Skip to content
The Helen J Serini Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Helen J Serini Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$247k
Granted FY2024still arriving
21
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Human Services$279kPhilanthropy$249kHealth$162kCommunity Improvement$144kFood & Nutrition$121kHousing & Shelter$116kCrime & Legal$106kSocial Science$92kOther$0
02FY2024 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $227k
$10,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDERS FISCALLY SPONSORED BY MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWO$20,000
MARYLAND CENTER ON ECONOMIC POLICY$20,000
BEYOND SHELTER FREDERICK$20,000
MARYLAND HUNGER SOLUTIONS AN INITIATIVE OF THE FOOD RESEARCH ACTION CENTER$20,000
THE FREDERICK CENTER$20,000
HOMELESS PERSONS REPRESENTATION PROJECT$20,000
PATHS TOGETHER (FORMERLY ADOPTIONS TOGETHER)$15,000
BALTIMORE COMMUNITY TOOLBANK$12,000
HEALTHCARE ACCESS MARYLAND$10,000
CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC$10,000
IMPACT HUB BALTIMORE FISCALLY SPONSORED BY MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK$10,000
ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION$10,000
LITERACY COUNCIL OF FREDERICK COUNTY$10,000
BANNER NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY$10,000
FREESTATE JUSTICE$10,000
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 (FY20–24, $185k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 8%LIFE ASSET INC: $10k → 14%ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION: $10k → 6%LIFE ASSET INC: $10k → 14%ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION: $10k → 6%ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION: $5k → 6%LANGTON GREEN INC: $10k → 6%ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION: $5k → 6%LANGTON GREEN: $10k → 6%HEARTS OF HOPE: $3k → 11%ROB'S BARBERSHOP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%ROB'S BARBERSHOP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%ROB'S BARBERSHOP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $8k → 6%SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY OF MARYLAND: $3k → 6%STUDENT HOMELESSNESS INTIATIVE PARTNERSHIP (SHIP): $3k → 6%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $10k → 6%BALTIMORE SAFE HAVEN: $15k → 19%WOMAN TO WOMAN MENTORING: $3k → 6%CENTRO HISPANO DE FREDERICK: $3k → 6%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $10k → 19%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $10k → 19%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND: $10k → 19%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $10k → 19%CASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND: $10k → 19%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.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 31 repeat orgs$398k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

31 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

31
53

Total granted

$1.1M
$302k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+34%

Still filing today

84%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $97k 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
Human ServicesHealthHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • MC
    MARYLAND CENTER ON ECONOMIC POLICY INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $92k · revenue +23%
  • MP
    MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK
    5× · 2020–2024 · $88k · revenue +60%
  • BC
    BALTIMORE COMMUNITY TOOLBANK INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $75k · revenue +16%

Funded once

  • FC
    FREDERICK COUNTY HEALTHCARE COALITION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $30k · revenue +277% · 50% of their budget
  • MP
    MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORKIMPACT HUB BALTIMORE
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
  • BS
    Baltimore Safe Haven Corpgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $15k · revenue +302%
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
Baltimore Corps Inc

To cultivate career advancement opportunities for local talent, facilitate talent acquisition for local employers, increase access to capital for local entrepreneurs' social ventures, and foster cross-sector collaboration to address city…

Employment
2
Business Volunteers Maryland Inc

Inspire volunteerism and connect motivated people and businesses to nonprofit organizations leading to stronger communities. our programs connect the right people with the right organizations.

Community Improvement
3
Community Development Network of Maryland Inc

To promote, strengthen, and advocate for the community development sector throughout Marylands urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Community Improvement
4
Abilities Network Inc

Cultivating inclusive communities through relationships, innovation and high-quality services.

Health
5
Metropolitan Baltimore Council of Afl-Cio Unions

The council was organized for the purpose of providing its members with adequate representation in various union related matters.

—
6
Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc

To advocate fair housing and improving tenant/landlord relations.

—
7
Belair-Edison Neighborhoods Inc

Nonprofit community based organization that works to foster an enviornment where residents, business owners,and stateholders feel confident to invest their time,energy,and money. we are a healthy neighborhoods and baltimore main streets…

Housing & Shelter
8
Legal Aid Justice Center

The legal aid justice center partners with communities and clients to achieve justice by dismantling systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

Crime & Legal
9
Manna House Inc

To offer assistance and support to the homeless, poor and needy of baltimore with services contributing toward their independence and stability.

