Skip to content
Sauerland Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sauerland Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.4M
Granted FY2025still arriving
48
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$260k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$1.7MArts & Culture$1.2MHousing & Shelter$823kEnvironment$734kFood & Nutrition$698kHuman Services$507kHealth$432kCivil Rights$335kOther$0
02FY2025 · 48 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $8k
  • $10k–50k32 grants · $835k
  • $50k–250k11 grants · $815k
  • $250k+3 grants · $760k
$30,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$27M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH$260,000
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART$250,000
CLEVELAND FOODBANK$250,000
FRIENDS OF INTERGENERATIONAL SCHOOL$120,000
GREATER CLEVE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$100,000
THE HOMELESS CHARITY$90,000
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HHI$75,000
CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY$75,000
CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION H&V$75,000
COMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND$60,000
ACLU OF OHIO FOUNDATION$60,000
AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY$60,000
OPEN DOORS ACADEMY$50,000
THE HAVEN HOME LLC$50,000
MOUNTAIN COMPREHENSIVE CARE CENTER$40,000
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 (FY20–25, $667k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, 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%LOSS OF SPOUSE SANTUARY: $15k → 8%CLERMONT CO SENIOR SERVICES: $40k → 9%LOSS OF SPOUSE SANTUARY: $15k → 8%CLERMONT CO SENIOR SERVICES: $30k → 9%FIRST STEP HOME: $40k → 16%LOSS OF SPOUSE SANTUARY: $11k → 8%FIRST STEP HOME: $22k → 16%CLERMONT SENIOR SERVICES: $22k → 9%THE HOMELESS CHARITY: $90k → 13%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICE: $20k → 16%THE HOMELESS CHARITY: $55k → 13%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $20k → 16%THE HOMELESS CHARITY: $22k → 13%LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICE: $10k → 16%EDWINS FOUNDATION: $50k → 17%CHANGING GEARS: $20k → 16%EDWINS FOUNDATION: $25k → 17%CINCINNATI WORKS: $60k → 16%EDWINS FOUNDATION: $10k → 17%CINCINNATI WORKS: $40k → 16%SEEDS OF LITERACY: $30k → 17%SEEDS OF LITERACY: $10k → 17%SEEDS OF LITERACY: $5k → 17%SEEDS OF LITERACY: $5k → 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

VT
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
RI
CA
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
DC
AL
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.8M · 58 repeat orgs$530k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

58 repeat relationships: 39 still active in FY2025, 19 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

58
15

Total granted

$6.8M
$300k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
0%

Still filing today

76%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $230k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEnvironmentArts & CultureHousing & ShelterEducationInternationalOther
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

  • SS
    SHAKER SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $172k · revenue +86%
  • TH
    THE HOMELESS CHARITY
    3× · 2023–2025 · $167k · revenue +96% · 37% of their budget
  • CM
    CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
    3× · 2023–2025 · $155k · revenue +48%

Funded once

  • GA
    GRID ALTERNATIVES
    one grant, 2024 · $70k
  • FU
    FLORESTA USA INCORPORATEDgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $30k · revenue +43%
  • CA
    Cincinnati Area Senior Services Inc
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue -74%
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
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
3
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…

—
4
Ohio United Way

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

Philanthropy
5
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.

—
6
Literary Cleveland

Literary Cleveland assists writers and readers at all stages of development, promotes new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advances Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions.

Education
7
Common Future

Common future is a network of pioneering leaders across the u.s. and canada who work deeply within their communities to create alternative approaches to business, philanthropy, and investing. we envision an economy that has transitioned…

Community Improvement
8
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland

See schedule o.legal aid's mission is to secure justice, equity and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes through passionate legal representation and advocacy for systematic change.

—
9
Cleveland Mediation Center

Our mission is to promote a just and peaceful community by honoring all people, building their capacity to act, and facilitating opportunities for them to engage in conflict constructively. We continue to fulfill our mission by…

Crime & Legal
10
Community Shelter Board

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

—
11
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Learning Grove Inc; the most unlike its peers is New Bremen Historic Association. 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

