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The Helena Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Helena Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$4.0M
Granted FY2023
3
Grants FY2023
2
States reached
$1.3M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

Education$6.6MEnvironment$4.5MPhilanthropy$2.8MArts & Culture$2.6MHealth$2.4MYouth Development$55kHousing & Shelter$25kOther$0
02FY2023 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,330,140
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE MHE FOUNDATIONINC$1,330,140
THE DOVANA FOUNDATION INC$1,330,140
THE BLUE WATERS FOUNDATION INC$1,330,140
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 32% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $362k → 8%WHEELOCK COLLEGE: $261k → 16%THE DOVANA FOUNDATION INC: $1.3M → 14%TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $237k → 14%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $254k → 19%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $258k → 8%WHEELOCK COLLEGE: $202k → 16%TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $228k → 14%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $247k → 19%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $251k → 8%WHEELOCK COLLEGE: $202k → 16%TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $211k → 14%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $206k → 19%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $250k → 8%WHEELOCK COLLEGE: $201k → 16%TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $199k → 14%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $205k → 19%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $248k → 8%WHEELOCK COLLEGE: $152k → 16%TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $180k → 14%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $204k → 19%MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: $236k → 8%ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY: $203k → 19%THE BLUE WATERS FOUNDATION INC: $1.3M → 6%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $214k → 6%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $208k → 6%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $206k → 6%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $181k → 6%CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION: $147k → 6%WATERSHED STEWARDS ACADEMY: $125k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $510k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $507k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $429k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $372k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $355k → 6%HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS: $318k → 6%HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS: $312k → 6%ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER: $274k → 6%HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS: $253k → 6%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVACY: $208k → 6%HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS: $207k → 6%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVACY: $204k → 6%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVACY: $200k → 6%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVACY: $182k → 6%HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS: $160k → 6%MD HALL FOR CREATIVE ARTS: $151k → 6%CHESAPEAKE CONSERVACY: $150k → 6%THE MHE FOUNDATIONINC: $1.3M → 6%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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 42 repeat orgs$4.1M to everyone else

42 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2023, 42 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

42
3

Total granted

$13M
$131k

Still filing today

60%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4.0M went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
EnvironmentArts & CulturePhilanthropyEducationHealthYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • LH
    LUMINIS HEALTH ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $2.4M · revenue +40%
  • HA
    HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $1.4M · revenue +144%
  • EP
    ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY OF BALTIMORE CITY
    6× · 2017–2022 · $1.3M · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • TE
    THE EARL FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND
    one grant, 2022 · $101k
  • HH
    HAMMOND-HARWOOD HOUSE
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
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
Annapolis Maritime Museum Inc

The annapolis maritime museum educates youth and adults about the annapolis areas rich maritime heritage and the ecology of the chesapeake bay through programs, exhibits, and community events. continued on schedule o

—
2
Maryland Lyric Opera
Arts & Culture
3
Middle Patuxent Environmental Foundation
Philanthropy
4
Classic Theatre of Maryland Inc

Classic Theatre of Marylands mission is to produce bold re-imagined entertaining and accessible interpretations of classical works contemporary plays and musicals with a core commitment to the works of Shakespeare and other major…

Arts & Culture
5
Baltimore Concert Opera Inc

Opera baltimore creates a thrilling, meaningful shared experience between our audience and our artists. our streamlined format focuses on the primary element of opera: the unamplified human voice. featuring top flight professional opera…

Arts & Culture
6
Center Stage Associates Inc

See schedule o.inspired by our home city, baltimore center stage acts as a cultural catalyst for all communities to access theater in every form and engage in compelling conversations. programming: capture the collective imagination and…

Arts & Culture
7
Blue Water Baltimore

To restore the quality of baltimore's rivers, streams and harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy, and thriving communities.

Environment
8
The Potomac Conservancy Inc

Potomac conservancy safeguards the land and waters of the potomac river and its tributaries and connects people to this national treasure.

Environment
9
Greater Annapolis Ballet

Our mission is to inspire young artists and ensure an everlasting love of dance. GAB provides a healthy and nourishing environment with a strong focus on classical ballet, while exploring other techniques to shape well-rounded dancers. We…

Human Services
10
Maryland Opera Inc

The mission of maryland opera, inc is (1) the promotion, production and performance in a variety of venues, of live opera experiences to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, (11) the creation and continuation of opera education and…

Philanthropy
11
Chesapeake Bay Trust

Chesapeake bay trust is a public, nonprofit grant-making organization created to promote public awareness of and participation in the restoration and protection of the chesapeake bay and its tributaries. (see schedule o for continuation)…

—
12
Shriver Hall Concert Series Inc

Shriver hall concert series's mission is to enrich the baltimore community through outstanding chamber music and recital experiences.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Forever Maryland Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Blue Waters 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