—
10
Maryland Inclusive Housing Corporation

Maryland inclusive housing corporation's (mih) mission is to help people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (idd) successfully access and maintain inclusive, affordable, and accessible housing of their choice by…

Housing & Shelter
11
Community Law Center Inc

Community law center is maryland's only legal services organization dedicated solely to strengthening neighborhoods and the nonprofit sector. for over 30 years, community law center's attorneys have been providing learning opportunities…

Crime & Legal
12
Health Care for the Homeless Inc

Health care for the homeless works to end homelessness through racially equitable health care, housing and advocacy in partnership with those of us who have experienced it.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hearts of Hope Inc. 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

60 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. 60 of the 92 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
19
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/60
Grantees still filing
48/60
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK: $87,930 · OtherMARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORKBALTIMORE COMMUNITY TOOLBANK INC: $74,500 · OtherBALTIMORE COMMUNITY TOOLBANK INCMARYLAND HUNGER SOLUTIONS AN INITIATIVE OF THE FOOD RESOURCE & ACTION CENT: $65,000 · OtherMARYLAND HUNGER SOLUTIONS AN INITIATIVE OF THE FOOD RESOURCE…LITERACY COUNCIL OF FREDERICK COUNTY INC: $45,000 · OtherLITERACY COUNCIL OF FREDERICK COUNTY INCMARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORKCOMMUNITY WEATH BUILDERS: $40,000 · OtherMARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORKBALTIMORE DIGITAL EQUITY COALITION: $30,000 · OtherBEYOND SHELTER FREDERICK INC: $42,500 · Other+54 more: $421,223 · Other+54 moreADOPTIONS TOGETHER INC DBA AS PATHS FOR FAMILIES: $60,000 · HealthADOPTIONS TOGET…HEALTHCARE ACCESS MARYLAND INC: $35,000 · HealthHEALTHCARE ACCE…MARYLAND NEW DIRECTIONS INC: $30,000 · HealthMARYLAND NEW DI…FREDERICK COUNTY HEALTHCARE COALITION INC: $30,000 · HealthFREDERICK COUNT…MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF FREDERICK COUNTY INC: $25,000 · HealthMENTAL HEALTH A…MARYLAND CITIZENS' HEALTH INITIATIVE EDUCATION FUND INC: $20,000 · HealthMARYLAND CITIZE…Believe Big Inc: $10,000 · HealthCASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCASH CAMPAIGN…ADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION INC DBA NATIONAL ADOPTION ASSOCIATION: $30,000 · Human ServicesADOPTION EXCH…ROBS BARBERSHOP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $27,500 · Human ServicesROBS BARBERSH…LIFE ASSET INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesLIFE ASSET IN…LANGTON GREEN INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesLANGTON GREEN…Baltimore Safe Haven Corp: $15,000 · Human ServicesBaltimore Saf…BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $9,500 · Human Services+5 more: $13,000 · Human Services+5 moreTHE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $46,000 · Housing & ShelterPROJECT OWN INC: $20,000 · Housing & ShelterINTERFAITH HOUSING ALLIANCE INC: $15,638 · Housing & ShelterBlack Women Build - Baltimore Inc: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterFREDERICK RESCUE MISSION INC: $4,000 · Housing & ShelterMARYLAND CENTER ON ECONOMIC POLICY INC: $92,000 · Social ScienceFREESTATE JUSTICE INC: $45,000 · Crime & LegalMARYLAND VOLUNTEER LAWYERS SERVICE INC: $30,000 · Crime & LegalPUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER INC: $5,000 · Crime & LegalBANNER NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY CORP: $43,500 · Community ImprovementNEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN CENTER INC: $4,500 · Community ImprovementDOWNTOWN FREDERICK PARTNERSHIP INC: $2,000 · Community Improvement
Other$806,153Health$210,000Human Services$185,000Housing & Shelter$95,638Social Science$92,000Crime & Legal$80,000Community Improvement$50,000

