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The Erma a Bantz Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Erma a Bantz Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$53k
Granted FY2025still arriving
4
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Health$303kEducation$90kHuman Services$30kArts & Culture$20kRecreation & Sports$14kAnimals$13kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $48k
$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$214k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CINCINNATI EYE INSTITUTE$20,000
CINCINNATI ASSOC FOR THE BLIND$15,000
4 PAWS FOR ABILITY$12,650
PREVENT BLINDNESS$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 (FY20–25, $153k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 82% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $15k → 9%CLOVERNOOK CTR FOR BLIND VIS'LY IMP: $25k → 16%4 PAWS FOR ABILITY: $13k → 9%CLOVERNOOK CTR FOR BLIND VIS'LY IMP: $20k → 16%CLOVERNOOK CTR FOR BLIND VIS'LY IMP: $20k → 16%LADD: $10k → 16%LADD INC: $10k → 16%Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $15k → 16%CINCINNATI ASSOC FOR THE BLIND: $15k → 16%Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $10k → 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.
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$406k · 11 repeat orgs$74k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
9

Total granted

$406k
$74k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
+24%

Still filing today

55%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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 ServicesRecreation & SportsEducationOther
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

  • CC
    Clovernook Center For the Blind and Visually Impaired
    3× · 2022–2024 · $65k · revenue +13%
  • OV
    OHIO VALLEY VOICES
    3× · 2020–2022 · $60k · revenue +48%
  • LA
    Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled Inc
    2× · 2021–2024 · $20k · revenue +16%

Funded once

  • C
    Clovernook
    one grant, 2020 · $20k
  • TH
    THE HEALTHCARE CONNECTION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +23%
  • HA
    Hearing and Deaf Center
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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
Deaf Services Center Inc

To empower the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and to promote access to communication, services, and events in Central, Southern, and Northwest Ohio.

Health
3
St Joseph Infant and Maternity Home

With a 150+ year history, Saint Joe's is a place where people with developmental disabilities and complex support needs find connection, dignity and joy. Our community is built on compassion and possibility where every person is seen,…

Human Services
4
Abilities First Foundation Inc

Abilities First is committed to providing comprehensive services and quality care to each child and adult with special needs to put their abilities first.

Human Services
5
Connections for Life

Empowering people with disabilities by providing services that promote independence, equality and intergration, enhancing their quality of life.

Health
6
Arc of Vigo County Inc

The Arc of Vigo County is committed to providing advocacy, parent support and training, respite services for families who have a family member at home with a developmental disability, a supported employment service for persons with…

Human Services
7
Living Well Disability Services

Living Well Disability Services transforms the lives of people impacted by disabilities through the delivery of exceptional services.

—
8
The Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans Inc

To empower people with disabilities through employment, services and advocacy.

Health
9
Colorado Springs Independence Center

We work with people with disabilities, their families and the community to create independence so that all may thrive.

Human Services
10
Delta Gamma Center for Children with Vis

The mission of Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments is to help children who are blind or visually impaired reach their full potential through family-centeredm specialized family support.

Health
11
Chester-Lancaster Disabilities & Special Needs Boa

Provide services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Chester and Lancaster counties.

Human Services
12
Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center

Cleveland hearing and speech is the premier provider of hearing, speech-language and deaf services, education, and advocacy helping people connect through communication, regardless of ability to pay.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is 4 Paws for Ability Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Cincinnati Tennis 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

11 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. 11 of the 20 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
8/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CINCINNATI EYE INSTITUTE: $68,000 · OtherCINCINNATI EYE INSTITUTECINCI ASSOC FOR BLINDVISUALLY IMPAI: $58,000 · OtherCINCI ASSOC FOR BLINDVISUALLY IMPAISt Rita School For The Deaf: $25,000 · OtherSt Rita School For The DeafClovernook: $20,000 · OtherClovernookHEARING SPEECH DEAF CTR GREATER CIN: $17,400 · OtherHEARING SPEECH DEAF CTR GREATER CINNATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNE: $15,000 · OtherNATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNETHE HEALTHCARE CONNECTION INC: $10,000 · OtherPREVENT BLINDNESS: $10,000 · OtherHearing and Deaf Center: $10,000 · Other+4 more: $20,000 · Other+4 moreClovernook Center For the Blind and Visually Impaired: $65,000 · Human ServicesClovernook Center For the Blind and …Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $40,000 · Human ServicesCincinnati Association for the Blind…4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $27,650 · Human Services4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INCLiving Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled Inc: $20,000 · Human ServicesLiving Arrangements for the Developm…OHIO VALLEY VOICES: $60,000 · EducationOHIO VALLEY VO…LUKE5ADVENTURES: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsThe Cincinnati Tennis Foundation: $4,320 · Recreation & Sports
Other$253,400Human Services$152,650Education$60,000Recreation & Sports$14,320

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetClovernook Center For the Blind and Visually Impaired: $65,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetOHIO VALLEY VOICES: $60,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetCincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budget4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $27,650 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSt Rita School For The Deaf: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLiving Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE HEALTHCARE CONNECTION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLUKE5ADVENTURES: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetVISUALLY IMPARIED PRESCHOOL SERVICES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetST JOSEPH HOME INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetThe Cincinnati Tennis Foundation: $4,320 over 1y, 1.1% 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.

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…Spaulding FoundationPfau Charitable Found…Johnson Charitable Gi…Hcs FoundationRobert a & Marian K K…L & L Nippert Charita…Jack J Smith Jr Chari…Marge & Charles J Sch…The Thomas J Emery Me…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…Ge Aerospace Foundati…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH21.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Spaulding Foundation · Pfau Charitable Foundation · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Hcs Foundation · Robert a & Marian K Kennedy Charitable Trust · L & L Nippert Charitable Foundation Inc Attn Carter F Randolph Phd · Jack J Smith Jr Charitable Trust · Marge & Charles J Schott Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · 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 The Erma a Bantz Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Erma a Bantz Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 20 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

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    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