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Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$215k
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$8.5MEducation$1.8MHuman Services$1.1MReligion$813kFood & Nutrition$415kHealth$288kHousing & Shelter$227kArts & Culture$217kOther$0
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $10k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $205k
$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$10.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
PINK RIBBON GIRLS$25,000
SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY$20,000
SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL$20,000
SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES$20,000
CENTER FOR RESPITE CARE$15,000
UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY$15,000
CARING PLACE OF CINCINNATI$15,000
MERCY NEIGHBORHOOD MINISTRIES$15,000
DOWN SYNDROME ASSOCIATION$10,000
ATHENAEUM OF OHIO$10,000
SISTERS OF MERCY FOR CINCINNATI$10,000
ROSE GARDEN HOME MISSION$10,000
LAST MILE FOOD RESCUE$10,000
SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR$10,000
URSULINES OF BROWN COUNTY$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, $1.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 16%. 1% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 16%THE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $5k → 17%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY: $20k → 11%THE INNOCENCE PROJECT INC: $5k → 17%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DEPAUL COUNCIL OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY: $10k → 11%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DEPAUL COUNCIL OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY: $5k → 11%STRATEGIES TO END HOMELESSNESS: $44k → 16%HELP PROGRAM: $10k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $10k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $10k → 16%FIRST STEP HOME: $10k → 16%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $10k → 16%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $5k → 16%EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT HOMES: $15k → 16%THE CHILDREN'S HOME OF CINCINNATI OHIO: $10k → 16%EPISCOPAL RETIREMENT HOMES: $10k → 16%MADISONVILLE EDUCATION & ASSISTANCE CENTER: $5k → 16%MADISONVILLE EDUCATION & ASSISTANCE CENTER: $5k → 16%PREGNANCY CENTER EAST: $3k → 16%CLOVERNOOK CENTER FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: $6k → 16%ST VINCENT DE PAUL CINCINNATI: $110k → 16%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DEPAUL COUNCIL: $105k → 16%ST VINCENT DE PAUL CINCINNATI: $100k → 16%ST VINCENT DE PAUL CINCINNATI: $80k → 16%ST VINCENT DE PAUL CINCINNATI: $20k → 16%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL: $20k → 16%ST VINCENT DE PAUL CINCINNATI: $5k → 16%SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DEPAUL COUNCIL: $5k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $130k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $100k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $35k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $20k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $5k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $5k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $5k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $5k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $5k → 16%SWEET CHEEKS DIAPER BANK: $4k → 16%SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES: $4k → 16%ST ALOYSIUS ORPHANAGE: $10k → 16%NEW LIFE FURNITURE: $10k → 16%CINCINNATI WORKS INC: $13k → 16%CINCINNATI UNION BETHEL: $10k → 16%CINCINNATI WORKS INC: $10k → 16%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF SOUTHWESTERN OHIO: $10k → 16%CINCINNATI WORKS INC: $10k → 16%CINCINNATI WORKS INC: $5k → 16%CINCINNATI SQUASH ACADEMY: $5k → 16%CINCINNATI WORKS INC: $5k → 16%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

IL
MI
NY
OH
MO
KY
NC
DC
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.

33%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.6M · 61 repeat orgs$9.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +45% since the first grant, against +32% for those funded once.

61 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 46 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

61
86

Total granted

$4.6M
$9.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+45%
+32%

Still filing today

61%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesEducationHealthArts & CultureHousing & ShelterFood & NutritionOther
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

  • XU
    XAVIER UNIVERSITY
    4× · 2017–2023 · $455k · revenue +24%
  • SO
    SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL
    8× · 2017–2024 · $445k · revenue +67%
  • SM
    SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $299k · revenue +26%

Funded once

  • JA
    JOSEPH A CONWAY FIDELITY CHARITABLE
    one grant, 2023 · $2.8M
  • KC
    KATHLEEN CONWAY BELL FIDELITY CHARITABLE
    one grant, 2023 · $2.8M
  • RA
    ROBERT A CONWAY JR FIDELITY CHARITABLE
    one grant, 2023 · $2.8M
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's Optimum Residential Environments Inc

Residential & Habilitative Svs. Provide residential and habilitative services to adults with developmental disabilities

Health
2
Hospice & Palliative Care of the Ohio Valley Inc

Helping individuals live with dignity through the final stage of life.

Human Services
3
Central Ohio Workers Center Inc

The Central Ohio Worker Center is a non-profit organization that educates, empowers, and advocates for and with low-wage and immigrant workers in Central Ohio.

Civil Rights
4
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

To resolve serious legal problems of low income people, to promote economic and family stability, and reduce poverty through effective legal assistance.

—
5
Ohio United Way

To strengthen the capacity of United Ways across Ohio and to advance the common good for Ohioans.

Philanthropy
6
Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People Inc

Empowering and strengthening ohio's people (esop) helps adults in all stages of life achieve and maintain financial wellness and housing stability.

Housing & Shelter
7
The Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati in

The home ownership center is a non-profit that has been serving the cincinnati metro area since 1973, and is a member of the neighbor works network.

Housing & Shelter
8
Community Shelter Board

The community shelter board is ending homelessness by creating collaborations, innovating solutions, and investing in quality programs.

—
9
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio Delaware Housing Inc

See schedule oto create a better world by serving people in need by operating food pantries, homeless shelters, a domestic violence shelter, affordable housing communities, senior living, assisted living and skilled care facilities, a home…

—
10
Catholic Charities Corporation

Respond to those in need through an integrated system of quality services designed to respect the dignity of every person and build a just and compassionate society.

