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The Herbert H & Grace a Dow Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Herbert H & Grace a Dow Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$20M
Granted FY2023
149
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$2.6M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02Its granteesRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through 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, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$12MRecreation & Sports$8.8MEnvironment$7.4MArts & Culture$5.6MHealth$4.9MPhilanthropy$3.1MHuman Services$1.5MHousing & Shelter$1.1MOther$0
02FY2023 · 149 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 149 grants below total $17,664,330, the rows itemized in this filing. The $19,968,632 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $2,304,302 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k103 grants · $216k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $209k
  • $50k–250k22 grants · $1.9M
  • $250k+14 grants · $15M
$2,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$643M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Greater Midland Community Center, Inc.$2,650,000
Michigan Technological University$2,000,000
Midland Center for the Arts$2,000,000
MyMichigan Health Foundation$1,300,000
Nature Conservancy, Inc (The)$1,000,000
Chippewa Nature Center, Inc.$1,000,000
Inland Seas Education Association$1,000,000
Kalamazoo College$1,000,000
MyMichigan Health Foundation$800,000
Michigan Baseball Foundation$800,000
United Way of Midland County$500,000
Midland Center for the Arts$500,000
Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy$500,000
Saginaw Community Foundation$250,000
Saginaw Art Museum (dbaTempleArts)$210,000
02Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$37M · 124 repeat orgs$9.4M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +32% since the first grant, against +25% for those funded once.

124 repeat relationships: 116 still active in FY2023, 8 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

124
54

Total granted

$37M
$6.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+32%
+25%

Still filing today

22%
31%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.6M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’22’23
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureEnvironmentRecreation & SportsCommunity 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

  • GM
    GREATER MIDLAND COMMUNITY CTRS INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $5.9M · revenue +129%
  • NU
    Northwood University
    3× · 2020–2023 · $3.7M · revenue +28%
  • MC
    Midland Center for the Arts Inc
    3× · 2020–2023 · $3.5M · revenue +107%

Funded once

  • IC
    INTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
    one grant, 2020 · $1.5M · revenue -56%
  • DC
    DELTA COLLEGE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $713k · revenue +143%
  • CM
    CLEVELAND MANOR INC
    one grant, 2022 · $600k · revenue -29% · 46% of their budget
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.

03Its 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
Midland County Cancer Society Dba Cancer Services

To provide personal and compassionate support to cancer patients and their caregivers in our community.

—
2
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
3
Mid Michigan Community Action Agency Inc

Mid michigan community action guides local residents on the path to self-sufficiency through empowerment, education and community enrichment.

—
4
Great Lakes Center for the Arts

The Center's mission is to inspire, entertain, educate, and serve all in Northern Michigan year-round by presenting exceptional experiences across the full spectrum of the performing arts and offering impactful educational opportunities.

Arts & Culture
5
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

To promote conditions favorable to job creation and business success in michigan.

—
6
Midmichigan Health Services

To provide high quality community-oriented, patient-centered health services for all.

Health
7
Home Builders Association of Michigan

A voice of the building industry in Michigan. The primary purpose is to positively influence the legislative, regulatory and legal issues that affect the industry.

—
8
Michigan Center for Construction Education & Research Trust Agreement

To educate through collaboration of the construction industry, our membership, employees, and communities; and to develop professional workplace competencies and skills while promoting the construction industry as a career choice.

Education
9
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
10
Midland Camping Council Inc

To provide facilities for nonprofit organizations to enjoy the experience of nature in michigan, promote ourdoor education, and to offer camping enjoyment to the people of midland county.

Recreation & Sports
11
Business Leaders for Michigan

Business leaders for michigan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization driven by ceos from the state's leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making michigan a top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.…

—
12
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan Inc

Our mission is to assist our affiliates to increase capacity to build simple decent homes in partnership with people in need in the State of Michigan.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mymichigan Health Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Midland County Pit Stop. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
03the grantee network

57 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. 57 of the 198 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.

6
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
57/57
Grantees still filing
39/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

United Way of Midland County: $2,611,596 · OtherUnited Way of Midland CountyMichigan Technological University: $2,500,000 · OtherMichigan Technological UniversityNature Conservancy, Inc (The): $1,000,000 · OtherNature Conservancy, Inc (The)Michigan State University: $921,000 · OtherMichigan State UniversityMICHIGAN BASEBALL FOUNDATION INC: $805,000 · Other+165 more: $8,152,178 · Other+165 moreGREATER MIDLAND COMMUNITY CTRS INC: $5,905,500 · Recreation & SportsGREATER MIDLAND CO…Iron Belle Trail Fund: $1,000,000 · Recreation & SportsIron Belle Trail F…MIDLAND COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $900,000 · Recreation & SportsMIDLAND COUNTY AGR…Northwood University: $3,691,737 · EducationNorthwood Unive…KALAMAZOO COLLEGE: $1,000,000 · EducationKALAMAZOO COLLE…SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $905,000 · EducationSAGINAW VALLEY …DELTA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $712,500 · EducationDELTA COLLEGE F…+2 more: $125,000 · EducationCHIPPEWA NATURE CENTER: $2,182,500 · EnvironmentCHIPPEWA NAT…GRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $2,000,000 · EnvironmentGRAND TRAVER…INLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $1,116,000 · EnvironmentINLAND SEAS …+1 more: $60,100 · EnvironmentMidland Center for the Arts Inc: $3,519,000 · Arts & CultureMidland Cent…INTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $1,500,000 · Arts & CultureINTERLOCHEN …+3 more: $60,000 · Arts & CultureMYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION: $4,307,000 · HealthMYMICHIGAN…+1 more: $500 · HealthCLEVELAND MANOR INC: $600,000 · Human ServicesCOUNCIL ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: $552,500 · Human ServicesWEST MIDLAND FAMILY CENTER: $455,750 · Human ServicesGREAT LAKES BAY FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Human ServicesMID MICHIGAN BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS: $100,000 · Human Services+3 more: $115,000 · Human Services
Other$15,989,774Recreation & Sports$7,805,500Education$6,434,237Environment$5,358,600Arts & Culture$5,079,000Health$4,307,500Human Services$1,923,250

