grant, 2019 · $184k
  • DF
    Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Incgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $63k · revenue +70%
  • YA
    YOUNG AUDIENCES OF NE OHCTR 4 ARTS INSPIRED
    one grant, 2019 · $57k
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
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
2
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
3
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
4
Ohio State Bar Association

The ohio state bar association (the "association") is an unincorporated voluntary non-profit organization. the association was formed to promote justice and advance the interests of the legal profession.

—
5
Center for International Environmental Law Inc

To investigate, research, write, publish, present conferences and teach with respect to global, regional, transboundary, and comparative environmental issues and to make the findings from such activities available to the general public; to…

International
6
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
7
Greater Cleveland Volunteers

Greater cleveland volunteers enriches the community and indivuduals through volunteer service. volunteers age 18 and older are recruited and placed in the agency's programs or referred to local nonprofit or public organizations to help…

Philanthropy
8
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
9
JewishColumbus

Make Jewish life vibrant, accessible and secure in Columbus, Israel and around the world.

Religion
10
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
11
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
12
International Aids Vaccine Initiative Inc

A nonprofit scientific research organization that develops vaccines and antibodies for hiv, tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases.

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Cleveland Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Humane World for Animals International. 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

95 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 95 of the 127 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
94/95
Grantees still filing
56/95
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PARK SYNAGOGUE: $802,161 · OtherPARK SYNAGOGUEUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELAND: $525,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELANDJCF CAMPAIGN FOR JEWISH NEEDS: $184,000 · OtherJCF CAMPAIGN FOR JEWISH NEEDSMGVP INC (GORILLA DOCTORS): $103,000 · OtherENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $125,000 · Other+73 more: $1,150,044 · Other+73 moreBRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $900,000 · EducationBRANDEIS UNIVERSI…CENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $98,165 · EducationCENTER FOR ARTS-I…+13 more: $156,264 · Education+13 moreSave The Children Federation Inc: $700,000 · InternationalSave The Childre…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $90,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FR…NEW ISRAEL FUND: $75,000 · InternationalNEW ISRAEL FUNDWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $72,250 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KI…OXFAM-AMERICA INC: $37,500 · International+7 more: $118,500 · International+7 moreJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $796,483 · PhilanthropyJEWISH FEDERAT…THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION: $87,500 · PhilanthropyTHE CLEVELAND …UNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $82,500 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF …FRIENDS OF BEZALEL ACADEMY OF ARTS AND DESIGNS INC: $300,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF B…CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE INC: $240,000 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND PU…The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $90,000 · Arts & CultureThe United S…CLEVELAND FILM SOCIETY: $78,333 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND FI…ARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INC: $66,665 · Arts & CultureARMAND HAMME…+5 more: $31,250 · Arts & CulturePLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $200,000 · HealthMILESTONES AUTISM RESOURCES: $44,583 · HealthHANNA PERKINS SCHOOL: $27,500 · HealthINMOTION: $22,500 · Health+2 more: $3,000 · HealthGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $105,000 · Food & NutritionHUNGER NETWORK OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $25,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $2,500 · Food & Nutrition
Other$2,889,205Education$1,154,429International$1,093,250Philanthropy$966,483Arts & Culture$806,248Health$297,583Food & Nutrition$132,500

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 budgetBRANDEIS UNIVERSITY: $900,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $796,483 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $700,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF BEZALEL ACADEMY OF ARTS AND DESIGNS INC: $300,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetCLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE INC: $240,000 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER OHIO: $200,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS INC: $125,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $105,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR ARTS-INSPIRED LEARNING: $98,165 over 4y, 2.4% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $90,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $90,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION: $87,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $82,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNorthwestern University: $80,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND FILM SOCIETY: $78,333 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetNEW ISRAEL FUND: $75,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $72,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetARMAND HAMMER MUSEUM OF ART AND CULTURAL CENTER INC: $66,665 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc: $62,500 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetJ STREET EDUCATION FUND INC: $62,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST: $60,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOhio Progressive Collaborative Education Fund: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetMILESTONES AUTISM RESOURCES: $44,583 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLEGAL AID SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND: $38,840 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $37,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHIAS INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHANNA PERKINS SCHOOL: $27,500 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetThe Musical Arts Association: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHT Ministries: $25,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetHUNGER NETWORK OF GREATER CLEVELAND: $25,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAGAHOZO-SHALOM YOUTH VILLAGE INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF YAHAD - IN UNUM INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetTHE MANAGEMENT CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE RATNER SCHOOL: $23,750 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $23,250 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetINMOTION: $22,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetVALUES-IN-ACTION FOUNDATION: $21,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INC: $21,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN BOOKS LTD: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE GATHERING PLACE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMidcoast Conservancy: $19,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetDIVERSITY CENTER OF NORTHEAST OHIO: $18,650 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetMaine Island Trail Association: $15,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetPHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSHAKER SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 5y, 0.4% 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.

James and Susan Ratne…Jewish Federation of …The Cleveland Foundat…The Horowitz Ratner F…The Albert B & Audrey…The Char and Chuck Fo…The George Gund Found…Third Federal Foundat…The Swagelok Foundati…Greenleaf Avenue Foun…The Good Community Fo…Jack Joseph & Morton …
James and Susan Ratner Family FoundationOH57.8× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: James and Susan Ratner Family Foundation · Jewish Federation of Cleveland · The Cleveland Foundation · The Horowitz Ratner Family Foundation · The Albert B & Audrey G Ratner Family Foundation · The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation · The George Gund Foundation · Third Federal Foundation · The Swagelok Foundation · Greenleaf Avenue Foundation · The Good Community Foundation · Jack Joseph & Morton Mandel 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 Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • Hias Inc: 88% of income from government
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Enterprise Community Partners Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Brandeis University: 9% of income from government
  • Trustees of Clark University: 2% of income from government
  • The Theater Offensive Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
29report 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 Ronald and Deborah Ratner Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Ronald and Deborah Ratner 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 127 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 Ronald and Deborah Ratner 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