Human Services
11
Jewish Family Service of the Cincinnati Area

A social service agency, JFS strengthens lives and our diverse community by providing exceptional and transformational human services. Services include: Counseling, Case Management, Financial and Food Support, Home Care, Senior Services,…

Human Services
12
Columbus Housing Initiative Inc

Stabilize neighborhoods through establishing financing, education, rehabilitation of existing housing and development of new housing

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Coverd Greater Cincinnati; the most unlike its peers is New York Public Radio. 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

91 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. 91 of the 148 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)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
89/91
Grantees still filing
70/91
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JOSEPH A CONWAY FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $2,820,170 · OtherJOSEPH A CONWAY FIDELITY CHARITABLEKATHLEEN CONWAY BELL FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $2,820,170 · OtherKATHLEEN CONWAY BELL FIDELITY CHARITABLEROBERT A CONWAY JR FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $2,820,170 · OtherROBERT A CONWAY JR FIDELITY CHARITABLE+94 more: $2,774,500 · Other+94 moreSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL: $445,000 · Human ServicesSANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $298,500 · Human ServicesStrategies to End Homelessness Inc: $44,000 · Human ServicesCINCINNATI WORKS: $43,000 · Human Services+18 more: $238,000 · Human ServicesXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $455,000 · EducationOptim-All Services: $100,000 · EducationTHE CHATFIELD EDGE: $80,000 · EducationMOUNT ST JOSEPH UNIVERSITY: $60,000 · EducationTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $50,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $35,000 · Education+4 more: $35,000 · EducationLA SOUPE INC: $290,000 · Food & NutritionFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $30,000 · Food & NutritionCHILDHOOD FOOD SOLUTIONS: $20,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $10,000 · Food & NutritionMercy Neighborhood Ministries Inc: $112,500 · HealthPINK RIBBON GOOD INC: $55,000 · HealthCENTER FOR RESPITE CARE INC: $45,000 · HealthProspect House Inc: $30,000 · HealthGATEWAY HOUSE INC: $10,000 · HealthFAITH COMMUNITY PHARMACY INC: $10,000 · Health+3 more: $15,000 · HealthCINCINNATI RECYCLING AND REUSE HUB: $105,000 · EnvironmentTHE HILLSIDE TRUST: $35,000 · EnvironmentImago: $22,500 · EnvironmentTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $93,000 · PhilanthropyCISE Foundation: $46,000 · PhilanthropyCRAYONS AND BEYOND INC: $7,000 · Philanthropy
Other$11,235,010Human Services$1,068,500Education$815,000Food & Nutrition$350,000Health$277,500Environment$162,500Philanthropy$146,000

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 budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $455,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL: $445,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetSANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $298,500 over 7y, 2.2% of budgetLA SOUPE INC: $290,000 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetMercy Neighborhood Ministries Inc: $112,500 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetCINCINNATI RECYCLING AND REUSE HUB: $105,000 over 3y, 23% of budgetOptim-All Services: $100,000 over 1y, 19% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION: $93,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CHATFIELD EDGE: $80,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetMOUNT ST JOSEPH UNIVERSITY: $60,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKennedy Heights Arts Center: $60,000 over 3y, 3.4% of budgetPINK RIBBON GOOD INC: $55,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetBLOC MINISTRIES INC: $55,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetPRICE HILL WILL: $50,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCISE Foundation: $46,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetLydia's House Inc: $45,000 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetCENTER FOR RESPITE CARE INC: $45,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetStrategies to End Homelessness Inc: $44,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI WORKS: $43,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ROSE GARDEN MISSION INC: $42,500 over 4y, 3.8% of budgetCARING PLACE OF CINCINNATI: $40,000 over 2y, 23% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $35,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HILLSIDE TRUST: $35,000 over 2y, 3.7% of budgetSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY: $35,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetProspect House Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetBethany House Services Inc: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCINCINNATI UNION COOPERATIVE INITIATIVE: $25,000 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetEPISCOPAL RETIREMENT HOMES INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPOWER INSPIRES PROGRESS INC: $25,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetOVER-THE-RHINE MUSEUM: $25,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetImago: $22,500 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetYWCA of Greater Cincinnati: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE FIRST STEP HOME INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDHOOD FOOD SOLUTIONS: $20,000 over 1y, 7.7% of budgetCOVERD GREATER CINCINNATI: $19,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUPSPRING: $18,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetDress for Success Cincinnati: $17,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOVER THE RHINE COMMUNITY HOUSING: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetOHIO JUSTICE AND POLICY CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetUniversity of Dayton: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSt Rita School For The Deaf: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetInter Parish Ministry Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTENDER MERCIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% 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 XAVIER UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds SOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds SANTA MARIA COMMUNITY SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds LA SOUPE INC ↗
  • Who funds Mercy Neighborhood Ministries Inc ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI RECYCLING AND REUSE HUB ↗
  • Who funds Optim-All Services ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE CHATFIELD EDGE ↗
  • Who funds MOUNT ST JOSEPH UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Kennedy Heights Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds PINK RIBBON GOOD INC ↗
  • Who funds BLOC MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds PRICE HILL WILL ↗
  • Who funds THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds CISE Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Lydia's House Inc ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR RESPITE CARE INC ↗
  • Who funds Strategies to End Homelessness Inc ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI WORKS ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE ROSE GARDEN MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds CARING PLACE OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY ↗

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…The Thomas J Emery Me…John a Schroth Family…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…Johnson Charitable Gi…Charles H Dater Found…Andrew Jergens Founda…United Way of Greater…Marge & Charles J Sch…Millstone FundLouise Taft Semple Fo…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH103.7× affinity65 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Charles H Dater Foundation Inc · Andrew Jergens Foundation · United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Marge & Charles J Schott Foundation · Millstone Fund · Louise Taft Semple 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 Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%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
    0get no government money at all
    35report 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 Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Ruth J & Robert a Conway Foundation Inc 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 148 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 Ruth J & Robert a Conway’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