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 budgetGREATER MIDLAND COMMUNITY CTRS INC: $5,905,500 over 3y, 15% of budgetMYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION: $4,307,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetNorthwood University: $3,691,737 over 3y, 3.4% of budgetMidland Center for the Arts Inc: $3,519,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetUnited Way of Midland County: $2,611,596 over 3y, 15% of budgetCHIPPEWA NATURE CENTER: $2,182,500 over 3y, 23% of budgetGRAND TRAVERSE REGIONAL LAND CONSERVANCY: $2,000,000 over 3y, 9.6% of budgetINTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $1,500,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetINLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $1,116,000 over 3y, 28% of budgetIron Belle Trail Fund: $1,000,000 over 3y, 62% of budgetKALAMAZOO COLLEGE: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $905,000 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetMIDLAND COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: $900,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetMICHIGAN BASEBALL FOUNDATION INC: $805,000 over 2y, 31% of budgetCLEVELAND MANOR INC: $600,000 over 1y, 46% of budgetCOUNCIL ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: $552,500 over 1y, 21% of budgetWEST MIDLAND FAMILY CENTER: $455,750 over 3y, 3.0% of budgetMidland County Habitat for Humanity: $404,300 over 3y, 27% of budgetCONSERVATION RESOURCE ALLIANCE: $350,000 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetSaginaw Community Foundation: $250,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetCOUNCIL OF MICHIGAN FOUNDATIONS: $167,800 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetFORGOTTEN MAN MINISTRIES: $137,785 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetJunior Achievement of North Central Michigan Inc: $120,000 over 1y, 31% of budgetGREAT LAKES BOAT BUILDING SCHOOL: $100,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetGREAT LAKES BAY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetMID MICHIGAN BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS: $100,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetNorthern MI Mobile Child Advocacy Center: $100,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS HEART OF MICHIGAN: $91,735 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetARNOLD CENTER INC: $77,500 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region: $75,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetGRATIOT COUNTY HOPE HOUSE: $75,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetThe Arc of Midland: $75,000 over 1y, 9.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $70,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetSAGINAW BASIN LAND CONSERVANCY: $60,100 over 2y, 7.8% of budget211 Northeast Michigan: $59,500 over 1y, 9.5% of budgetTONI & TRISH HOUSE FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL: $50,000 over 1y, 6.5% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR MICHIGAN: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFood Bank of Eastern Michigan: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMIDLAND BUSINESS ALLIANCE FNDN: $40,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetRESPITE VOLUNTEERS OF SHIAWASSEE: $40,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetGLADWIN COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPORATION: $25,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetWOMEN'S AID SERVICE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetBAY AREA WOMEN'S CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetTHE RUSSELL KIRK CENTER FOR CULTURAL RENEWAL: $25,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetMount Pleasant Discovery Museum: $25,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetRaven Hill Discovery Center: $20,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetMACKINAC CENTER: $16,750 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPhoenix Community Farm: $15,200 over 2y, 17% 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.

Midland Area Communit…Rollin M Gerstacker F…The Charles J Strosac…Consumers Energy Foun…Harry a and Margaret …The Patricia and Davi…Alden and Vada Dow Fu…Bierlein Companies Fo…Dow Company FoundationBay Area Community Fo…United Way of Midland…The Mary C Currie Fou…
Midland Area Community FoundationMI75.3× affinity35 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Midland Area Community Foundation · Rollin M Gerstacker Foundation · The Charles J Strosacker Foundation · Consumers Energy Foundation · Harry a and Margaret D Towsley Foundation · The Patricia and David Kepler Foundation · Alden and Vada Dow Fund · Bierlein Companies Foundation · Dow Company Foundation · Bay Area Community Foundation · United Way of Midland County · The Mary C Currie 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Herbert H & Grace a Dow Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Herbert H & Grace a Dow 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 198 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.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2024) is on record and reports $14M of grant expense with no grantee named in the published copy. A private foundation itemizes every grant it makes, so a return carrying none has filed its list as an attachment that the public copy does not include. The figures above are therefore from FY2023, the most recent year this funder’s grantee list reached the public record.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Herbert H & Grace a Dow’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