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 budgetMARYLAND CENTER ON ECONOMIC POLICY INC: $92,000 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetMARYLAND PHILANTHROPY NETWORK: $87,930 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetBALTIMORE COMMUNITY TOOLBANK INC: $74,500 over 5y, 5.7% of budgetADOPTIONS TOGETHER INC DBA AS PATHS FOR FAMILIES: $60,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCASH CAMPAIGN OF MARYLAND INC: $50,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetTHE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $46,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetFREESTATE JUSTICE INC: $45,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetLITERACY COUNCIL OF FREDERICK COUNTY INC: $45,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetBANNER NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY CORP: $43,500 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetBEYOND SHELTER FREDERICK INC: $42,500 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetHEALTHCARE ACCESS MARYLAND INC: $35,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMARYLAND VOLUNTEER LAWYERS SERVICE INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMARYLAND NEW DIRECTIONS INC: $30,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetFREDERICK COUNTY HEALTHCARE COALITION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 50% of budgetADOPTION EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION INC DBA NATIONAL ADOPTION ASSOCIATION: $30,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetROBS BARBERSHOP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $27,500 over 3y, 9.1% of budgetMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF FREDERICK COUNTY INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF FREDERICK COUNTY INC: $25,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetTHE FREDERICK CENTER INC: $22,500 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetHOMELESS PERSONS REPRESENTATION PROJECT INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetLIFE ASSET INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPROJECT OWN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 8.2% of budgetLANGTON GREEN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMARYLAND CITIZENS' HEALTH INITIATIVE EDUCATION FUND INC: $20,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ANNE ARUNDEL CO: $17,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetINTERFAITH HOUSING ALLIANCE INC: $15,638 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetBaltimore Safe Haven Corp: $15,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetBlack Women Build - Baltimore Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE BE ORG INC: $10,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetBelieve Big Inc: $10,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetBLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $9,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTUDENT SUPPORT NETWORK INC: $6,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetTHE UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL MARYLAND INC: $5,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF FREDERICK COUNTY MD: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL TRAFFICKING SHELTERED ALLIANCE: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetChapel Hill High School Boosters: $5,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetELIJAHS BLESSING COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetPUBLIC JUSTICE CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLEAF PROJECT INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE MARYLAND FOOD BANK INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEVERYMAN THEATRE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWIDE ANGLE YOUTH MEDIA INC: $4,900 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN CENTER INC: $4,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetI Believe in Me Inc: $4,300 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetFREDERICK RESCUE MISSION INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDIGITAL HARBOR FOUNDATION: $3,750 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWOMAN TO WOMAN MENTORING INC: $3,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetCHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS PARTNERSHIP INC: $3,000 over 1y, 1.5% 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.

Ausherman Family TrustAusherman Family Foun…The Abell Foundation …The United Way of Cen…Delaplaine Foundation…Baltimore Community F…The Community Foundat…Annie E Casey Foundat…United Way of Frederi…France-Merrick Founda…Zanvyl and Isabelle K…T Rowe Price Foundati…
Ausherman Family TrustMD45× affinity19 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ausherman Family Trust · Ausherman Family Foundation · The Abell Foundation Inc · The United Way of Central Maryland Inc · Delaplaine Foundation Inc · Baltimore Community Foundation Inc · The Community Foundation of Frederick County Maryland Inc · Annie E Casey Foundation Inc · United Way of Frederick County Inc · France-Merrick Foundation Inc · Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund Inc · T Rowe Price 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 Helen J Serini Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Helen J Serini Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 150%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Baltimore Safe Haven Corp: 28% of income from government
  • Interfaith Housing Alliance Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Everyman Theatre Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Neighborhood Design Center Inc: 14% of income from government
  • The Maryland Food Bank Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Cash Campaign of Maryland Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Black Women Build - Baltimore Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Spanish-Speaking Community of Maryland Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Maryland New Directions Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Banner Neighborhoods Community Corp: 6% of income from government
  • The Delaplaine Arts Center Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Public Justice Center Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Wide Angle Youth Media Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Digital Harbor Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • Downtown Frederick Partnership Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The United Way of Central Maryland Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Adoptions Together Inc Dba As Paths for Families: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
15get no government money at all
21report 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 The Helen J Serini Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to The Helen J Serini 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 92 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 Helen J Serini’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