30 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. 30 of the 49 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)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/30
Grantees still filing
25/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE MHE FOUNDATIONINC: $1,330,140 · OtherTHE MHE FOUNDATIONINCWHEELOCK COLLEGE: $1,119,279 · OtherWHEELOCK COLLEGEUNIV OF MD AT BALTIMORE: $511,144 · OtherUNIV OF MD AT BALTIMOREWATERSHED STEWARDS ACADEMY: $413,843 · OtherWATERSHED STEWARDS ACADEMYMD HALL FOR CREATIVE ARTS: $261,315 · OtherMD HALL FOR CREATIVE ARTSUNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA: $236,427 · OtherUNIV OF MINNESOTA: $173,517 · Other+16 more: $634,477 · Other+16 moreCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $1,057,412 · EnvironmentCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATI…THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,055,308 · EnvironmentTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LA…CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $984,638 · EnvironmentCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY …EASTERN SHORE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $408,535 · EnvironmentEASTERN SHORE LAND CONS…SCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC: $221,956 · EnvironmentSCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUS…+5 more: $283,158 · Environment+5 moreMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $1,606,564 · EducationMassachusetts Inst…ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY OF BALTIMORE CITY: $1,319,342 · EducationENOCH PRATT FREE L…ST JOHN'S COLLEGE: $205,511 · EducationST JOHN'S COLLEGETHE BLUE WATERS FOUNDATION: $1,330,140 · PhilanthropyTHE BLUE WATERS …THE DOVANA FOUNDATION INC: $1,330,140 · PhilanthropyTHE DOVANA FOUND…ARTS COUNCIL OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY INC: $104,000 · PhilanthropyLUMINIS HEALTH ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER INC: $2,447,286 · HealthLUMINIS HEALTH…HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC: $1,370,836 · Arts & CultureHISTORIC ANN…ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY: $283,534 · Arts & CultureANNAPOLIS OP…ANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $135,000 · Arts & CultureANNAPOLIS SY…FOUNDRY GALLERY LTD: $75,000 · Arts & CultureBallet Theatre of Maryland Inc: $70,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $131,263 · Arts & Culture+3 moreSEEDS 4 SUCCESS INC: $17,000 · Youth Development
Other$4,680,142Environment$4,011,007Education$3,131,417Philanthropy$2,764,280Health$2,447,286Arts & Culture$2,065,633Youth Development$17,000

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 budgetLUMINIS HEALTH ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER INC: $2,447,286 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMassachusetts Institute of Technology: $1,606,564 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC: $1,370,836 over 6y, 7.5% of budgetTHE BLUE WATERS FOUNDATION: $1,330,140 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetTHE DOVANA FOUNDATION INC: $1,330,140 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY OF BALTIMORE CITY: $1,319,342 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetWHEELOCK COLLEGE: $1,119,279 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC: $1,057,412 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $1,055,308 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetCHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC: $984,638 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetEASTERN SHORE LAND CONSERVANCY INC: $408,535 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY: $283,534 over 6y, 10% of budgetSCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC: $221,956 over 5y, 34% of budgetST JOHN'S COLLEGE: $205,511 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $135,000 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetARTS COUNCIL OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY INC: $104,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetFOREVER MARYLAND INC: $98,658 over 4y, 9.6% of budgetTHE SEVERN RIVER ASSOCIATION INC: $80,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetFOUNDRY GALLERY LTD: $75,000 over 4y, 26% of budgetBallet Theatre of Maryland Inc: $70,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $56,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCHESAPEAKE ARTS CENTER INC: $55,000 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetCREATING COMMUNITIES CORPORATION: $55,000 over 6y, 9.4% of budgetLyric Foundation Inc: $48,263 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCHESAPEAKE LEGAL ALLIANCE INC: $38,000 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetMARYLAND FEDERATION OF ART INC: $35,000 over 3y, 3.8% of budgetEXPLORATION SCHOOL INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetTHE ANNAPOLIS CHORALE INC: $28,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetSEEDS 4 SUCCESS INC: $17,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetANNAPOLIS GREEN INC: $10,500 over 6y, 1.9% 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 LUMINIS HEALTH ANNE ARUNDEL MEDICAL CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Massachusetts Institute of Technology ↗
  • Who funds HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE BLUE WATERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE DOVANA FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY OF BALTIMORE CITY ↗
  • Who funds WHEELOCK COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds EASTERN SHORE LAND CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds ANNAPOLIS OPERA COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds SCENIC RIVERS LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JOHN'S COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds ANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds ARTS COUNCIL OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds FOREVER MARYLAND INC ↗
  • Who funds THE SEVERN RIVER ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDRY GALLERY LTD ↗
  • Who funds Ballet Theatre of Maryland Inc ↗
  • Who funds LAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE ARTS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CREATING COMMUNITIES CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds Lyric Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds CHESAPEAKE LEGAL ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds MARYLAND FEDERATION OF ART INC ↗
  • Who funds EXPLORATION SCHOOL INC ↗

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.

Community Foundation …Arts Council of Anne …Norman J Fisher and D…The Jm Kaplan Fund IncAnne Arundel Economic…The Mhe Foundation IncThe Keith Campbell Fo…Schuh Family Foundati…Dea Code Family Found…The Dealy Foundation …Chesapeake Bay TrustLand Trust Alliance I…
Community Foundation of Anne Arundel CoMD30.1× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Anne Arundel Co · Arts Council of Anne Arundel County Inc · Norman J Fisher and Doris Fisher Foundation · The Jm Kaplan Fund Inc · Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation · The Mhe Foundation Inc · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Schuh Family Foundation Inc · Dea Code Family Foundation Inc · The Dealy Foundation Inc · Chesapeake Bay Trust · Land Trust Alliance Inc

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 Helena Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Helena Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 27%
  • Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Seeds 4 Success Inc: 48% of income from government
  • Historic Annapolis Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 35% of income from government
  • Arts Council of Anne Arundel County Inc: 33% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Conservancy Inc: 27% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Arts Center Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Ballet Theatre of Maryland Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Lyric Foundation Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • St John's College: 2% of income from government
  • Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.

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 49 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Helena’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