61 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. 61 of the 82 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/61
Grantees still filing
32/61
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRIENDS OF INTERGENERATIONAL SCHOOL: $466,500 · OtherFRIENDS OF INTERGENERATIONAL SCHOOLGREATER CLEVE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $275,000 · OtherGREATER CLEVE HABITAT FOR HUMANITYSHAKER SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $172,000 · OtherSHAKER SCHOOLS FOUNDATIONCLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION H&V: $150,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY HOSPITALS HHI: $150,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $118,000 · OtherRID-ALL FOUNDATION INC: $110,000 · OtherJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $104,000 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF OHIO FOUNDATION INC: $110,000 · Other+39 more: $1,444,500 · Other+39 moreCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $850,000 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND MUSEUM …CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $155,000 · Arts & CultureCLEVELAND MUSEUM …GREATER MILFORD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $60,000 · Arts & CultureNew Bremen Historic Association: $40,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $40,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS: $871,500 · EducationFRIENDS OF BREAK…WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 · EducationWIKIMEDIA FOUNDA…FUNDAMAYA: $60,000 · EducationFUNDAMAYAAMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY FOR LAW & POLICY: $60,000 · EducationAMERICAN CONSTIT…+1 more: $22,000 · EducationTHE HOMELESS CHARITY: $167,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOMELE…CINCINNATI WORKS: $100,000 · Human ServicesCINCINNATI…Clermont Senior Services Inc: $92,000 · Human ServicesClermont S…EDWINS FOUNDATION: $85,000 · Human ServicesEDWINS FOU…THE FIRST STEP HOME INC: $62,000 · Human ServicesTHE FIRST …SEEDS OF LITERACY: $50,000 · Human ServicesSEEDS OF L…LIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $50,000 · Human ServicesLIGHTHOUSE…LOSS OF SPOUSE SANCTUARY: $41,000 · Human ServicesLOSS OF SP…+1 more: $20,000 · Human ServicesGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $505,000 · Food & NutritionFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $75,000 · Food & NutritionCOMMUNITY LIFE COLLABORATIVE: $126,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $125,000 · EnvironmentTREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $100,000 · EnvironmentCARDINAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $95,000 · EnvironmentLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $83,000 · Environment+1 more: $5,500 · EnvironmentTHE HAVEN HOME LLC: $130,000 · Housing & ShelterPEOPLE WORKING COOPERATIVELY INC: $100,000 · Housing & ShelterShelterhouse Volunteer Group Inc: $66,000 · Housing & ShelterZELIE'S HOME: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterLydia's House Inc: $20,000 · Housing & Shelter+1 more: $10,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$3,100,000Arts & Culture$1,145,000Education$1,108,500Human Services$667,000Food & Nutrition$580,000Environment$534,500Housing & Shelter$346,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFRIENDS OF BREAKTHROUGH SCHOOLS: $871,500 over 6y, 3.9% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART: $850,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetGREATER CLEVELAND FOOD BANK INC: $505,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSHAKER SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $172,000 over 6y, 7.8% of budgetTHE HOMELESS CHARITY: $167,000 over 3y, 37% of budgetCLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: $155,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE HAVEN HOME LLC: $130,000 over 4y, 5.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY LIFE COLLABORATIVE: $126,000 over 3y, 28% of budgetWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $125,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF OHIO FOUNDATION INC: $110,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetRID-ALL FOUNDATION INC: $110,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetJEWISH FEDERATION OF CLEVELAND: $104,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI WORKS: $100,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTREES FOR THE FUTURE INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetPEOPLE WORKING COOPERATIVELY INC: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $95,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCARDINAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $95,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetClermont Senior Services Inc: $92,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSonLight Power Inc: $90,000 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetOPEN DOORS INC: $85,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetEDWINS FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $83,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetTHE AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION: $80,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $75,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetONE TREE PLANTED INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMOUNTAIN COMPREHENSIVE CARE CENTER INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetShelterhouse Volunteer Group Inc: $66,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $65,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetProspect House Inc: $62,000 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetTHE FIRST STEP HOME INC: $62,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetFUNDAMAYA: $60,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE EDUCATION FUND: $60,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGREATER MILFORD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $60,000 over 4y, 17% of budgetWOMEN HELPING WOMEN: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetSEEDS OF LITERACY: $50,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE YOUTH SERVICES: $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMEDWISH MEDWORKS: $45,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLOSS OF SPOUSE SANCTUARY: $41,000 over 3y, 9.4% of budgetNew Bremen Historic Association: $40,000 over 2y, 61% of budgetTHE CLEVELAND ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LEAGUE: $35,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATUN GUATEMALA: $35,000 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetGREATER WASHINGTON EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetACTION ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL: $30,000 over 2y, 45% of budgetFLORESTA USA INCORPORATED: $30,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCincinnati Area Senior Services Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCISE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCLERMONT CO COMMUNITY SERVICES: $22,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCONCEPT SCHOOLS NFP: $22,000 over 2y, 0.0% 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.

The Greater Cincinnat…United Way of Greater…Sutphin Family Founda…John a Schroth Family…Johnson Charitable Gi…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Duke Energy FoundationMarge & Charles J Sch…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…The Cleveland Foundat…Spaulding FoundationGe Aerospace Foundati…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH37.7× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · United Way of Greater Cincinnati · Sutphin Family Foundation Ica · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Marge & Charles J Schott Foundation · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · The Cleveland Foundation · Spaulding Foundation · Ge Aerospace 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 Sauerland Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sauerland Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    17report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 Sauerland Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sauerland 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 82 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 Sauerland’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