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Plinth

· Private foundation

The Berner Charitable and Scholarship Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$313k
Granted FY2024still arriving
42
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202024.

Education$1.8MHealth$663kPublic Safety & Disaster$85kYouth Development$15kCommunity Improvement$8kRecreation & Sports$5k
02FY2024 · 42 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k39 grants · $163k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $150k
$5,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$7.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND$50,000
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$50,000
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY$50,000
JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION$7,500
Individual grant recipient$7,500
MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH ASSOCIATION$7,500
Individual grant recipient$6,667
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 84% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%TERMINI SEAN: $10k → 13%MOORE MIKAYLA: $15k → 10%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $80k → 14%DUHART LAUREN: $10k → 22%KELLY CAMDEN: $10k → 16%KINCER JACK: $10k → 15%VEGA MIRANDA: $10k → 15%BEALL CAROLINE: $10k → 17%FEHLAND SARAH: $10k → 14%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $80k → 8%CAIN EMILY: $10k → 12%DUFRESHE MEGAN: $10k → 13%HAUSMAN IVIE: $10k → 13%EVANS HANNAH: $15k → 15%PEARSON BLAKE: $10k → 17%EVANS KINSEY: $10k → 18%HARRIS WILLIAM: $10k → 23%YARBROUGH CAMERON: $15k → 24%MORELAND ZOLLIE: $15k → 24%UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $80k → 27%SHERECK KATHLEEN: $15k → 13%SULLIVAN MEGAN: $10k → 12%SALERNO MATTHEW: $10k → 15%GRIFFIN KAITLYN: $10k → 11%MEDINA CONNOR: $15k → 14%HILL LEAH: $10k → 23%WASDEN GEORGIA: $10k → 18%CALDWELL MARION: $10k → 24%FREEMAN ZANE: $10k → 10%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $50k → 14%KINCER JACK: $10k → 15%MCNULTY HALEY: $10k → 15%CASEY AMY: $10k → 16%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $50k → 8%CAIN EMILY: $10k → 12%DUFRESHE MEGAN: $10k → 13%TAYLOR DAWSON: $10k → 13%CARTWRIGHT CAROLINE: $10k → 13%EVANS HANNAH: $10k → 15%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $50k → 14%AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: $50k → 8%DAMPIER JENNA: $15k → 22%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $95k → 14%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $50k → 14%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $50k → 14%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $15k → 14%CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND: $15k → 14%RED CROSS OF CHICAGO: $80k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

IL
MI
NY
IA
IN
OH
NJ
CO
NE
KY
VA
MD
TN
OK
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$2.2M · 87 repeat orgs$360k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +40% since the first grant, against -16% for the ones you funded once.

87 repeat relationships — 34 still active in FY2024, 53 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

87
28

Total granted

$2.2M
$333k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
-16%

Still filing today

9%
18%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $27k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
HealthEducationCommunity ImprovementOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • AH
    American Heart Association Inc
    3× · 2022–2024 · $180k · revenue +25%
  • GS
    Georgia State University Foundation Inc
    3× · 2020–2022 · $130k · revenue +189%
  • BT
    BREAKTHROUGH T1D
    3× · 2022–2024 · $20k · revenue +27%

Funded once

  • RC
    RED CROSS OF CHICAGO
    one grant, 2022 · $80k
  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $80k · revenue +36%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $15k

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Target Als Foundation Inc

Our mission is to break down barriers to als research to find effective treatments. by uniting academia, the pharma and biotech industry, government, venture capital, related nonprofits, and the als community, we aim to overcome the…

Education
2
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Fdn Group

Susan g. komen 's mission is to save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities & investing in breakthrough research to prevent & cure breast cancer.

3
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc

The mission of dfci is to provide expert, compassionate, and equitable care to children, adults, and their families, while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of cancer and related diseases. we train new…

Health
4
The Translational Genomics Research Institute

Please see schedule o

Health
5
The Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc

Susan g. komen has an unmatched, comprehensive 360-degree approach to fighting breast cancer across all fronts and supporting millions of people in the u.s. and in countries worldwide. we advocate for policies to protect patients, drive…

Health
6
Hugo W Moser Research Institute At Kennedy Krieger Inc

The hugo w. moser research institute at kennedy krieger, inc. (the "research institute") is an internationally recognized research facility finding answers to problems and injuries that affect a child's developing brain. researchers have…

Science & Tech
7
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Sanford burnham prebys medical discovery institute's mission is to advance the biomedical sciences by cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders, providing meaningful opportunities for researchers of all backgrounds to learn,…

Health
8
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

To cure cf and provide all people with cf the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives by funding research and drug development, partnering with the cf community, and advancing high-quality, specialized care.

Health
9
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Leadership in the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer through excellence, vision and cost effectiveness in patient care, outreach programs, research, and education.

Health
10
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Fred hutch cancer center ("fred hutch") unites innovative research and compassionate care to prevent and eliminate cancer and infectious disease. continued on schedule o

Health
11
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

SRAlab is dedicated to providing the best patient outcomes through the highest-quality clinical care, translational research, scientific discovery and education.

Health
12
Critical Path Institute

The critical path institute is a catalyst in the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science. this is achieved by leading teams that share data, knowledge and expertise resulting in sound, consensus…

Health

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Parkinson's Foundation Inc and the most unlike its peers is A Special Wish Foundation. 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

13 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 13 of the 123 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
7/13
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND — $225,000 · OtherCHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLINDRED CROSS OF CHICAGO — $80,000 · Other+111 more — $1,609,280 · Other+111 moreAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC — $180,000 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER S…American Heart Association Inc — $180,000 · HealthAmerican Heart As…BREAKTHROUGH T1D — $20,000 · Health+3 more — $20,000 · HealthGeorgia State University Foundation Inc — $130,301 · EducationGeorgia S…THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION — $80,000 · EducationTHE UNIVE…REACH FOR EXCELLENCE INC — $7,500 · EducationInternational Association for Relationship Research — $7,500 · Community Improvement
Other$1,914,280Health$400,000Education$217,801Community Improvement$7,500

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC — $180,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc — $180,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGeorgia State University Foundation Inc — $130,301 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION — $80,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D — $20,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLawrence Hall — $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPARKINSON'S FOUNDATION INC — $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetREACH FOR EXCELLENCE INC — $7,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetInternational Association for Relationship Research — $7,500 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetEPILEPSY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS ILLINOIS — $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetA SPECIAL WISH FOUNDATION — $2,500 over 1y, 4.1% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc
  • Who funds Georgia State University Foundation Inc
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization The Berner Charitable and Scholarship Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2025
202122232425
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 23%
  • Epilepsy Foundation of America23% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 123 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph